Recent Client Work - Summer 2023
A few of the things I've been working on recently
It’s Wednesday!
Good morning ☀
Today, I wanted to share a little bit about what I’ve been working on lately…
I did something similar back in March and thought this might be worth sharing from time to time.
Please let me know what you think…
So here goes…
I’m working with a new client referred to me by their CPA. Among other things, we’ve reviewed their home & auto insurance (with the help of great insurance broker I know). Early in our discussions I identified the need for them to increase their umbrella liability insurance coverage. We’re also working on getting an estate plan in place with the help of a local estate planning attorney I know.
I’m working with a client to review and update their Qualified Charitable Distribution strategy for contributions to their church out of an IRA account.
I’m always doing tax planning in the background for clients. Lately we’ve been looking at things like capital gains & losses to see if we can create some tax savings. We’ve also been looking at annual IRA distributions to make sure we stay under the next income breakpoint for Medicare IRMAA surcharges.
With the help of my portfolio management team, we’ve been monitoring and managing clients’ portfolios. With the investment markets generally doing better the last few months, we’ve been rebalancing portfolios. For instance, as stocks have been going up in value, we’ve been selling some stocks and buying more fixed income. This helps capture and protect investment gains while reinvesting the funds into a less expensive asset class, at least on a relative basis. In other words, we’re “selling high and buying low” in small increments along the way.
I helped a woman find a great financial planner who was a better fit for her specific situation than I would have been.
Had a conversation yesterday with a brother and sister who are planning for their Mom in Memory Care. While financial planning is based on what we know right now, there’s so much we don’t know about her future that will require us to keep in touch and remain flexible in our thinking and decision making.
I have two clients who are each dealing with inheriting investments from a parent. We’re working through the process of deciding how best to address these funds in the context of their respective financial plans. And making sure we accurately apply the “step up in basis.”
And I’ve had the pleasure of meeting about a dozen or so new folks, most of whom were introduced to me by clients and other professionals like CPAs and attorneys. Some people also found me via my website and these weekly emails which is kinda cool! 👍
Of course, the above is a small sample of the variety and breadth of things I’ve worked on with my clients in the past few weeks and months.
And I love it!
Always something new every day…
Many people assume I’m just an “investments guy.”
And while investments and portfolios are an important part of my work, it’s only a small part in a much bigger landscape of personal finance matters and decisions that need to be addressed as you can see from the examples above.
What about you?
What have you been up to so far this summer?
Hit reply and let me know…
Links & Things
I recently wrote a short article on what I think is one of the best tax-friendly savings opportunities available:
An important part of your financial plan is giving some thought to where your next dollar should go… This helps avoid our natural instinct to sacrifice our future selves in exchange for more instant gratification. This might help:
Thank You!
I’m grateful to have you as a reader.
If you have any questions or an idea for a future newsletter, blog post, or YouTube video, I'd love your input.
Just hit reply - I read (and truly appreciate) every email you send.
Until next Wednesday,
Russ