I met with some clients (18 year relationship) who were living out of state.  This couple had an appreciated asset they wanted to sell.  It was close to the end of the year, and their income had been low enough to qualify them for a 0% tax on Long-Term Capital Gains.  They anticipated their income would increase substantially the following year which would put them in a 15% Long-Term Capital Gains Tax rate.  I advised them to sell their asset this year which would save them over $30,000 in taxes versus selling it the following year.  They agreed and decided to implement this plan.   

I met with a client (12 year relationship) who had three whole life insurance policies.  She had owned the policies for over 20 years and never planned using the policies’ cash value.  The current cash value was almost as much as the current death benefit, and it was payable to her children upon her death.  We agreed to transfer the cash value from the three policies into a guaranteed Universal Life policy with a guaranteed death benefit and no more premium payments ever.  This increased her death benefit by $242,000 without costing her a dime.  When she passed away a few years later, her family received the entire death benefit tax free. 

A client referred a friend of his who wanted to open a new account with me.  I met with him and determined he was very conservative in nature and was interested in purchasing Certificate of Deposits (CD’s) only.  He owned about $800,000 in jumbo CD’s at various banks.  I told him that while I would be honored to be his financial advisor and could get him CD’s from banks around the country, he could probably make more money by purchasing his CD’s from local banks running specials on their interest rates.  I didn’t get his account, but he thanked me because we both knew it was the right thing to do, and this plan would increase his income.

I was referred by a friend and local CPA to a retired couple.  I met with this couple in their home and they were primarily concerned whether they were making the right decisions with their investment portfolio and they wanted to move their accounts to me.  After meeting with the couple, I determined that based on their financial goals, risk tolerance, investment timeframe, and current investment portfolio, I would not recommend moving their accounts to my firm.  The couple thanked me and agreed with my recommendations.  This was another case of turning down a new client because it was the right thing to do.   

I was asked to help some clients (7 year relationship) determine whether or not the husband could retire as they wanted to move to another city to spend more time with their grandchildren.  The wife had recently retired from her job and her husband was a professional in his industry.  After examining their current situation and how much they wanted to live on at retirement, I determined that in my opinion he could retire immediately and still have a high probability for achieving their income and travel goals during retirement. 

A couple asked me to help determine if they had enough funds to retire as the husband wanted to retire early.  They also wanted to know the best time to take Social Security payments – age 62 or age 67.  After gathering more information from them, I shared that I didn’t believe they could retire immediately and draw the desired amount of income through an estimated life expectancy of 95.  However, if they were willing to take $2000 less per month, he could retire now in my opinion or he could work an additional two years.  In addition, we determined that for them, age 67 would be the optimal time for them to begin their Social Security payments. 

A client was referred to me who had recently lost their spouse.  She was extremely conservative and wanted to make sure the funds would be available when she needed them at retirement.  We examined her current portfolio, the amount of funds she wanted to have monthly at retirement, and other personal and financial information.  I recommended that we move set amounts of funds into her new investment portfolio over a period of time.  This way, her funds would move slowly into the fixed income and equity markets – and not all at once. 

These just are a small number of the true stories we could share over the last 30 plus years.  We appreciate our friends and clients for allowing us the privilege of working with them and never take these relationships for granted.  We feel fortunate that over the years, the vast majority of our clients who have moved to another state or country appreciate our friendship and services and want to continue working with us.  We are very grateful for the confidence and trust they have placed in us and our firm.

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. No strategy assures success or protects against loss. To determine which investments or strategies may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. The client experiences described here may not be representative of any future experience of our clients, nor considered a recommendation of the advisor's services or abilities or indicate a favorable client experience. Individual results will vary.