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Smooth Transitions and Aging with Safeguards

Weatherly is committed to working with clients on a multi-generational basis and we continually review industry and demographic trends that impact our clients. In recent years, both the US Department of Labor (DOL) and the Financial Industry Regulation Authority (FINRA) have pushed forward with new regulations intended to promote financial education, transparency, and protect all generations of investors from financial abuse. Specific focus has been dedicated to the fiduciary standard. and retired investors who have diligently saved over their lives to achieve financial security. The who, what, where, and why of your and your family’s financial lives have never been more important – engagement with key professionals, prudent investment of your assets, and protection of personal data are top priorities.

Statistics – Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau suggests that:

  • The Baby Boomer generation will include 78 million individuals over the age of 65 compared to 76.4 million people under age 18 (Generation Z) by 2030.
    This will mark the first time in U.S. history that older adults outnumber teens and youth.1
  • 71% of Baby Boomers still have one living parent due to increased life expectancies.2
  • These statistics illustrate the need for clients to be aware of vital areas of best practices for all generations of your family. Whether you are evaluating your own individual situation or working with an aging parent or friend we recommend focusing on the infrastructure and safe guards in place outlined in this blog to maintain and promote financial security over time.

How is Weatherly designing the infrastructure for our clients?

Collaboration with Your Advisory Team: We work with key professionals to generate the most impactful analysis and recommendations for our clients. This team includes Weatherly, CPA, estate planning attorneys and may be expanded to a trusted family member, business manager, bill pay service professional, real estate agent etc. Teamwork is implemented with conference calls or meetings as appropriate for the unique needs of each client. Please reference our 4Ws Score Card to evaluate best practices in critical areas including estate planning, healthcare, financial, and data security.

Client Information Release Authorization Letter (CIRAL): We created CIRAL to document each client’s emergency contacts and key professionals. In the occurrence of an unexpected life event, this document allows Weatherly to assist and support your designated representatives and family.

*If you have not completed CIRAL for your family please do so via the CIRAL document link above.

Internal Procedures and Systems: To create infrastructure, safeguards, and oversight we have implemented the following policies and procedures:

  • We maintain oversight for any unusual activity and client cash flow requests are confirmed verbally.
  • Communication involving client sensitive information adheres to our strict Privacy, Email, Cybersecurity, utilization of a secure portal, Wireless Internet Service Provider, and File Sharing Policies.
  • We provide ongoing training for our team members covering red flags, swift and appropriate responses if a concern arises, and the best tools available to support clients through transitions.

Investment Assets – A good health check

Investment accounts should reflect the appropriate risk and return strategy to fulfill long term goals. Ask your financial professional the following questions:

  • Where are your accounts held? Can they be consolidated?
  • Is your investment professional a fiduciary? Do they communicate clearly and provide education?
  • Is the overall asset allocation appropriate for long-term needs and risk tolerance?
  • Is there any unnecessary single stock risk due to a concentrated investment position?
  • Have you completed a long term financial plan? Is it reviewed at least annually?
  • Is your investment professional overseeing cash flows and requiring confirmation for any unusual activity?
  • What are the total fees? Are they transparent?
  • Are you provided clear and easy to read reporting of assets and performance with comparison to appropriate benchmarks?

We encourage clients of all ages to have a dialogue with key individuals and ask questions to gain clarity. The greatest value is driven by dynamic and collaborative relationships with transparency and education to empower independence.

Cybersecurity and Data Protection

Our world is becoming more intertwined with technology; from implantable medical devices to smart homes and everything in between, we are enhancing our efficiency. However, with this evolution comes an elevated potential for cybersecurity threats and need to protect yourself. According to a 2018 Cybersecurity study:

  • 33% of Americans fall victim to a cyber hack (i.e. phishing scheme, ransomware, etc.) annually.
  • Every 39 seconds, there is a cyber hack.
  • By 2020 the average cost of a cyber data breach is projected to be greater than $150 million3.

Even further, a 2016 study by Home Instead Senior Care found that of U.S. seniors who use the internet, approximately 66.67% have fallen victim or been a target of online financial schemes, making them the largest victim group to lose money online4.
It is vital that you educate yourself and your family members on the schemes that cyber predators are utilizing. Please reference our cybersecurity blog and the link below for more information on the most prevalent cyber scams used today and prevention methods:

https://www.protectseniorsonline.com/resources/hottest-cyber-scams/

Most importantly, the safeguards and infrastructure must develop over time as you or your family members situation inevitably changes. Regular check-ins and follow up are key to smooth transitions. Refer to our4Ws Score Card for a review. As we all grow and develop we hope our family, friends, and professionals remain engaged to create an environment of mutual success.

Resources:

  1. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/global-and-cultural-effectiveness/pages/new-census-data-reveals-aging-population.aspx
  2. https://tullyelderlaw.com/baby-boomers-caring-aging-parents-children/
  3. https://www.cybintsolutions.com/cyber-security-facts-stats/
  4. https://cybersecurity.wa.gov/seniors-a-growing-target-for-hackers-44ccb66e47e4

** The information provided should not be interpreted as a recommendation, no aspects of your individual financial situation were considered. Always consult a financial professional before implementing any strategies derived from the information above.

