Who We Serve

Individuals

Managing your finances is an important component to any financial security plan. Along with the protection offered through insurance and the goal setting provided by investment choices, money management strategies help you manage your savings on a daily basis.

From mortgage payments to tax savings, we can help you manage your money as effectively as possible, given your personal situation.

Savings

Younger individuals and couples have a number of benefits in terms of financial management. Low insurance costs and a long investment horizon, combined with few responsibilities, can make for an excellent financial base. We can help you build on these advantages, while at the same time considering a debt load that might include student loans, car payments or perhaps a mortgage.

Couples planning for a first child enter into a new level of commitment—both personally and financially. Learn how to save for a child through specialized insurance and investment products, such as a Registered Education Savings Plan.

Mid-career professionals typically have higher incomes than younger investors—but they also carry more responsibilities. From mortgage payments to a child’s education, consider a financial plan that balances your needs and obligations.

Retirees have worked hard at their careers, and now is the time for relaxation and celebration. Chances are children have moved from home, the mortgage is mostly paid off and a few investments are coming to fruition. However, income levels may have dropped after retirement. Find out how to manage your finances in a way that allows you to fully enjoy the fruits of your hard work.

In short, no matter your life stage, contact us today to learn how to balance savings and investing with your other commitments.

Tax Planning

No one likes taxes. But through the advice of a professional financial advisor, you can access products and services that help ease the burden. Charitable contributions, life insurance policies and investment products can all be useful tools in an effective tax strategy. Working together, we will consider your personal situation and design a tax plan that fits your needs.

Choose from a variety of products and services, such as:

Athletes

Whether participating in a team sport or an individual sport, Professional Athletes’
careers expose themselves to countless possible injuries, and illnesses. A minor
disability may become career-ending for a professional athlete. With the risk so high,
most insurers will not underwrite disability insurance plans for athletes.
Petersen International Underwriters provides high limit coverage for professional
athletes to financially protect against temporary and/or permanent disabilities. Each
sport has unique underwriting challenges as incomes may come from a variety of
sources including team contracts, signing bonuses, endorsements and purse winnings.
Each sport commands unique contract features including guaranteed income to a player.
Some contracts are fully guaranteed while others allow the team to waive the contract
as they see fit. A variety of flexible solutions are available to protect a professional
athlete’s.

Families

As the cost of a college education continues to rise, outpacing the rate of inflation, it is becoming beyond the reach of most people unless they have planned early on. For people starting a college savings plan today, questions arise as to the best way to save. For such an important and long term goal, it pays to do some research when selecting a plan.

There are many factors to consider when selecting a college savings plan. As with any savings goal, individual factors such as time horizon, risk tolerance, investment preferences and tax situation need to be considered and weighed in order to select the most suitable savings plan. In addition, special consideration needs to be given to who will actually own the college funds as the decision is likely to impact the availability of financial aid in the future.

Tax Advantaged Methods

As an incentive for families to start early with their own college savings plans, the federal tax laws provide for tax advantaged methods to pay for college expenses. The methods involve different tax rules so they can be somewhat complicated. The best approach is to seek the guidance of a qualified tax or financial professional to help determine which method is most suitable.

Business Owners

Growing a business is a difficult undertaking today as business owners must confront a myriad of tax laws and regulations while trying to effectively create products or services, manage their employees, develop and cultivate clients, and do so profitably.

Often times business owners are too absorbed in their business to tend to their own financial needs, and they may also overlook key planning considerations that could help their business grow and prosper. Also, the livelihood of a business owner can be imperilled when unexpected events occur that adversely affect the bottom line of the business.

Business Owner Needs

Retirement

For many business owners, their business is their primary retirement asset. After many years of building a successful business they expect to convert it to an income for retirement by selling it. If they are relying upon the business as their sole means of retirement they run the risk that it may not attain the value needed to produce the needed income.

Businesses can fail. Businesses can lose value in certain economic cycles. The timing is not always right to sell a business. Many times the true value of the business lies in the talents and good will of the business owner who won’t be around to run the business after he retires.

Business owners today must prepare for retirement with the same level of diversification recommended for any retirement plan. Business owners have access to a number of qualified and nonqualified retirement plan options that can provide a cornerstone for their retirement income needs.

Business Succession

When a business partner dies, the business loses a valuable asset and could suffer in the short term. The long term issue for surviving business owners is whether the business can survive when the partner’s family members show up for their interest in the business.

For the families of business partners, the business interest is often their biggest asset and they become the rightful owner of that interest at the death of the partner. They will want to receive their share of the business, either in direct compensation or through their participation as an active partner in the business.

If the surviving partner does not have the capital to compensate the family for their share, their options are limited and not very attractive. A business succession plan can provide for the orderly transfer of the business interest from the deceased’s family to the business.

Key Employee Protection

One of the more devastating events a small business can suffer is the loss of a key employee. Often times it’s a key employee who brings a special talent to the business and is responsible for much of the success of the business owner. The loss of such a valuable asset could set the business back for a period of time, and at tremendous cost, while the business owner seeks to find a replacement, if one can be found at all.

In financial planning, we are taught that it our most valuable assets – our home, our ability to earn income, our cars – should be insured against an unexpected loss. It’s no different for business owners as the loss of a valuable business asset could imperil the business.

Buying life insurance coverage on a key employee makes good business sense. The amount of coverage should be enough to cover the costs of recruiting and paying a replacement, loss of earnings to the company, any redemption of stock or a salary continuation plan arrangement with the surviving family.

Executive Compensation

In a small business setting, it could take years to find or develop the executive talent needed to build the business to the next level. Executive talent is hard to come by, and it is even more difficult on the business when it walks out the door in pursuit of another opportunity.

When key executives are presented with a strong monetary incentive package, they are more likely to stay and utilize their talents where they feel appreciated and appropriately rewarded. Structured incentive plans can help keep key executives in place and motivate them to higher levels of performance.

For more information on Business Owner Planning, please contact us today.