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Education

Do I Need a Personal Financial Strategy to Manage Long Term Risk?

May 31, 2017 by Michele Suriano

Managing a household be challenging even for the best of us. No matter what your status in life, chances are you worked very hard to earn the money you have. What if something unexpected were to happen? Two proven ways to prepare for change are 1) to educate yourself and 2) to plan ahead with a professional.

Walking the Tightrope of Risk

One sunny afternoon, a daring street performer crossed Niagara Falls. To make the stunt interesting, he decided to push a wheelbarrow across a tightrope. “Ladies and Gentleman! Children of all ages! I am now going to push this wheelbarrow on this tightrope across this waterfall. Who thinks I can succeed?”

A crowd cheered him on. Slowly, steadily and ever so carefully, he crossed the falls. Stunned observers watched aghast. Eventually he reached the other side. The crowd cheered wildly!

“Was that amazing?!”
“Yes! Yes!” the crowd shouted back.
“Do you think I can do it again?”
“Yes! Yes! Do it again! Do it again!”
“OK! Who wants to get into the wheelbarrow?”  The thunderous applause instantly became complete silence.

This humorous parable is one of my favorites because it starkly illustrates risk tolerance. Sure, it is easy to watch others take exciting risks, but we feel differently about our own risk, do we not?

My friends, allow me to explain the metaphor. The performer crossing the tightrope represents you as an investor! The slow journey across the tightrope represents the decades of your lifetime. The wheelbarrow represents your financial dreams. The waterfall represents the never ending changes in global markets, law and the cyclical economy. What about the crowd, you ask? They represent all the onlookers willing to give free advice. They are all “experts” that surround us at the water cooler at work, or in the pub or in the mainstream media. What is the solution?

Why Choose a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Practitioner?

Simply stated, you deserve a professional who understands you. Everyone wants to be financially successful but in my experience success means different things to different people.  Personal financial advisors are willing to discuss your life with you individually. They help clients articulate, define and plan their long term financial success.

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Practitioners are unique because they are trained in multiple disciplines. They are also required to adhere to the highest ethical standards. They are able to provide detached objective advice and insight when a client may need it most.

It Pays to Plan Ahead

This is a true story. In the 1940s a farmer was accidentally pinned under his tractor, which had rolled. Fearing the worst, he whipped out his pocket knife and scratched the following into the fender: “I leave everything to my wife.” A few hours later, he died. Luckily for his wife, the court upheld his last minute will and testament. This is a touching story, but hopefully there is a lesson here for all of us. Plan ahead! For example, I hope you never find yourself saying:

  • “Darn it! The doctor says I have cancer. I guess it is time to get serious about my life insurance.”
  • “Shoot, is that ambulance here already? Hold on a minute while a do a health insurance review.”
  • “The Stock Market is down drastically today? Wow, I hope I was positioned defensively.”
  • “What do you mean I owed $30,000 to the IRS this year?”
  • “I’m 64 today. Happy birthday to me! I guess it is time to start saving for my retirement.”

These lighthearted examples are intended to be entertaining. I wish I could say I have never met people who have been in similar situations, but honestly in my years of practice I actually have. The reality is the majority of us simply do not plan ahead financially.

Can I really afford a Financial Advisor?

Financial missteps can be costly. Procrastinating can also be extremely expensive. A more appropriate question may be, what is the cost of not having a financial advisor?

At Castle Rock Investment Company we offer different options to accommodate clients at different phases in their lives. Whether you are newlyweds or great-grandparents, Castle Rock Investment Company has a flexible fee structure to help accommodate most budgets. Call for a free consultation.

What if you met with a professional for an annual financial review? What if you had a devoted guide to help you make educated financial decisions? What if you had access to objective advice that coincided with your long term goals and dreams? What if someone got into the wheelbarrow with you?