Ordering supper, listening to music, arranging transportation, banking and socializing can now all be handled electronically, efficiently, and oftentimes without any human interaction. While this frees up time to be with those we love, explore new places, and dedicate to our communities, increases in data sharing and accessibility present both risks and opportunities for consideration.

A recent Wall Street Journal* article highlights just how much information we share with high-tech companies when doing something as simple as planning pizza delivery and at home movie night with a friend. Ordering online, paying through the Alexa app, and using Google Maps for directions to the friend’s house resulted in two women sharing over 50 pieces of data with tech companies including Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook.

Ongoing news about Facebook and Cambridge Analytics illustrates some of the risks associated with data collection. The EU’sGeneral Data Protection Regulation  (GDPR) will go into effect May 25, 2018; this law on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union will be enforced internationally, as it addresses the export of personal data outside the EU. Businesses are being held accountable for adhering to their privacy policies. At Weatherly, we have a strict privacy policy and comprehensive data security program addressing our perpetual commitment to securing our network infrastructure and client privacy.

How many devices do you and your family use on a daily basis? There are currently 20.8 billion devices compromising the Internet of Things (IoT) and Cisco predicts by 2020 this will increase to 50 billion. Two of the most valuable components within the digital domain are privacy and quality of service. Technology used well can help streamline our lives, but take care to guard your personal information with best practices.

Given the remarkable amount of data that is being generated by our digital footprint, Weatherly looks to capture that trend by investing in companies leveraging the information we knowingly, or unknowingly make public. Have you ever searched for a product on Google or Amazon and decided not to buy it? The next day, have you logged into your web browser and viewed an advertisement for the exact product, but now for a slight discount? Your search queries, purchase habits, and geolocation are all being analyzed to provide you with relevant advertisements. Companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook have been generating millions in revenue allowing advertisers to leverage the data they have on your behavior. These providers also remind you of recurring purchases (dog food, diapers) or search pattern.

Intelligent interaction with machines, the web and the cloud is another space that is evolving, often called Web 4.0. With cameras for facial recognition and digital breadcrumbs to accurately predict your behavior, our interactions with technology will become more and more intuitive, helpful and in some ways creepy. Imagine you wake up and your bed tells you, “Coffee is ready in 3 minutes, traffic is already looking bad, so leave 7 minutes earlier than you normally do to make it to work on time. You have enough milk for one bowl of cereal, so I’ve ordered milk to be delivered by this evening. Don’t forget to exercise, you told me last week to remind you even if you tell me not to because you’ve gained 4 pounds since last month.” These types of interactions will only become more commonplace as you get ready for your day and before you get into your self-driving car and listen to music recommended to you by Spotify based on your previous listening.

Another way to capture this data splurge from an investment standpoint is by protecting it. Cyber security from hacking is paramount to our data being contained. Companies providing solutions for consumers, corporations or government are ripe for growth as bad actors around the world work to undermine security practices. Beware of fraud via phone, phishing, and email links.

Finally, blockchain technology is being adapted to a variety of industries to improve efficiency and increase transparency. Most simply, blockchain removes the human middle-man and allows processes to occur faster with fewer errors. The goal is also to eliminate the opportunity for fraud. Some applications are found here:

At Weatherly, our modus operandi is to guide our clients’ financial lives to meet goals, and a large part of achieving those goals is through the investment process. By identifying and capturing trends, we hope to generate value for our clients by investing in the companies best adapting to the new world.

*The article referenced requires a paid subscription to WSJ. Please contact us for further details.

** The information provided should not be interpreted as a recommendation, no aspects of your individual financial situation were considered. Always consult a financial professional before implementing any strategies derived from the information above.

Congratulations! You’ve completed your undergraduate or graduate courses and are now moving on to the next phase in your life. Working and living on your own is exciting, with fresh opportunities and challenges, including taking responsibility for bills or loans and beginning the savings process for major purchases (car, home, or trips) and retirement. While this may seem overwhelming at first, having a Dialogue for Impact now to solidify your present financial standing will exponentially benefit you in the long run. We’ve developed a check-list for young professionals to reference when beginning their careers to Prioritize for Progress by strengthening their current situation, and simultaneously planning for their futures.

Savings & Expenses

The first question each graduate should ask is what cushion do I have in the case of a job loss, devastating injury, or unexpected life event. An emergency fund is critical to ensuring that, in a worst-case scenario, you aren’t stressed for cash. The balance of this account should typically reflect 3 months to 6 months of living expenses or the time it would take to find new employment.

An important piece of establishing a savings routine is understanding what current expenses total and what your overall financial picture looks like. A neat tool to use is Mint – a website that tracks all transactions for debit & credit cards and aggregates daily balances. Graphs and charts detail how much is spent in each category so users can determine if they are overbudget for restaurant spending or if they have the financial stability for upcoming vacations, philanthropy, or concert tickets. Checking Mint on a regular basis will also alert you to any discrepancies in your inventory of digital assets that may be related to fraudulent activity and increases the protection of your personal identifiable information (PII). An online password manager like Keeper is also useful for safeguarding online log-ins.

