A Comprehensive,
Customized Approach
Everyone’s goals are different, and no two financial plans are going to be identical. We believe every financial success story starts with figuring out “Can I do what I want to do, and when can I do it?”
Whether you are looking to build wealth, purchase a home, save for college, gift or leave money to your kids or grandkids, plan your retirement or any one of dozens of financial goals, Sylvan Financial Advisors is committed to helping people just like you. Most often, you will have many goals that must be prioritized and planned for.
A Comprehensive,
Customized Approach
Everyone’s goals are different, and no two financial plans are going to be identical. We believe every financial success story starts with figuring out “Can I do what I want to do, and when can I do it?”
Whether you are looking to build wealth, purchase a home, save for college, gift or leave money to your kids or grandkids, plan your retirement or any one of dozens of financial goals, Sylvan Financial Advisors is committed to helping people just like you. Most often, you will have many goals that must be prioritized and planned for.
Retirement Planning
Most people are looking for help with retirement, no matter what their age. Having worked hard to save for many years, it can be difficult to figure out how to properly invest or what strategies to use for pulling income out in retirement. At Sylvan Financial Advisors, we want to help you bridge that gap in knowledge by showing you innovative options in creating your retirement plan.
We tend to be strategic in our investment approach, placing an emphasis on risk management. This approach dovetails perfectly with retirement planning, when people are seeking principal protection along with growth.
The hard lessons of historic market crashes must always be kept in mind. We always ask ourselves if a client’s objectives can be met with an investment plan that is even more efficient or sensitive to risk than what we now have in place.
Our Philosophical
Approach
Our financial-planning process covers a wide variety of client financial concerns, including cash-flow budgeting, investment strategies, retirement-income planning, college and estate planning, and risk-management analysis for both insurance coverages and investments. We make it a point to keep inflation expectations and tax implications top of mind as we develop recommendations for clients.
Our clients hire us because we have the experience, knowledge, tools and commitment to work diligently on their behalf and to present a path toward their financial goals. At times we may have to explore some uncomfortable truths about their financial situation. We don’t see our role as only telling clients what they want to hear. We believe we need to be transparent and objective to best serve you.
Sophisticated Software with
Personal Oversight
Although we use sophisticated planning software, it all really starts with getting to know and work with you on a personal level. Software can only help so much. We take a lot of pride in being able to navigate differences of opinions between spouses and we work hard to present solutions that both are comfortable with and, most importantly, that may help them move toward achieving their objectives.
Prioritization of goals is extremely important. Not every goal may be reached as fast or as wholly as a client or client couple might wish, but with a focused plan of action, they should make significant progress both on short-term needs and long-term objectives.
Investment Planning
Investment planning will flow naturally out of a client’s overall financial plan. What are your goals and objectives? Are you in the accumulation or distribution phase of your lives? What is your risk profile? What is your time horizon? Are there any special needs or tax circumstances? Do you have specific objectives related to legacy planning? Only when we work together through all of these planning issues can we turn to investment planning.
While our investment approach is customized for each client, we tend to use a bucket approach to investment planning for retirement clients. For example, we may use four types of buckets based on income needs, time frames, and risk exposure. These might be called conservative, moderate, growth and income, and more aggressive growth. The conservative bucket might be very conservative, earmarking three to five years of money needed for income in either cash or investment vehicles that are very liquid and have little exposure to volatility.
As we move further out on the time horizon, buckets can take on more risk, as there is a need for the total portfolio to continue to grow to meet income needs and inflation. If the portfolio is constructed properly in all of its phases, buckets that are further out will continually replenish the income needs of the clients. We want to avoid situations where withdrawals need to be made from invested accounts when the market is going through a down period. Having longer time frames for more growth-oriented investments helps greatly with that objective.
Portfolio Structure
The structure of the portfolio itself is one element of risk management. We usually also recommend to clients that some portion of their portfolio be allocated to tactical or actively managed strategies. For these types of strategies, we defer to the expertise of the third-party money managers that we work with. These types of strategies can take many forms in different asset classes or sectors and can include fixed income, equities, or even alternatives.
Generally, we will usually recommend to clients some blend of active and passive strategies. The overall umbrella approach of the portfolio tends to be conservative and traditional in many senses, but within that umbrella can be many different types of strategies based on a client’s specific needs and risk tolerance. While we might be conservative in my overall recommendations, there can be a place for both highly risk-managed strategies and for more aggressive strategies, depending on the bucket under consideration.
List of Services
The most important thing to know about Sylvan Financial Advisors is that we constantly seek to add value for clients. This means developing an investment approach that is not cookie-cutter and works hard to meet your specific investment goals within your overall financial plan. We are passionate about working tirelessly on behalf of our clients and strive to provide exceptional service and insights.
We believe this attitude of helpfulness has resulted in many successful long-term relationships. That is our goal for every client and every family that we work with. In conjunction with our business partners, Otterstedt and Avantax Investment Services, we offer the following services and more:
Financial Planning
Investments
Annuities
Retirement Planning
Investment Management
401k Rollovers
Wealth Management
Insurance
Estate and Tax
Planning Advice
Variable annuities are subject to market risk. Investment return and principal value will vary so that units, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Also, withdrawal of earnings will be subject to ordinary income tax and may be subject to 10% IRS penalty tax if taken prior to age 59 ½. The death benefit guarantee is subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company and does not apply to the investment performance or safety of the underlying investment options. Variable annuities are suitable for long-term investing, particularly retirement savings.
Both qualified retirement plans and IRAs typically involve fees, expenses, and services that should be compared when considering a qualified plan rollover.