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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HELPING YOU TURN FINANCIAL QUESTIONS INTO A CONFIDENT RETIREMENT PLAN.
EntryPoint Wealth Management helps individuals and families both locally in Greater Cincinnati and across the U.S. navigate the complexities of retirement, investing, and tax planning based on their unique circumstances. The following answers to frequently asked questions are intended to illustrate how EntryPoint’s services are tailored to fit your specific goals, priorities, and financial life.
LIFE PLANNING
As a fiduciary advisor, I offer fiduciary guidance to help you put the right strategies in place so you can achieve what matters most to your lifestyle, retirement, and legacy.
I’ve helped many clients navigate complex financial scenarios, including:
- Income tax planning
- Complex tax situations
- Working towards retirement
- Living in retirement
- Life planning
- Legacy planning
- Insurance planning
This happens in primarily two ways: financial planning that takes into account your complete financial landscape and opportunities to improve your situation, and investment management that will best position you for long-term growth trends of markets so we can achieve your vision for your life.
I work with individuals, families, and wealthy retirees who are seeking a highly engaged financial planning relationship. Clients typically have $2 to $10 million in assets who are retired or retiring within 5 years.
I am committed to helping my clients solve the complex problems they encounter as they move towards retirement. I use my energy and experience to be ready to provide guidance on the many challenges of retirement, enabling my clients to transition and start enjoying their golden years. I focus on establishing life goals and bucket list items my clients want to achieve, then create a financial plan and implement the appropriate tax and investment solutions to ensure their success.
I’ve worked with individuals planning for retirement successfully address challenges such as:
- Recreating your paycheck so you can live comfortably in retirement
- Transitioning property to passive income, such as through the 1031 Exchange Strategy
- Social security elections, Medicare options and taxes, and pension elections
Creating a financial plan takes time. It usually takes three meetings to align my recommendations with a client’s life and financial goals. I do not like to rush these processes as we are working together on a subject that requires precise accuracy. As they say, it takes as long as it takes to get it right so that my clients feel comfortable leaving their paycheck with me.
For my wealth management clients, I employ a modern approach to investment management. First, I allocate my clients to stocks, bonds, and alternative investments to create portfolios best suited to achieve their goals. my research shows that tactical investment creates better returns while reducing downside risks over time. Therefore, I employ trend-based investing strategies, allowing my clients to take advantage of the best-positioned investments for my economic environment. Additionally, I are committed to sourcing the right Alternative Investments to enhance client portfolios, providing tax-advantaged income and non-correlated returns. This can include investments in gold, real estate, private credit, and asset financing strategies.
At EntryPoint, I believe that every client brings a unique set of circumstances, objectives, and values that I must consider for every recommendation. I value the opportunity to create a custom financial plan tailored to each client, implementing nuanced tax and investment strategies to ensure their success.
I would work with clients in two ways, each with different fee structures, to implement two separate relationship models.
First, I offer a high-touch wealth management relationship through a management fee charged on a client’s investment portfolio. This relationship is designed to be a thorough advisor-led process where I consult on all aspects of your financial plan. I strive to meet with these clients twice annually, proactively engage on various strategies, review their income tax returns, and position their investments to achieve their goals.
Second, I also offer the opportunity to engage on an hourly basis, providing only the financial planning part of my expertise. Often, I are engaged to help clients analyze their retirement readiness, analyze tax strategies, and address estate planning needs. I typically do not consult on investments in this model because these clients believe they can make their own decisions to position their investment portfolios.
This is an important distinction; EntryPoint is a fee-only, fiduciary investment advisory. I do not receive kickbacks, commissions, or other revenue-sharing arrangements that could cloud my judgment in making the best recommendations to my clients.
Our wealth management and hourly fees can be viewed here.
As a fee-only advisor and a fiduciary, I believe in putting my clients’ interests ahead of my own. Clients are paying me for my expertise and unbiased advice on their situation. One of the darkest secrets of the financial industry is that most advisors are paid through a commission based on how clients invest, creating a bad incentive for these advisors and oftentimes clouding their ability to put their clients first.
I grew up in the income tax business. I believe that income taxes are the most important aspect of maximizing your financial future. Having the correct income tax strategies in place will allow individuals to save more, grow wealth more efficiently, and achieve their goals. Every dollar saved from the government is a mechanism to help my clients achieve greater wealth, and I am actively committed to implementing that on their behalf.
Being part of helping individuals achieve their life goal of retirement is an incredible opportunity. Creating a financial plan that enables them to see how, after making thousands of good financial decisions over their lifetimes, these decisions have allowed them to retire and enjoy their freedom is a powerful process.
WORKING TOWARDS RETIREMENT
Having a Financial Plan to outline your saving, investing, and financial habits is critical at an early age to effectively build your wealth. I recommend clients get serious about their path to retirement 5 years from when they expect their exit to start. For most people, that means between 55-60 years old.