Once the emergency account has been appropriately funded with monthly income and expenses in mind, another great way to save is through the deferral of your paycheck into an employer-sponsored retirement plan, the most common being a 401(k). More details below:

401k

The 401(k) is a retirement plan that you contribute to with income from your paycheck on a pre-tax basis. Some employers offer matching contributions, usually up to 3% or 4% of what you defer. It would behoove employees to take advantage of this extra compensation that is essentially free money by contributing at least the matching rate.

A key component of 401ks and other retirement pans is the tax-deferred nature and inherent compounding interest. Compound interest is the idea that because capital gains and dividends are not taxed on an annual basis, they are able to be re-invested at a higher rate than if the gain or income was taxed. This is very beneficial for young investors with a long time-horizon to retirement. The chart below and the Khan Academy video explain compounding interest in greater detail. Another retirement account available to investors is the Roth IRA, explained more in the next section:

Chart: https://investor.vanguard.com/retirement/savings/when-to-start

Roth IRA

The Roth IRA is a tax-exempt retirement account, meaning that because the dollars you contributed have already been taxed, and will not be taxed again. Once you reach a certain age specified by the IRS, currently 59 ½, all funds in the account can be withdrawn without penalty. If an investor will be in a higher tax bracket later in life, then contributing to this account each year is very advantageous due to compounding interest and tax savings. The IRS specifies that qualified withdrawals for a first-time home purchase and certain medical/educational expenses and are not penalized if distributed from the account before 59 ½.

As of this writing the maximum contribution to the account is the lessor of earned income or $5,500. Investors should only make contributions to retirement accounts after accounting for all other bills as poor credit can negatively affect future purchases, which is addressed below:

Building Credit & Paying Off Debt

Anyone that has applied for a rental, car lease, or credit card knows that adequate credit is a critical piece of securing a satisfactory transaction. Poor credit can either cause the disqualification of a rental application, as most landlords will not rent to individuals with poor credit, or force home buyers to take on loans with excessively high interest rates. Effective steps to build credit are:

  1. Paying 100% of your bills on time, including utilities.
  2. Keeping lines of credit open, but with manageable balances (usually less than 30% of max credit)
  3. Always making the minimum payment on credit card bills on time to minimize interest charges.
  4. Monitoring your credit report for any irregularities.
  5. Organize student loans by interest rate and payoff the highest interest rates first. Refinancing student loans may also be an option

For those with minimal credit history, signing up for a credit card is a good start to build a credit profile. While access to credit may create budgeting risks, maintaining a consistent strategy for purchases and balance reduction is key to building your profile effectively. Your first credit card will most likely be with your current banking relationship, but subsequent cards may offer perks such as airline points, cash rewards, or retail partnerships.Nerd Wallet’s 2018 list of top credit cards is a great place to begin the search for a card outside of your normal bank to take advantage of category-specific cards like no annual fee, airline miles, and relationship rewards.

You can access your credit report free of charge annually at any of these sites:

Estate Planning

Young professionals may think that estate planning is reserved for high-net worth individuals or older generations, but every adult with meaningful assets should maintain some sort of documentation to describe how belongings will be distributed upon death.Trusted advisers can be leveraged to ensure the appropriate documents are drafted and then updated to reflect life changes. Declaring the recipients of your assets in a will or trust and electing beneficiaries for retirement accounts is a great start.

  • A will is a broad document that directs the disbursement of your assets to friends, family, or charities at your death There are some brief requirements to validate the will at time of its writing: the individual must not be under duress, be of sound mind, and had two witnesses present.
  • Naming beneficiaries to retirement accounts is another key estate planning tip to ensure assets are directed to the appropriate person or entity. Primary and contingent beneficiaries can often be named on accounts to provide some layering.

Young adulthood is not a cake-walk by any means, but by ensuring critical financial matters are addressed now, you allow yourself greater financial flexibility in future decisions. The Ripple Effect of establishing a solid financial base now will allow you to shift your attention to more enjoyable aspects later in life.

** The information provided should not be interpreted as a recommendation, no aspects of your individual financial situation were considered. Always consult a financial professional before implementing any strategies derived from the information above.

San Diego Business Journal included Weatherly Asset Management in the 2018 listing of Wealth Management Firms, published on March 5, 2018. Placed among the best in San Diego County, WAM lands the 16th spot of 34 firms in total. View the list here.

Eligibility requirements to participate included being a registered investment adviser with either the Securities Exchange Commission or the California Department of Corporations. The criteria by which Firms were ranked was based on assets managed in San Diego County for fiscal year 2017.

After receiving an email invitation from the Journal to participate in the list, Weatherly completed a brief online survey, including the submission of the Firm’s ADV. The ranking information was verified by the Journal through ADV forms filed for FY 2017 and www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.