Written by Michael Angell, CFP®, EA
Castle Rock Investment Company
303.719.7523
Michael@CastleRockInvesting.com
Copyright 2017

Filed Under: Advice, Castle Rock Investment Company, Education, Personal Finance, Retirement Plans Tagged With: financial planner, financial strategy

Fiduciary Training

December 21, 2016 by Michele Suriano Leave a Comment

Welcome to Our Fiduciary Training Page! We are passionate about fiduciary responsibility and we want to help you learn your roles and responsibilities as a fiduciary. If you are interested in learning a little more, here is what you can do:

1. Watch this video on basic fiduciary responsibility.

Sheldon Smith, an ERISA attorney with Bryan Cave LLP, has been one of the country’s foremost continuing professional education instructors for thirty years. In his video below, Mr. Smith provides a summary of the duties imposed on plan fiduciaries and best practices fiduciaries should follow regarding plan governance.

httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu8pgTe048s

Video Transcript

2. Take the Follow-up Quiz. Are you comfortable with the information presented by Mr. Smith? Take our five-question quiz and see for sure! Take the Quiz

3. If you’re very dedicated to your education, then read the DOL’s brochure: Meeting Your Fiduciary Responsibilities.

4. Review the ERISA Fiduciary Advisor, which provides information and answers to a variety of questions about who is a fiduciary and their responsibilities under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

5. If you want to further improve your fiduciary expertise, take a comprehensive online training, Fiduciary Essentials® for Investment Stewards, based on the work of the Center for Fiduciary Studies.™

Fiduciary Responsibilties

Fiduciary Training with fi360 will help you understand the more detailed responsibilities of plan fiduciaries, and provide greater insight into the legal framework that regulates the fiduciary experience. To help plan stewards more easily understand the seven precepts of a fiduciary, there are sections that explain: the roles of the different plan actors; the seven fiduciary precepts; how a plan fiduciary is to apply each precept; and how these precepts have played out in the legal and regulatory framework

Main issues in litigation and regulation are topics on our blog, and covered by plan sponsor-oriented media sources like PLANSPONSOR magazine and Benefits Pro. To keep yourself fully informed after taking this full training, these news sources are the best way to access information about current issues and regulatory changes.

Filed Under: Education

Financial Education

December 21, 2016 by Michele Suriano Leave a Comment

Employee Education is an important part of developing financial literacy for your employees.  Castle Rock Investment Company provides live webinars on a quarterly basis to review the basic concepts necessary for the accumulation and decumulation (retirement) stages of their lives and answer questions they may have.

Below is a sampling of past webinars:

Target Date Funds Made Simple:  An overview of glide paths, fees, and how best to use a target date fund to achieve your retirement goals.
Click Here to Listen

Can I Rely on Social Security?:  An overview of the Social Security benefit formula, financial status of the program, and projection of future benefits.
Click Here to Listen

Retirement Paycheck:  Income Solutions:  Kelli Hueler, CEO and founder of Hueler Companies, provides an overview of guaranteed lifetime income, how to calculate your income gap, and how to obtain an annuity quote with no purchase obligation through Income Solutions®.
Click Here to Listen

Budgeting Strategies that Work!:  Carol S. Craigie, CFP, ChFC, MA, author of “The Psychology of Money” and founder of Fiscal Fitness Clubs of America provides an overview of practical tips on establishing and sticking to a budget.
Click Here to Listen

How Do I Create Monthly Income in Retirement?:  An overview of common retirement income strategies.
Click Here to Listen

Traditional versus Roth 401(k):  An overview of the difference between traditional and Roth 401(k) monies and the 5-year Roth “Clock”.
Click Here to Listen

The Basics of Asset Allocation:  An overview of the concepts surrounding asset allocation and the construction of target date fund glide paths.
Click Here to Listen

Replacing Your Income in Retirement:  An overview of replacement ratios, Social Security benefits, and target savings rates.
Click Here to Listen

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Filed Under: Education

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Castle Rock Investment Company, formed in 2006, is an independent woman-owned SEC-registered investment adviser located in Castle Rock, Colorado. We specialize in individual financial plans and qualified service plans.

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Water Cooler Wisdom: The Day Finally Arrived

Water Cooler Wisdom The Day Finally Arrived On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 into law. The long-awaited tax legislation includes a wide array of changes, but a few interesting highlights are listed below. Reduces the top corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. Changes the taxation […]

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