Services to Address All of Your Priorities
Your financial objectives may range from accumulating wealth, to planning for retirement, to making your money last as long as possible through retirement. In fact, over the course of your lifetime, you will undoubtedly pursue all of these goals. With the full range of financial services available through Raymond James, our advisors can help you be prepared for all the significant events of your life.
Asset allocation
Asset allocation is a long-term strategy designed to balance risk in varying market environments. By allocating your assets to a diverse variety of sectors and investments, we attempt to increase the likelihood of generating a more consistent, positive return over the long term. Depending on your risk tolerance, the economic environment, your specific objectives, and other factors, your portfolio may include domestic and global stocks, fixed income, real estate, and alternative investments.
Asset management
Raymond James offers full-service asset management for clients who prefer to utilize the skills and expertise of professional money managers. A comprehensive process helps match your unique goals and risk tolerance with an asset allocation model that’s right for you – from capital protection, to asset growth designed to meet your long-term goals.
Asset allocation does not ensure a profit nor protect against loss. International investing involves special risks, including currency fluctuations, differing financial accounting standards, and possible political and economic volatility. Alternative investments are available only to those who meet specific suitability requirements. There are special risks involved with alternative investments, including investment strategies, and different regulatory and reporting requirements.
Retirement planning
Because people are living longer today, the possibility of going 30 years without a paycheck takes careful planning and disciplined investing. We can help you with every phase of planning for your retirement. During your working years, we’ll develop and monitor a wealth accumulation plan based on your specific goals and objectives. As you approach retirement, we’ll assist you with critical decisions regarding retirement plan options, Social Security, and tax planning. Then once you are retired, we will determine tax-efficient income and wealth transfer strategies designed to help you live in retirement.
Retirement readiness checklist: See if you have the income, resources, and strategy in place to help achieve a comfortable retirement.
401(k) plan education
If you’ve changed jobs or you are retiring, rolling over your retirement assets to an IRA can be an option. It is a non-taxable event when done properly – and gives you access to a wide range of investments, and the convenience of having consolidated your savings in a single location.
In addition, flexible beneficiary designations may allow for the continued tax-deferred investing of inherited IRA assets. We can handle all details for you, including contacting your former plan administrator, opening your new rollover IRA, and completing the paperwork.
In addition to rolling over your 401(k) to an IRA, there are other options. Here is a brief look at all your choices. For additional information, and what is suitable for your particular situation, please consult us.
Leave money in your former employer’s plan, if permitted:
Pro: May like the investments offered in the plan and may not have a fee for leaving it in the plan. Not a taxable event.
Roll over the assets to your new employer’s plan, if one is available and it is permitted:
Pro: Keeping it all together and larger sum of money working for you, not a taxable event
Con: Not all employer plans accept rollovers.
Roll over to an IRA:
Pro: Likely more investment options, not a taxable event, consolidating accounts and locations
Con: usually fee involved, potential termination fees
Cash out the account:
Con: A taxable event, loss of investing potential. Costly for young individuals under 59½; there is a penalty of 10% in addition to income taxes.
Pension maximization strategies
When nearing retirement, you may face an important decision regarding your retirement plan’s payout options. Most plans offer at least two common options: single-life or joint-life payouts. The single life strategy is to select the higher monthly single-life payout, and consider applying the additional amount to buying a permanent life insurance policy with your spouse as beneficiary. When you pass away, the pension payout would stop, but your spouse could receive a large tax-free death benefit that can then be invested and used to replace the pension payout that ended. With the joint option, it is important to understand the value of the lifetime income your surviving spouse would receive, as it may provide a higher financial benefit to him or her. We can help you evaluate your pension options to determine whether a pension maximization strategy is appropriate to consider.
Social Security maximization strategies
Since Social Security benefits can play an important role in your retirement income, Social Security options and analysis is an essential part of the retirement planning services we offer. We can help you determine your eligibility, determine when best to file, how to potentially maximize benefits for you and your spouse, and mitigate taxes on the income.
Retirement cash flow management
Preserving your wealth and maintaining your lifestyle are likely among your highest priorities. You aspire to stay in your home as long as you want and be able to leave behind the legacy you had envisioned. We can conduct a cash flow analysis to help you compare your income to your expenses and determine your net cash flow. This will help determine a realistic and appropriate monthly and annual budget.
Healthcare expense strategy
Seventy percent of people turning 65 can expect to use some form of long-term care during their lives.* Medicare provides only limited coverage and does not cover custodial care, the type older individuals often need. We can help you secure long-term care insurance to help you preserve your savings, and give you access to a range of care options.
These policies have exclusions and/or limitations. The cost and availability of LTC insurance depend on factors such as age, health, and the type and amount of insurance purchased. As with most financial decisions, there are expenses associated with the purchase of LTC insurance. Guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the insurance company.
*Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; LongTermCare.gov
Insurance and annuities
Since insurance helps protect you in case of accident, illness, disability, or death, it plays a crucial role in your comprehensive financial plan. Through Raymond James, we can provide a wide array of quality insurance alternatives that can offer an important layer of safety for you, your family, your business, or your organization. For example, we can help you build a protective cushion with life insurance, preserve your estate with long-term care insurance, and combine protection and tax-advantaged growth opportunities with annuities.
Guarantees are based on the paying ability of the insurance company.
Cash flow reserve ladder
One challenge retirees face is having to sell retirement assets at an inopportune time in order to raise cash to cover expenses. One strategy for potentially avoiding this is to implement a cash flow reserve ladder, a structure that includes a cash reserve for short-term expenses, and both fixed income and equity assets for longer-term expenses. In theory, it can help dictate a more favorable time to sell assets, since fixed income and equity assets have had a tendency to be favorably priced at different times during a market cycle.
Investing involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss regardless of strategy selected.
Risk management
We believe a comprehensive financial plan must consider and prepare for the unexpected – such as accidents, illnesses, and disability. Our team helps you think ahead and consider different scenarios, then prepare contingency plans to address them. We understand that while risk cannot be eliminated, it can, and should be, mitigated. Our risk management services include life insurance, annuities, long-term care, disability insurance, and liability insurance.
Tax planning
We take a tax-sensitive approach to financial planning and work with you and your other professional advisors – accountants, tax attorneys – to help minimize the impact of taxes. By developing and implementing strategies to lessen, or shift, current and future tax liabilities, we can help improve your prospects for meeting your financial objectives.
In addition to impacting your life today, prudent tax planning can play a large role in the amount of wealth you might be able to someday transfer to your heirs.
Please note: changes in tax laws or regulations may occur at any time and as financial advisors of Raymond James, we do not render advice on tax or legal matters. You should discuss any tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional.
Estate planning
Whether it’s providing income for a spouse, educating children or grandchildren, or leaving money to your favorite charity, proper estate planning can help ensure that your assets accumulated over your lifetime are preserved for the use you have intended. We can offer financial strategies designed to efficiently manage the transfer of wealth from one generation to the next, and mitigate related tax issues.
Trust services
Through Raymond James Trust, N.A., our team offers a full array of trust structures, including charitable-giving tools that may also feature tax advantages. Whether your goal is to minimize estate taxes, help ensure you have the funds you need down the road, provide for a loved one, or spell out exactly how you want your wishes to be carried out, we can help.
College planning
If your goals include providing for the future of a child or grandchild, we can help you investigate your many options and develop an education funding strategy. We can help you provide for this opportunity with investment vehicles such as Coverdell education savings accounts, 529 college savings accounts, and specialized trust vehicles.