It is not the intent of the list to endorse the participants nor to imply a firm’s size or numerical rank indicates its quality. There was no fee to participate in the list ranking, and Weatherly was not required to advertise in, or subscribe to, the San Diego Business Journal. After being included in the list, Weatherly paid the San Diego Business Journal for paper and electronic use reprints.

No organizational memberships were required of the Firm or individuals. Ranking on this list is not representative of any one client’s experience and is not indicative of Weatherly’s future performance. Weatherly is not aware of any facts that would call into question the validity of the ranking or the appropriateness of advertising inclusion in this list.

About Weatherly Asset Management, L.P.

Weatherly Asset Management, L.P. is a Registered Investment Advisor, located in Del Mar, California, dedicated to providing high quality, holistic and innovative wealth management services to high net worth individuals, small businesses and institutional clients since inception of the Firm in 1994.

Our comprehensive approach to all aspects of a client’s financial life, the extensive experience of our principals, and the accessibility of experts, set us apart from other firms.

Our primary business focus is money management, with each account individually managed to maximize wealth preservation and growth over time. We also provide advice related to retirement planning, tax planning, philanthropic planning, financial planning and college planning, as well as estate planning and wealth transfer guidance. Our goal is to provide clients with as much information as necessary to effectively manage portfolios and help achieve their financial goals.

Weatherly Asset Management, L.P. is the investment advisory division of Weatherly Asset Management, Inc. As an independent partnership, the Firm is wholly owned and operated by the partnership.

For information on our wealth management team, and for a full list of services we provide, please visit: http://weatherlystage.wpengine.com/our-team/

For information on our ADV filings and Compliance, please visit: http://www.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/IAPDFirmSummary.aspx?ORG_PK=106935
http://weatherlyassetmgt.com/adv/

If you would like to learn more, please contact:

Carolyn P. Taylor
858-259-4507
Carolyn@weatherlyassetmgt.com

In September 2017, Five Star Professional completed an interview process to determine 2018 Five Star Wealth Managers. Weatherly’s senior team, including Carolyn Taylor, Candise Holmlund, Brent Armstrong, Ashley Copp, and Kelli Ruby all received this inclusion to participate. Upon completion, all five advisors were named 2018 Five Star Wealth Managers.

The Five Star Wealth Manager award, administered by Crescendo Business Services, LLC (dba Five Star Professional), is based on 10 objective criteria. Eligibility criteria – required: 1. Credentialed as a registered investment adviser or a registered investment adviser representative; 2. Actively licensed as a registered investment adviser or as a principal of a registered investment adviser firm for a minimum of 5 years; 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review (As defined by Five Star Professional, the wealth manager has not; A. Been subject to a regulatory action that resulted in a license being suspended or revoked, or payment of a fine; B. Had more than a total of three settled or pending complaints led against them and/or a total of five settled, pending, dismissed or denied complaints with any regulatory authority or Five Star Professional’s consumer complaint process. Unfavorable feedback may have been discovered through a check of complaints registered with a regulatory authority or complaints registered through Five Star Professional’s consumer complaint process; feedback may not be representative of any one client’s experience; C. Individually contributed to a financial settlement of a customer complaint; D. Filed for personal bankruptcy within the past 11 years; E. Been terminated from a financial services firm within the past 11 years; F. Been convicted of a felony); 4. Fulfilled their firm review based on internal standards; 5. Accepting new clients. Evaluation criteria – considered: 6. One-year client retention rate; 7. Five-year client retention rate; 8. Non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered; 9. Number of client households served; 10. Education and professional designations

The Five Star Wealth Manager award program recognizes and promotes wealth managers. Five Star Wealth Manager candidates were identified by one of three sources; firm nomination, peer nomination or pre-qualification based on industry standing. Five Star Professional notified advisors of their candidacy for the award via an email solicitation. Weatherly provided data in the form of an online survey submission. Neither Weatherly nor its employees were required to be a member of an organization to be eligible to receive the award. No payment was required of Weatherly to be considered for the award or to be named a Five Star Wealth Manager. Once awarded, wealth managers may opt to purchase additional profile ad space or related award promotional products.

Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers. The award does not evaluate quality of services provided to clients. Once awarded, wealth managers may purchase additional profile ad space or promotional products. The Five Star award is not indicative of the wealth manager’s future performance. Wealth managers may or may not use discretion in their practice and therefore may not manage their client’s assets. The inclusion of a wealth manager on the Five Star Wealth Manager list should not be construed as an endorsement of the wealth manager by Five Star Professional. Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager or any wealth manager is no guarantee as to future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the selected wealth managers will be awarded this accomplishment by Five Star Professional in the future. Five Star Professional is not an advisory firm, and the contents of the advertisement should not be construed as financial advice. For more information on the Five Star award and the research/selection methodology, go to www.fivestarprofessional.com. Five Star considered 1,498 San Diego wealth managers for the award; 228 (15 percent of candidates) were named 2018 Five Star Wealth Managers.

