Wealth management planning as your wealth grows
While financial planning is important at all stages of life, no matter your level of wealth, if you have $1 million or more in investable assets your financial situation is usually more complex. You pay higher taxes and have a higher standard of living. Maybe you are an executive with a complicated compensation package or a business owner with an interest in a private corporation. In addition, you possibly own or plan to own more than one real estate property and likely have larger estate transfer and charitable giving desires.
To help stay on track to achieve your retirement goals, as well as other important financial goals, such as minimizing taxes or planning for the eventual transfer of your estate, consider the benefits of a having a comprehensive wealth management plan created for you.
Creating your wealth management plan
One of the best ways to start mapping out your financial planning strategy is to step back and have an expert look at your overall financial situation and prepare a comprehensive written wealth management plan for you and your family.
This type of plan addresses all aspects of your financial affairs, including cash and debt management, tax and investment planning, risk management and retirement and estate planning. It ensures that you leave no stone unturned related to your financial situa- tion and potential strategies to enhance your wealth.
A comprehensive wealth management plan can address the following questions:
— Can I retire when I want to and maintain my desired retirement lifestyle?
— How can I ensure that I don’t outlive my money? — How can I minimize the taxes I pay each year?
— Is my investment mix appropriate?
— If I were to die unexpectedly, would my family be taken care of?
— How can I protect the value of my estate?
A higher level of customization
In many cases, the key to a professionally prepared comprehensive wealth management plan is the level of customization it offers. A customized, comprehensive wealth management plan should involve the following:
— In-depth discovery discussion to ensure that your goals, aspirations and objectives are clearly identified
— Projection of your financial situation (investment, retirement and estate) based on your current strategies and savings rate
— Recommendation of key investment, tax, estate and retirement planning strategies that are aligned with your goals
— Projection of your financial situation if the recommended strategies are implemented
— An action plan that summarizes the key recommendations and a clear guide- line for you and your advisor to help monitor their implementation
Wealth management for business owners
A comprehensive wealth management plan is essential if you are a business owner, as you have more complex financial issues due to owning an active business. This includes business succession issues, withdrawing money out of the corporation tax effectively, taxation of the corporation at death, and more. Like many business owners, you may not have a retirement savings strategy, since you are relying on the equity in your business to fund your retirement. A plan can help integrate your business and personal needs into a plan to ensure you are able to meet your goals.
Speak to us if you require more information about having a comprehensive wealth management plan prepared for you by one of our planning experts. Depending on your situation, you may only require a simple retirement plan or projection to determine if you are on track for meeting your retirement goals.
This article is an excerpt from the RBC Dominion Securities guidebook, Family Wealth Management – Ten Strategies to Build and Protect Your Family’s Wealth.
A. Craig Elder, CFP, FCSI, CLU, CHS is branch manager with RBC Wealth Management Dominion Securities Inc. in Medicine Hat. Advisors are insurance licensed under RBC Wealth Management Financial Services Inc., a subsidiary of RBC Dominion Securities and is part of the RBC Financial Group, member CIPF. For more information on this and other financial strategies contact an advisor 403-504-2700.