Financial Planning
The section contains answers to general questions related to Financial Advice.
Your first Introductory Meeting should take about an hour. We will review your general current financial position and personal situation, your goals and objectives, and any concerns you may have. We will also discuss our process, our services, and our fees.
It is an opportunity for us to get to know you and for you to understand how we approach our work and if we are the right fit for you. If you have brought your financial documents or copies of them, this will speed up the process. This investment of time ensures we understand you and what you are looking for.
During your first appointment, we will establish why you are seeking financial advice, what your goals are and what you expect from us. To assist us, we ask that you bring in a completed Client Questionnaire to help guide our discussion, your latest Tax Return and most recent Account Statements.
Your initial appointment with Southwestern Retirement Planning Advisors, Inc. is complimentary. If you decide to proceed, we will prepare an Advisory Agreement and an invoice for you, which will cover the preparation of your Initial Written Financial Plan.
Ongoing Financial Planning costs differ from person to person, depending on the complexity of your situation and the amount of work involved. We will work with you to decide the frequency of further review and development meetings.
After your initial appointment we will send you a client agreement which outlines the services we will be providing and our fees. You should take the time to read and consider your client agreement before signing and returning it to us. There is no rush to make a decision and typically clients take one to two weeks to consider our agreement and make a decision. We commence work once a signed client agreement is received.
We do not offer Tax and Accounting services. We are happy to work with your existing Accountant or Tax Professional or we can provide referrals to local professionals if you need one. Similarly we are not Attorneys and do not do legal work. We will happily work with your existing Attorney or refer you to one if you don’t already have one.
Investment Advisory
The section contains the information related to Investment Planning and Management.
Our Investment Advisory services includes providing information about the types of investment vehicles available, designing a custom Investment Portfolio for you based on an assessment of your personal situation, selecting investments for that portfolio, and analyzing your current portfolio and comparing it to our recommended portfolio.
Southwestern Retirement Planning Advisors, Inc. primary goals are to be clear, concise and thorough when proposing a recommended investment plan. After a detailed analysis of the client’s financial situation we develop a written Investment Policy Statement for the client’s review, consideration and approval. Implementation then proceeds by setting up new accounts, transferring client assets, and putting investments in place as specified in the Investment Policy Statement.
The types of funds we use will depend on the size and complexity of the Investment Portfolio. We will mutual funds for smaller accounts, Advisor-Managed Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) portfolios for mid-sized accounts and professional Third-Party Managers for larger accounts. The intent is to set the most appropriate investment platform for the situation.
Investment Advisory fees are deducted in advance directly from your account on a quarterly basis. The fees include the Advisor Fee, the Investment Platform fee, and the Manager fee if a Third-party Professional manager is engaged.
We manage Portfolio Risk instead of chasing returns. We believe that a sound, well-developed Investment Portfolio best satisfies the interests of the client and our professional, systematic and diversified approach is the most appropriate way to achieve the client’s specified goals and objectives.