Five Star Professional conducts a regulatory review of each nominated wealth manager using the Investment Advisor Public Disclosure (IAPD) website. Five Star Professional also uses multiple supporting processes to help ensure that a favorable regulatory and complaint history exists. Data submitted through these processes was applied per the above criteria: 1) each wealth manager who passes the Five Star Professional regulatory review must attest that they meet the definition of a favorable regulatory history, based on the criteria listed above; 2) Five Star Professional promotes via local advertising the opportunity for consumers to confidentially submit complaints regarding a wealth manager; and 3) Five Star Professional contacted approximately 1 in 12 households identified as having a high propensity to use the services of wealth managers in order to provide consumers the opportunity to submit complaints regarding a wealth manager.

Receipt of this award is not representative of any one client’s experience and is not indicative of Weatherly’s future performance. Weatherly is not aware of any facts that would call into question the validity of the award or the appropriateness of advertising the award.

About Weatherly Asset Management, L.P.

Weatherly Asset Management, L.P. is a Registered Investment Advisor, located in Del Mar, California, dedicated to providing high quality, holistic and innovative wealth management services to high net worth individuals, small businesses and institutional clients since inception of the Firm in 1994.

Our comprehensive approach to all aspects of a client’s financial life, the extensive experience of our principals, and the accessibility of experts, set us apart from other firms.

Our primary business focus is money management, with each account individually managed to maximize wealth preservation and growth over time. We also provide advice related to retirement planning, tax planning, philanthropic planning, financial planning and college planning, as well as estate planning and wealth transfer guidance. Our goal is to provide clients with as much information as necessary to effectively manage portfolios and help achieve their financial goals.

Weatherly Asset Management, L.P. is the investment advisory division of Weatherly Asset Management, Inc. As an independent partnership, the Firm is wholly owned and operated by the partnership.

For information on our wealth management team, and for a full list of services we provide, please visit: http://www.weatherlyassetmgt.com/our-team/

For information on our ADV filings and Compliance, please visit: http://www.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/IAPDFirmSummary.aspx?ORG_PK=106935
http://www.weatherlyassetmgt.com/adv/

If you would like to learn more, please contact:

Carolyn P. Taylor
858-259-4507
Carolyn@weatherlyassetmgt.com

We strive to make an impact in a number of ways at Weatherly. Your financial plan is an important component and roadmap to success developed with a team of professionals. Taking into consideration your current financial situation, goals and aspirations, and using well thought out and reasonable assumptions, we seek to create an accurate evaluation of your financial plan to help you to see the big picture, while we prioritize a short list for forward progression.

It is important to have a financial plan, but sticking to it during times of volatility can be critical. Having a plan built with accurate information and conservative assumptions takes into consideration periods of volatility, and makes our clients long-term goals a priority.

Each financial plan is customized with numerous factors, and by implementing the following steps, we are able to create an extremely in-depth analysis that addresses your specific goals and needs.

1. Ask.Share. Repeat.

Weatherly’s responsibility is to consider all relevant information to our client’s respective plans and seek out any additional information that could impact that plan. By asking the important questions, sharing information with your team of professionals, and repeating this process to keep the flow of information relevant, we create a foundation for planning.

2. Dialogue for Impact

We collaborate with each client on a personal level to drill down into your financial situation to become a part of your plan. Having an initial Dialogue for Impact, we seek to identify the main considerations to include in your financial plan including, but not limited to:

  • Financial statement preparation and analysis
    • Cash flow analysis and budgeting
      • mint.com is a great resource for consolidating financial accounts and creating and tracking your budget.
      • For a more simplified budgeting tool, use this chart to help understand and categorize your budget
    • Insurance planning and risk management
    • Employee benefits planning
    • Investment planning
    • Income tax planning
    • Retirement planning
    • Estate planning
      • Use this worksheet for your digital estate planning where you can securely store your usernames and passwords, and location of assets.

Your goals are important to you, and we want to help you reach them. Common goals to think about and make a focus in your financial plan include:

  • Emergency fund
  • Pay off credit cards
  • Retirement spending
  • College funding
  • Wedding funding
  • New house purchase
  • Car purchase
  • Home remodel or repair
  • Charitable giving
  • Leave behind inheritance

By having a deep understanding of your current financial situation, a Ripple Effect naturally occurs throughout, where each aspect of your plan affects the next. As a cohesive, fluid process, your financial plan becomes the driver towards reaching your short and long-term financial and personal goals.

3. Prioritize for Progress

Once we understand your current financial picture and your most important financial and personal goals, we are able to Prioritize for Progress by reviewing and analyzing the data that has been provided to us. We review current investments and asset allocation, cash flow needs, assets and liabilities, education funding, insurance needs, tax strategies, retirement needs, estate planning, and any other relevant information you have provided.

4. Developing flexible recommendations and/or alternatives

When creating a financial plan, we want to give you options and allow for flexibility for your goals and life expectations to change and evolve. We typically create a base case as well as 2-3 alternative scenarios to show how small changes in your plan can have a large impact on the success.

