Initial Meeting Process

Our first priority is helping you take care of yourself and your family.  We want to learn more about your personal situation, identify your dreams and goals, and create a game plan that we implement, monitor, and make changes as needed as we work together.  Long-term relationships that encourage open and honest communication have been the cornerstone of my foundation of success.

When Ron started his career back in 1989, he had a passion for working with and helping people, along with a unique gift of being able solve very complex problems and explaining the solutions in a very simple way.  He realized that the first Baby Boomers were going to be looking to retire by the turn of the century and will be looking for the road map to be able to do that.  

He focused his career on creating a financial planning system that would allow clients to see: 

1. When, if and how they would be able to retire, 
2. How to create income in the most tax advantaged way, 
3. Create an investment strategy that gives you the opportunity to outpace inflation
4. Coaching clients on how to get the most out of their retirement savings for the fun stuff in life including travel, cruises, "snow bird" travel, and gifting to family
5. Strategies designed to protect and preserve family wealth, and 
6. Having a dynamic, service focused financial planning team to work with him and his clients along this journey.  

That is what he has accomplished and continues to refine and grow for his clients benefit.

The Initial Financial Planning Process we have developed is designed to help those who want to understand if and how they should be able to retire and to help them understand how it feels to work with a Certified Financial Planner acting as a Fiduciary in the systems that we have created over the last 3 decades.  You will see in this process we are doing all the work we need to do to create an overview of your financial plan so you know exactly where you stand.  We have to do this work to see if and how we can add value to your situation.  You will never feel like there is a "Financial Product" or a "Sales Pitch" coming next.  Our process is fully consultative and is focused on your planning.  We are both rolling up our sleeves and creating your snapshot.  All of this without any cost or obligation on your part.  Not only do you get a professional opinion of where you are right now, but with a simple investment of time to go through this process, you will get a full understanding of what you should be doing next to get and maintain control of your planning.  It's like you get to test drive the firm and make sure that you feel comfortable with the planning and the relationship.

• The First Step is our initial introduction and discovery meeting where we sit, have a coffee, and talk about the questions, concerns and issues you have about where you are today.  You may just be at a point where you just want to retire, there could be a layoff or retirement package on the table, or you may have just experienced a major life event.  It doesn't matter why you are here, you know that you need to get some answers, some good advice, and get full control of your finances and your life.  That is why we are here.  In this meeting, we will look at where you are today and your timeline, what is upcoming, and collect some basic information to start your file and make a list of information needed for the next meeting.
• The Second Meeting in this process is our get organized - confirm timeline, goals, and resources meeting where we confirm all of your assets and income, now and in the future, build a Balance Sheet, and nail down all of the goals in the timeline we created in the last meeting.  We want to prioritize those goals and put some conservative assumptions together so we can create an accurate snapshot of what is really going on in your planning right now.  We also will have some time to show and teach you some of the Financial Planning concepts and strategies we will be using for the next meeting.  
• The Third Meeting is our planning overview - financial assessment meeting where the rubber meets the road.  From all that we have learned in the previous 2 meetings, we create a full outline of your plan.  We will show you all the strengths that you should build on and all the weaknesses and areas of concern that you should work on or just outright eliminate.  We will detail that to every goal you had coming in.  We will also let you know of things that you did not address that should be addressed in your situation.  We realize that sometimes people don't know what they don't know when it comes to planning and we want to point out items they should be thinking about so they don't get blindsided.  That is one of the roles of being a fiduciary.  We have been told the best part of this entire process is that there was never a sales pitch or a product that was presented, so you never have to worry about that.  You can just relax, and learn about exactly where you are.  After that, if we feel we can be of value to you, we would make you an offer to become a client and let you know what our Initial Consulting Fee would be as well as what the Annual Maintenance Fee would be for year 2+.  That fee varies based on the work we need to do.  From there, you can either say yes and we keep the process going, or you can say No and we will shake hands and part friends.  You get to keep all of the work we did for you and maybe someday in the future, this may be a fit.  We just thank you for giving us your time to investigate our firm and this process.  

If you are moving forward, we will continue to meet to fully complete your written financial plan.  As many meetings as it takes, we will help you implement the recommendations and then put you on a review schedule.  Normally, we meet our clients every 4-6 months for reviews.  We like to think of our Initial and Annual Fee that our clients pay as a full subscription to our firm.  We want you to contact us anytime you have a question or concern.  We do not charge for meetings, emails, phone calls, etc.

Should I go through this process?  This process works best with those within 10 years of retirement, or if already retired and feeling like they have no control of their financial life and need a check up.  We live in a very complex world.  In these crazy economic times, you need to know that what you are doing is best for you and your family.  That is why we exist.  We welcome you to give us a test drive; it is a process designed to give you answers.  We don't take over your financial life.  We empower you to take control of your financial life and stay by your side every step of the way.