There is no universal answer to this question. It’s really based on how much it costs you to maintain your lifestyle and fund your retirement goals.
Building an enjoyable life in retirement starts with discussing and identifying exactly how you plan to spend your time. What hobbies will you pursue? Are their bucket list items or goals that you have identified? How will you stay connected to the community when no longer having work relationships?
I help clients identify the answers to these important questions, and then I create financial plans and investment strategies to support them through the rest of their lives.
Yes. I advise on every type of retirement account. I also advise on brokerage accounts, real estate & business investments, and company-specific benefit packages.
Wealth Management clients are the priority at EntryPoint Wealth Management. Therefore, I strive to communicate with these clients four times per year. Additionally, I expect clients to engage with us at least twice per year to review their progress in person or via Zoom. I focus on all aspects of their financial life:
- Cash flow and budgeting
- Investment portfolio management
- Annual income tax return review
- Estate planning needs and changes
- Insurance needs – life, P&C, long-term care
- Social Security & Medicare planning needs
For most of my hourly engagements, I focus on identifying the client’s most critical concerns and questions to provide answers to those issues. I tend to work with Hourly clients consistently through 2-3 meetings over a few months at the beginning of my engagement. After their initial set of circumstances are addressed, it becomes a reactive environment where clients will reach back out to me as they see fit and need additional help or expertise.
LIVING IN RETIREMENT
Many strategies can reduce taxes in retirement. I have helped clients sell stocks with zero capital gains taxes, complete roth conversions, and reposition real estate investments through 1031 exchanges.
Most retirees are very concerned about making the right decisions with Social Security and Medicare because, in some cases, these decisions can only be made once, and if made incorrectly, can have disastrous consequences. I have been counseling retirees my entire career (20+ years) and understand how these decisions can impact your life.
INCOME TAX PLANNING ANNUALLY
I believe that tax planning is the starting point for making any recommendation for a client. I offer and want to review the tax return for all of my clients each year. My experience in this business has taught me that most clients do not receive quality tax advice from their tax preparer. I can add significant value in my clients’ wealth journey by helping them reduce their tax payments and keep more of their money to invest in growing their wealth.
I am committed to saving my clients from having to write extensive checks to the U.S. government when they file their tax returns. I counsel clients on options to reduce their tax liability by recommending investments specifically structured to provide exceptional tax outcomes. These strategies will use current tax laws, such as special depreciation or energy tax credits, to help my clients pay less in taxes and continue to build wealth.
COMPLEX TAX SITUATIONS: REAL ESTATE, 1031 EXCHANGES AND SELLING A BUSINESS
Definitely. Real estate is a great way to grow wealth. It provides tax advantages, good income distribution, and different investment returns compared to stock market investing. I advise clients to invest in exchange-eligible real estate investments instead of REITs or other vehicles because they offer tax advantages and control.
Significant pension funds, endowments, and insurance companies have been investing in alternative investments for decades. I believe these strategies can benefit my clients by offering a type of investment return unattainable through public stock and bond markets. I find and utilize some of the best alternative money managers to create high cash flow investments for my retired clients, specifically allowing them to enjoy higher income payouts.
LEGACY AND ESTATE PLANNING
Implementing a well-formulated estate plan can save thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the situation. Identifying the best ways for clients to achieve their estate planning goals and provide their beneficiaries with the best inheritance is something I am very passionate about.
Using your investment advisor on charitable giving strategies is an absolute must. I often help clients understand the best charitable giving strategy to implement. Some common recommendations are taking qualified charitable distributions from an IRA, using a donor advised fund, and possibly setting up a specific trust for charitable purposes.
I enjoy coordinating my work with a client’s CPA, attorney, and other trust advisors. I actively engage with other professionals on behalf of my wealth management clients.
WORKING TOGETHER
EntryPoint Wealth Management is based in the Rookwood community in Cincinnati, OH – central to the southwestern Ohio and northern Kentucky greater metropolitan area. I encourage clients to meet with me in-person on a regular basis or conduct web meetings when we are separated by distance.
Yes. As a Cincinnati-based financial advisory firm, I have helped many clients across Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, but I also serve clients throughout the United States virtually via web meetings. I currently have clients in 4 states.
The best way to set up a consultation with me is to schedule an appointment. Alternatively, I can be reached by calling (859) 203-1414 or by e-mail at Chris@EntryPointWM.com.
Nothing is required, but you can bring what you feel is relevant to your situation. I send an email after my first meeting outlining the documents I specifically need for your situation.
LET'S ACHIEVE MORE, TOGETHER.
Our goal for you is that through our partnership, we create a calm in your financial life enabling you to engage in the more important aspects of your life. Contact us today to start your financial journey.