  • Base case: We take your current situation and project if maintaining this course of action will result in a successful plan. If assets are sufficient, what is your safety margin?
  • Alternative Scenarios
    • Whether the base case scenario succeeds or illustrates a need for adjustments, we typically show how various changes in the plan can affect the outcome. Some of these scenarios are things you can control while others are simply out of your control:
      • Longer life expectancy
      • Utilize primary residence for additional equity
      • Increased/decreased living expenses
      • Additional gifting

By making these assumptions and making your financial goals a priority, we begin to build a clear picture of what your plan will look like. By adding in alternative scenarios, we go beyond your base case, and plan for potential risks that may arise during the course of your life in order to protect your primary goals and to be prepared for the unexpected.

5. Implementing recommendations and working with your team of professionals

By working with your team of professionals, including attorneys and CPA’s we can help to implement the recommendations we have made. We have discussed the importance of working with your team of trusted advisors in our previous blog post focused on estate planning and how to leverage these professionals.

Please take a moment to print and fill out Weatherly’s Client Information Release Authorization Letter – CIRAL so that we have the contact information of your team of trusted professionals on file to help coordinate the important aspects of your life.

The process that we implement when developing financial plans for our clients is central to what our client’s ultimately take from those plans. By using accurate, yet conservative assumptions and illustrating the impact that various changes can have on the success of those plans, clients should understand how their long-term goals are influenced by different factors. Our ultimate goal during the financial planning process is for our clients to feel assured that market volatility, a below-average market year, or unexpected expenses are buffered into the long-term success of their plan.

By working with our team to develop and revise your financial plan, we hope that you better understand the big picture, feel as if you have a roadmap to stay on track to help create a Ripple Effect that extends beyond your individual situation.

** The information provided should not be interpreted as a recommendation, no aspects of your individual financial situation were considered. Always consult a financial professional before implementing any strategies derived from the information above.

Candise Holmlund was included in the second edition of the San Diego 500, an annual book listing 500 influential business leaders published by the San Diego Business Journal. Candise’s profile includes her established career in the wealth management industry, her educational background, and well-rounded engagement with the San Diego Community. Reference Candise’s San Diego 500 profile here!

The 2018 San Diego 500 is comprised of 10 main categories: 1) Civic, 2) Education, 3) Health and Science, 4) Leading Industries, 5) Lifestyle, 6) Money, 7) Professional Services, 8) Real Estate, 9) Technology, and 10) Icons. Members of the SD500 are selected by SDBJ’s newsroom on editorial merit alone, thus representing the most influential and accomplished business leaders in the market. The San Diego Business Journal’s process for inclusion in the list involved asking for feedback from numerous industry experts. Evaluation criteria included merit, business savvy, and civic engagement.

Candise was one of 76 professionals included in the Money subcategory. Weatherly did not apply for consideration or inclusion in the list. Once selected for the list, Candise provided biography-related information for inclusion in the publication.

There was no fee to participate in the list, and Weatherly was not required to advertise in, or subscribe to, the San Diego Business Journal. When or if reprints of the list become available, Weatherly will pay the Journal for electronic reprints.

No organizational memberships were required of the Firm or individuals. Inclusion in this list is not representative of any one client’s experience and is not indicative of Weatherly’s future performance. Weatherly is not aware of any facts that would call into question the validity of the ranking or the appropriateness of advertising inclusion in this list.

About Weatherly Asset Management, L.P.

Weatherly Asset Management, L.P. is a Registered Investment Advisor, located in Del Mar, California, dedicated to providing high quality, holistic and innovative wealth management services to high net worth individuals, small businesses and institutional clients since inception of the Firm in 1994.

Our comprehensive approach to all aspects of a client’s financial life, the extensive experience of our principals, and the accessibility of experts, set us apart from other firms.

Our primary business focus is money management, with each account individually managed to maximize wealth preservation and growth over time. We also provide advice related to retirement planning, tax planning, philanthropic planning, financial planning and college planning, as well as estate planning and wealth transfer guidance. Our goal is to provide clients with as much information as necessary to effectively manage portfolios and help achieve their financial goals.

Weatherly Asset Management, L.P. is the investment advisory division of Weatherly Asset Management, Inc. As an independent partnership, the Firm is wholly owned and operated by the partnership.

For information on our wealth management team, and for a full list of services we provide, please visit: http://www.weatherlyassetmgt.com/our-team/

For information on our ADV filings and Compliance, please visit: http://www.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/IAPDFirmSummary.aspx?ORG_PK=106935
http://www.weatherlyassetmgt.com/adv/

If you would like to learn more, please contact:

Carolyn P. Taylor
858-259-4507
Carolyn@weatherlyassetmgt.com

Weatherly Asset Management’s President Carolyn Taylor was listed as a finalist for the San Diego Business Journal Business Woman of the Year award. Each year, the San Diego Business Journal (“Journal”) recognizes dynamic women business leaders who have contributed significantly to San Diego’s business. This year, Carolyn was listed among 100 finalists!

In order to be considered for the nomination, individuals were evaluated based on the following criteria: 1) contributions to her company/organization above and beyond the normal position requirement; 2) management of 3 or more part or full-time employees; 3) been in business for 5+ years; and 4) commitment to community service. The selection process included two rounds of judging, first cutting the field in half, and then submitting the 100 finalists to the SDBJ panel of judges for the selection of winners. Finalists were grouped by company size.

