Investments
Investing is serious business. BSG is a Registered Investment Adviser, and we are held to a fiduciary standard. We cannot charge up front or back-end loads or commissions. Clients pay us for only as long as we manage their investments and costs are fully disclosed in writing prior to account opening.
We have tremendous latitude when building portfolios for our clients. Here are some key things you should know if you ask us to help you manage your wealth.
- Whether you have one or a dozen investment accounts, we will design each portfolio with your investment purposes in mind;
- We will work with institutional portfolio managers on your design so we can do things you probably can’t do on your own;
- We will document the portfolio design with an Investment Policy Statement (considered an industry best practice);
- Your account will be held at Fidelity Investments or Charles Schwab and you’ll be able to log in to see your investments, add or withdraw, etc.;
- We will never collect a commission on any investments we manage;
- If you prefer low-cost, passive strategies, that’s what we will implement for you;
- If you prefer actively-traded accounts, we can do that too;
- We offer all the typical account types: IRA, Roth, Joint, Beneficiary IRA, 401K, Trust, Corporate, individual, etc.;
- We block off the entire month of August just to meet with our investment clients and review their portfolios; and
- We are available to you as needed for any questions or concerns that you might have about your investments.
Insurance
Are your advisers focused on financial products rather than your unique goals?
We are independent agents who work for our clients. We are NOT captive agents who are required to sell for a specific insurance company. This is critical because we will shop dozens of carriers to find affordable coverage that is tailored to your goals and needs.
- Life Insurance for business, to protect loved ones and for estate planning;
- Disability Insurance so that if you get disabled you don’t have to go without a “paycheck”;
- Long Term Care Insurance since many of us will someday need this care; and
- Medicare Supplement (Medigap)
Want to learn more? Here are some resources to help you:
is a great organization where you can learn the essentials of insurance from an unbiased source.
- Think you might need life insurance? Check out their life insurance calculator.
- Think you might need disability insurance? Check out their disability insurance calculator.
Want to learn about long-term care insurance? This is an industry organization, but it has an abundance of useful information.
Ever visited Medicare.gov? If you’re 64 or older, you really should. Here, you can learn about supplement plans.
Insight
BSG Advisers maintains focus on comprehensive financial planning.
Risk management – Have you addressed the risks that can destroy your goals?
(death, disability, illness, injury, long-term care, etc.)- Cash management – Are you putting cash to work both offensively and defensively?
(systematic investing, emergency reserves, etc.) - Wealth management – Are you wisely managing the wealth you’ve accumulated?
(diversification, tax-management, risk adjusted returns, etc.) - Wealth transfer – Will your remaining wealth transfer to your loved ones efficiently, correctly and tax-effectively?
Want to know a little more? Click here to download a quick guide on our planning process.
If you do engage us, we will ask you for a lot of documents because we do fact-based planning.
Small Business Owners
Are you taking steps to maximize the value of your business? Is there a plan in place to ensure stability and continuous coverage of all business operations? Are you prepared for the four D’s? death, disability, divorce or departure?
401K Planning
Do you need a 401k for your business? A better 401k?
Does your 401k have a Roth component?
Do you fully understand the costs associated with your plan? Who is paying these costs?
Is your 401k helping your business or putting your business at risk?
What is your business worth?
Are you taking steps to maximize the value of your business?
If you died tomorrow, what is your business worth without you running it?
Have you determined the value of your business in the last five years?
Protect your business
Are you protected against the death, disability or departure of key employees?
Do you have a properly funded and executed Buy/Sell Agreement in place?
Does the current value of your business match up with the Buy/Sell Agreement?
Are you prepared for the four D’s? death, disability, divorce or departure?
Is your entity and tax filing status optimal for your business?
Check out some helpful calculators below. These aren’t ours, but they’re good basic tools.
Succession Planning
Is there a plan in place to ensure stability and continuous coverage of all business operations?
Who will take over and run the business in the event of retirement, death or disability?
Have communications begun to effectively transition the business to new leadership?