Question 1

What do Financial Planners do?

Accepted Answer

As financial planners, we come alongside you to help you accomplish your goals and feel confident about your financial future. We do that by providing expert advice on your financial picture, making sure all the different pieces work together, and that opportunities are not missed. At Straight Path, we also dive deep into your tax situation to make sure we minimize the tax burden both today and into the future. All of this is done with the ultimate goal of helping you live a successful life without the stress of financial pressures.

Question 2

What is a fiduciary? What does that mean for me?

Accepted Answer

We are licensed as fiduciary advisors which means we always put our client's best interest first and are held to the highest standard of integrity within the industry. What’s crazy is much of the financial industry doesn’t have to be fiduciaries to their clients, allowing them to recommend subpar investments or strategies that benefit the advisor vs the client. We’ve chosen to be fiduciaries because we believe it’s the right way to do things, and it’s what clients expect. We’ve even registered in a way with our regulators that raises our hand signifying we will always act in the best interests of our clients.

Question 3

Why would I need a financial advisor?

Accepted Answer

There are many reasons people choose to work with a financial advisor. Many times people need an advisor when going through big transitions (like retirement or when receiving an inheritance). These big transitions only happen once or twice in a lifetime, and when they do, making sure you do things right can have a huge impact. By working with an expert that does it on a daily basis, you can make sure you do not miss opportunities.   We also see people choose to work with an advisor because they do not want to spend the time or effort to keep up with the constantly changing rules and news surrounding investments, tax, retirement, and estate planning. Instead of spending 30+ hours a week keeping up with it all, they choose to outsource that to a group of experts who do it for them and make sure it gets done right. For those who choose to work with an advisor, they can get back to what they love doing and not worry about finances.

Question 4

Can you help me with retirement planning and creating an income stream?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely! We view retirement planning as fundamental to your financial health as it provides a roadmap to the retirement you’ve envisioned. Retirement planning allows us to develop a customized investment strategy and income stream that is unique to your situation and goals to provide you with financial security and peace of mind in retirement.

Question 5

How long prior to retirement should I meet with a financial advisor?

Accepted Answer

You can never begin planning for retirement too soon. However, once you get within seven years, making the right decisions becomes even more important and can give you more flexibility than just reaching out right before you actually retire. However, if you are really close, or already in retirement, there are still numerous planning opportunities that can save you tons of money in taxes, create more retirement income and help you feel more confident in your retirement.

Question 6

Is there a cost for meeting?

Accepted Answer

There is no cost or obligation for an introductory meeting. We would love the opportunity to meet with you to see if our comprehensive service model inclusive of financial and estate planning, investment management, and tax services would be a good fit for you.

Question 7

What should I expect in our first meeting?

Accepted Answer

In our initial meeting, one or two of our advisors will sit down with you. Our first priority is to get to know your story, as well as your goals and needs. Every financial situation is different so each plan needs to be unique. That's why it is important for us to get to know you first before trying to give you advice. We also hope you will receive answers to your questions as we share our approach, services, and fees to see if we are a good fit for each other.

Question 8

How can I safely create a tax-efficient retirement income?

Accepted Answer

Creating tax-efficient income is a highly personalized process. It depends on how much income you want to create, the type of investments you already hold, and the different types of investment accounts those investments are held in. Despite the highly personalized nature, there are some basic principles that we can take advantage of in the IRS Tax Code. The US tax code is based on “marginal tax rates,” meaning when you earn more money and move to a higher bracket, taxes do not increase on all of your income, just the amount over the bracket limit. Think of it like overflowing buckets. By focusing on filling up the low-tax rate buckets with ordinary income, and then trying to avoid the high-tax rate buckets by creating income from Roth IRAs or capital gains, we can create more tax-efficient income.

Question 9

Are my investments suitable for retirement?

Accepted Answer

The answer here is that it depends. Each of our clients has a customized investment portfolio tailored to their retirement goals, time horizon, retirement income needs, and personal investment risk tolerance. We would love to meet with you to create a well-diversified investment portfolio that allows you to live the retirement that you’ve dreamed of that provides you with financial security and peace of mind.

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7699 Georgetown Center Dr Jenison, MI 49428

(616) 457-5450

info@straightpathwealth.com

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Frequently Asked Questions

Have A Different Question?
We're here to help and provide you with the information you need. So feel free to contact us at any time, and we'll do our best to assist you in any way we can.