Weatherly supplied the information for the nomination in the form of a survey, but no award was granted to Carolyn Taylor.

Weatherly was not required to make payments or purchases in order to nominate, be nominated, be considered or included on the list related to the award. Weatherly paid the Journal for Carolyn and 4 colleagues to attend the awards ceremony program.

No organizational memberships were required of the Firm or individuals. The advertisement of nomination for the award is not representative of any one client’s experience and is not indicative of Weatherly’s future performance. Weatherly is not aware of any facts that would call into question the validity of the award, nominations for the award, or the appropriateness of related advertising.

About Weatherly Asset Management, L.P.

Weatherly Asset Management, L.P. is a Registered Investment Advisor, located in Del Mar, California, dedicated to providing high quality, holistic and innovative wealth management services to high net worth individuals, small businesses and institutional clients since inception of the Firm in 1994.

Our comprehensive approach to all aspects of a client’s financial life, the extensive experience of our principals, and the accessibility of experts, set us apart from other firms.

Our primary business focus is money management, with each account individually managed to maximize wealth preservation and growth over time. We also provide advice related to retirement planning, tax planning, philanthropic planning, financial planning and college planning, as well as estate planning and wealth transfer guidance. Our goal is to provide clients with as much information as necessary to effectively manage portfolios and help achieve their financial goals.

Weatherly Asset Management, L.P. is the investment advisory division of Weatherly Asset Management, Inc. As an independent partnership, the Firm is wholly owned and operated by the partnership.

For information on our wealth management team, and for a full list of services we provide, please visit: http://www.weatherlyassetmgt.com/our-team/

For information on our ADV filings and Compliance, please visit: http://www.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/IAPDFirmSummary.aspx?ORG_PK=106935
http://www.weatherlyassetmgt.com/adv/

If you would like to learn more, please contact:

Carolyn P. Taylor
858-259-4507
Carolyn@weatherlyassetmgt.com

As Weatherly embarks on our 24th year of business, we wanted to thank our clients and colleagues who have contributed to our mutual success as a Firm and partner in the community. Since our founding, we have maintained a client base that is invigorating to work with and our team continues to create The Ripple Effect with every client we serve – our ultimate goal is to create and implement a strategy that is impactful for our clients, so they can impact their families, businesses and communities.

We welcome you to a planning model in which you can drop your stone of inquiry, and together we can explore The Ripple Effect. The real impact of our work comes from navigating the interconnected nature of life and livelihood.

Together with our clients and colleagues, we explore outliers of opportunity, solving problems and maximizing potential in unexpected ways. Conversations become a series of concentric circles – each influencing the next, impacting areas that had not appeared connected to wealth or planning.

Over the years, our client base has organically fit into three niche groups and we’ve tailored our education and services to provide dialog and expert advice that progress our clients forward. We learned through experience that the depth and relevance our of advice is directly connected to how much we learn about our clients.

The Small Business Owner

As a small business ourselves, we understand the intricacies involved in creating, maintaining and eventually implementing a successful plan and the agility associated with the planning process. We touched upon the life stages of a business in a previous blog post. We find clients in this niche have a focus on tax mitigation – you’ve created a stream of income that has grown significantly, so what type of retirement plan is right for you? Let us explore your estate plan and how it relates to your business. Do you have enough insurance coverage for you and your business? Is key man life insurance right for you? Many business owners want to transfer ownership to their successor or heirs or work part time in retirement. Have you had your business valued recently – if not, do you know how often you should?

The Working Wealthy

Many of our clients are in their peak earning years, and much like the small business owner, minimizing taxes are on their minds. We tailor our investment strategies for each client individually, creating custom portfolios that are tax and fee efficient and implementing strategies for concentrated stock positions. Individuals who have worked many years at large corporations often have stock option plans, deferred compensation plans and 401(k) allocations to consider. You’ve worked hard for your money, and we want to ensure your money is working hard for you. We work to answer the age old question “when can I retire” with confidence by creating a plan to manage longevity that is adaptable to life’s nuances. Estate planning is paramount for individuals and families in the high net worth area – we explore what estate planning tools are right for you given your assets and goals for you and your beneficiaries.

The Women in Wealth

As a Firm with a strong female presence, we have naturally fostered relationships with women in the community, including entrepreneurs, executives and women in transition through retirement, death or divorce. Estate planning is paramount for individuals and families in the high net worth area – we explore what estate planning tools are right for you given your assets and goals for your beneficiaries. We provide a “good health check-up” annually for our clients to ensure your estate plan is up to date and beneficiaries are in line to plan for life’s big events. We also encourage clients to incorporate charitable giving into their planning conversations.

The Middle Generation

We often work with clients who are in the “sandwich generation,” and are caring for aging parents and planning for the futures of their children. We enjoy working with clients at all stages and offer progress that is both robust and contiguous at all levels, incorporating the family conversation. Elder abuse is on the rise and we monitor unusual activity to help our clients spot unusual behavior that may demonstrate diminished mental capacity.

