It can be hard to figure out the best investment options for your retirement plan. In many cases the target date funds, the general default for most 401(k) plans, are less than ideal. If you have a workplace retirement plan, whether it’s a 401(k), a 403(b), or some other type of plan, a Co|Create advisor will gladly help you determine the best allocation using the same evidence-based, data driven processes we use for the investments managed in-house. 401(k) consultation is billed at a flat fee of $100 for the first plan and $75 for each additional plan. It is important that you evaluate your portfolio’s allocation at least annually. If we manage your other assets, this service is included at no cost.

As a business owner, it’s hard to carve out time to work on your personal financial plan, and to-do list items like setting up employee benefits and creating ways to make an effective succession plan remain on the back burner until they are either imminent or it’s too late. 

Some of the services we provide to businesses and their owners are:

• Employee retirement plans.  These include the common 401(k) and SIMPLE IRA, to more complex plans.  We’ll help you look at your business needs and identify how you can best leverage a retirement plan for employee retention, tax savings, or even to help encourage employees to retire sooner.
• Strategies to retain and reward key employees.  You may have one or two people your business depends on.  There are a number of ways to make sure you keep their loyalty.  These plans, are complex, customized, and require expertise in design and in the way you fund them.  We’ll help you identify your need, establish, and fund the plan.
• Identifying and reducing business risks through diversification
• Strategies for selling your business (sooner or later).  The most valuable asset most business owners possess is their business itself.  Selling your business, is something to plan for years in advance so that you can make sure it transfers efficiently to the ideal person and also so that its value is optimal.  People who plan ahead tend to win at this.  If you own a business, make a plan to create value whether you sell next year or in 30.

Your ability to live the life you want rests squarely on your shoulders. This is true in the present and in the future. Understanding this is key to leading a successful life, financially and otherwise. The short-form of a financial plan for someone who is in what we call the Accumulation Stage of life, is “save as much as you can as early as you can.” Given the power of compounding, it makes sense for a long term plan. There are, of course, many factors that complicate the simplicity of saving this way. It also doesn’t make sense to save rapidly without a plan, because you could end up sacrificing the life you want to live now for resources you may not entirely need later on. CoCreate strategies seek balance, so you can pursue your passion now and in the future. CoCreate strategies for savers include a broad scope of consultation, coaching, and management activities. Some of the most common are: 

•Helping you determine what you are saving for.
•Helping you determine your capacity to save for your future, and discovering ways to increase your savings.
•Helping you to identify ways you can maximize your resources to live in the present.
•Creating a plan to continually measure your progress in attaining your goals.
•Managing investments for retirement AND pre-retirement goals.
•Helping you evaluate real estate and business investment opportunities.

Retirement means something slightly different to everyone. Traditionally, it means wrapping up your career and enjoying “the golden years”—riding off into the sunset. More and more, people have a new definition of retirement. They want to find fulfillment in a second career, or explore the world (whether by RV, plane, or fishing boat). Others want to give their time to their communities and their grand-children. You could be one of these types or a blend of all of them. In any case, you are unique in your purpose and desires. 

One thing each definition of retirement has in common is what we call Financial Freedom. You’re no longer a slave to your career for the sake of paying the bills. It means you have significant choice in what you do because you have arrived at a place, financially, that can sustain you in a variety of different options. Our job is to facilitate this financial freedom. Some of the services we provide to accomplish this are

•Cashflow Management – from Social Security benefits, to investment income, to rental proceeds.
•Asset Management – managing your investment assets to generate the income you need as safely as possible, so you can focus on living.
•Risk Management – this obviously includes managing investment risks, but goes further to helping you consider other risks you face, like over/under spending.
•Goal Prioritization – It’s easy to spend your resources on the unimportant thing immediately in front of you instead of what you really care about. We’ll regularly review your financial priorities to help you keep them in focus.
•Tools for the Next Generation – You’ve stewarded your resources to this point, and you’ll need to be asking the question about who the next steward will be. The most overlooked component in estate planning is preparing them for the task. Our job is to equip you to do so and provide whatever assistance you need along the way.