We develop a financial plan with you through a series of educational meetings that teach us about you, your goals and your needs. These meetings also provide the tools you need to make critical decisions about your financial life. You will receive written documentation of each session both in printed format and on cd-rom for storage on your computer.
Our goal is to answer every question and concern through an interactive process that links all the disparate aspects of your financial life into a comprehensible whole. Although we have a set structure for the process, we strive to be sensitive to your needs and can rearrange the order of the meetings to address a pressing issue that requires immediate attention.
One of the firm’s six financial advisors — Alex Chastain, Andrew Jones, Eddie Kramer, Susan McCants or Jonathan Robertson — will participate in each meeting to take notes and provide consistency throughout the process. Members of your Abacus team meet prior to each meeting so that you benefit from our team’s multiple talents and to insure quality control. Your lead advisor debriefs the other team members after each meeting so that we can assimilate changes throughout the process. We also work closely with your other professional advisors so that we can incorporate their talents where appropriate.
You can expect each meeting to last ninety minutes. Our goal is to complete the first five meetings within three months. And finally, we hope these meetings will be enjoyable so ask questions, bring us family or vacation photographs or share a good joke.
Meeting One
Goal Setting: Through a series of open ended questions, we develop a set of goals and objectives for your financial life that are unique to you.
Investment Theory: We review the basic tenets of proper portfolio management. Our goal in this session is to assist you in deciding how much risk you wish to take with your investments. We also present you with an initial analysis of your current portfolio.
Meeting Two
Financial Independence: We review your long term cash flow projections. Our goal is to provide you with a firm understanding of how much you need to save if you are pre-retirement and how much you can spend each year if you are already financially independent. We are able to create multiple “what if” scenarios so that you also understand how changes in the assumptions impact the long term. For example, you might want to understand the consequences of early retirement, buying a second home or gifting $12,000 per year to each of your children or grandchildren.
Education Funding: We provide you with an analysis of the cost of educating your children or grandchildren and discuss the most effective way of funding this goal.
Meeting Three
Investment Policy Guidelines and Portfolio Recommendations: We will review a set of written guidelines for your portfolio(s) and make specific recommendations for how to invest the funds in your portfolio giving due consideration to short and long term goals, income tax impact of choices, cash flow needs and cost of implementing recommendations.
Meeting Four
Risk Management Review: We will review your various insurance policies from automobile to long term care to life insurance. We will comment on the quality and cost of the existing coverage as well as make recommendations for termination or additional coverage where necessary.
Income Tax Review: We will review your current income tax return with you and when possible make recommendations as to how you may save income taxes in the future.
Meeting Five
Estate Planning Review: We will review your current estate plan with you to confirm that it meets your goals and objectives for your family. If changes are necessary, we will work closely with your estate planning attorney to implement these changes. If you need to engage an attorney, we will assist you in selecting the appropriate individual to work with you.
Meeting Six
Portfolio Reports: We will review your first quarterly portfolio reports with you. The goal of this meeting is to review the format of these reports, answer any questions you may have and tailor the future quarterly reports to your needs.
Assessment Interview: We want your feedback on our progress to date towards your initial goals and any recommendations you have as to how we might improve our process or service