The millennial generation also has a separate set of considerations as they’re planning for their families. We encourage clients to discuss gifting strategies with us – what financial assistance can you provide to your children while allowing them to maintain independence. If you have grandchildren, does a 529 plan make sense?

How Weatherly Can Create Impact

We find ease and vitality in aligning with growth-minded people who are highly engaged in life. We foster a culture in which you actually understand your plan, and over time, you’ll find yourself navigating daily life with a peaceful sense of awareness. We want to take an inventory of the services that will derive value and Prioritize for Progress to allow you to apply your bandwidth to areas that can be most impactful given where you’re at in life.

As we share our story, we’re looking to widen our circle of people who enjoy pushing past the status quo and are forward-thinking. We welcome the opportunity to connect with you and others whose vision aligns with our capabilities to work synergistically together. Please feel free to contact us about any of the topics that pertain to you or someone you know so we can continue to put our Ripple Effect into motion.

** The information provided should not be interpreted as a recommendation, no aspects of your individual financial situation were considered. Always consult a financial professional before implementing any strategies derived from the information above.

The exchange of services and goods has existed in economies since the creation of civilization, although the method of payment has transitioned over time from a barter system to mediums of exchanges such as coins and banknotes. More recently, electronic exchanges have revolutionized the way consumers, producers, and service providers transact. Credit cards and other loaning mechanisms have given individuals and small organizations the ability to take on more credit, allowing for jumps in consumer spending and economic activity. New types of exchanges and currencies have rapidly innovated and transformed established financial industries and practices, although they each feature their own concerns over privacy, security, and valuations that users should consider.

Institution Disruptors

  • Payments – PayPal (PYPL) has revolutionized the e-payment space with its online transaction platform by offering secure transactions between individuals and businesses, notably for international payments and currency conversions. Its consumer application Venmo, has fit in perfectly in today’s sharing economy by fusing social media with peer-to-peer transactions so friends can share their payment history. PayPal also recently confirmed that major retailers will begin accepting Venmo.
  • Lending – LendingClub (LC), SoFi, and UpStart are online lending applications that allow individuals to access private markets for mortgages, student loans, and personal loans that would historically only have been available through large creditors. Traditional creditors without efficient digital platforms are facing an existential threat from new lenders that ease the financial process for customers comfortable with online applications.
  • Raising Capital – GoFundMe and KickStarter give individuals the ability to raise large amounts from many small donations for social entrepreneurship, business ventures, or charitable causes. These crowdfunding platforms appear ripe to delve into the space previously ruled by venture capitalist and private equity firms and allow smaller investors to make impactful contributions.

“Moneyless Money”

What is it? – Digital currencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, utilize block-chain technologies to track and validate each piece that is owned, spent, or sold in decentralized exchanges.

  • Blockchain – digital ledger of transactions
  • Decentralized exchange – transactions occur on a peer-to-peer basis and do not flow through a central location where the value of the money is defined and controlled

What are the effects on markets? – Digital currencies have exploded in value as investor exuberance has reached all-time highs. The popularity of the currency could lead to the diminished use of standard money (i.e. banknotes and coins) and therefore present difficulties for central banks to influence financial markets through the use of monetary policy. Opinions of the currency concerning valuations differ across many industry leaders, even Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan weighed in by recently referring to Bitcoin as a fraud..

What is the legal status? – Bitcoin has been legal in the United States since 2013 and is classified as a commodity by the CFTC. Critics however have noted that Bitcoin is solely used for the purchase of illegal goods or criminal activities. Supporters will respond that because the address of each transaction is tracked, authorities will be able monitor these transactions and thwart the perpetrators more efficiently.

Can’t get enough? Follow a few links below for further reading!

Digital Marketplace Concerns

The opportunities and benefits of technical innovations in payment systems, lending platforms, and raising capital come accompanied by certain risks related to data privacy and human error. Protecting personal information will need to remain paramount during the evolving use and implementation of such tools. Consumers and businesses will need to prioritize their focus on data security, cyber hygiene, and education.

While the overall market for digital currencies estimated worth has been valued at $160 billion (CoinMarketCap), these currencies present a unique set of concerns and risk. The SEC has succinct bulletins outlining risks related to bitcoin and initial coin offerings. Some risks investors interested in the space may want to consider are: being targets for fraudulent or high-risk investment schemes, lack of insurance and recovery options, exchange rate volatility, and a volatile regulatory environment, like recent news in China and Japan (Ripple).

As new financial practices and mediums of exchange flood our economies and marketplaces, investors can be sure of one thing – innovations in financial technologies will continue to revolutionize institutions and processes critical to our daily lives. Weatherly’s team has taken note of these rapid changes and will continue to strenuously monitor new industries mentioned in this article, specifically mobile payment systems through blockchain technologies, to capitalize on new opportunities at the company level.

** The information provided should not be interpreted as a recommendation, no aspects of your individual financial situation were considered. Always consult a financial professional before implementing any strategies derived from the information above.

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