WEALTH ADVISORY SERVICES

Budget & Cash Flow Analysis

For me, it would be extremely difficult to figure out if I was on the right wealth building and maintenance track without having a system to track budgets and forecast future cash flows.

When working with my clients, we utilize comprehensive financial planning software to help forecast short- and long-term cash flows, net worth, taxes, current and future liabilities, retirement income needs, and analyze various scenarios and other factors impacting future cash flows.

Here are some of the questions we can help you answer as it pertains to cash flow forecasting…

• What are my current sources of income (e.g., salary, investments, side hustles), and are they steady or variable?
• How do I anticipate my income will change over the forecasting period (e.g., raises, bonuses, new opportunities)?
• What are my fixed expenses (e.g., rent, mortgage, insurance premiums), and how can I optimize them?
• What are my variable expenses (e.g., groceries, entertainment), and how much flexibility do I have to adjust them?
• Am I allocating a sufficient portion of my income to savings and investments to meet my financial goals?
• How can I align my cash flow with specific financial goals (e.g., emergency fund, debt repayment, major purchases)?
• What are my debt obligations (e.g., credit cards, student loans), and do I have a plan to manage or accelerate repayment?
• How much am I paying in interest on outstanding debts, and can I reduce these costs through refinancing or consolidation?
• Do I have enough in an emergency fund to cover unexpected expenses or income disruptions?
• How flexible is my cash flow if unexpected events occur (e.g., job loss, medical emergency), and do I have contingency plans?

Retirement Planning

It doesn’t matter if you are in retirement, close to retirement, mid-career, just starting your career, you have a lot of wealth or very little wealth. Everyone needs a retirement plan.

I don’t think I’ve ever met someone that didn’t wish they told their younger selves to save and invest more for retirement. Getting on and staying on the right track early on is so important. We try to help our younger clients avoid big mistakes that can throw them off track.

I know those with moderate wealth who need to efficiently manage their retirement income distributions. These discussions generally focus on 401k rollovers, RMDs, Roth conversions, investment income, retirement plan distributions impacting social security and IRMAA, guaranteed income, etc.

I also know those that have significant wealth in retirement that won’t spend all of it and need to figure out how to transfer it to the next generation or donate to charity.

At least for my own financial projections, I want to leave money to my children, so I need to know how much I need to save, invest for a targeted return, determine current and future potential expenses, forecast future cash flows, understand insurance needs, predict viability of social security payments, predict tax rates now vs. during retirement, and a whole host of other factors.

Here are some of the questions we can help you answer as it pertains to retirement planning…

• What kind of lifestyle do I envision for my retirement years, and how much will it cost?
• At what age do I want to retire, and is that realistic based on my current savings and financial situation?
• How much do I need to save to achieve my retirement goals, and am I on track?
• Is my investment portfolio appropriately diversified and aligned with my risk tolerance as I approach retirement?
• When should I start claiming Social Security benefits to maximize my lifetime income?
• Do I have other income sources, such as a pension, rental income, or part-time work, and how will they fit into my plan?
• Have I accounted for healthcare costs in retirement, including insurance premiums, out-of-pocket expenses, and potential long-term care?
• Do I need long-term care insurance or other strategies to protect against healthcare risks?
• What is the most tax-efficient way to withdraw money from my accounts (e.g., 401(k), IRA, Roth IRA, taxable accounts)?
• How can I ensure my savings will last throughout my retirement, especially if I live longer than expected?

Estate Planning

Many people believe that estate planning is only needed for the very wealthy. That’s a misconception. Estate planning is centered around caring about the people you love if something happens to you, either through death or disability.

As a happily married man with three young children, I have a lot to care about. This is why an estate plan backed by legal documents is imperative for me to take care of my family if something happens to me.

Once we understand your estate planning goals, we can collaborate with your estate attorney who will draft the legal documents for you.

Here are some of the questions we can help you answer as it pertains to estate planning…

• Do I have a valid will?
• Have I considered setting up a trust?
• Who will serve as the executor of my estate?
• Who should be the guardian of my children (if applicable)?
• Do I have a durable power of attorney for financial matters?
• Do I have a healthcare power of attorney or living will?
• What are the tax implications of my estate plan?
• Are my beneficiary designations up to date?
• How will my debts be managed after my death?
• Have I planned for the potential need for long-term care?

Investment Management

I have extensive experience providing investment management services across portfolio management, research and institutional consulting. I have recurring discussions with investment professionals from some of the largest firms in the world, discussing global financial markets, investment strategies, economics, politics and other various topics.

I consider myself to be the “boots on the ground” resource when it comes to investment management and my clients appreciate that they are having discussions with the source of knowledge, not just passed through someone else. Creating content for KulwickiInsights.com is one way I show my investment knowledge and experience.

Some clients who work with me may just need or prefer basic knowledge and strategies while others may need more sophisticated discussions and complex investment strategies to implement. I tailor my approach to my clients’ needs and preferences, but my clients appreciate that we can go deep into the investment discussions as needed.

As a portfolio manager and institutional investment consultant, I manage and advise on a variety of investment strategies for my clients and other wealth advisors’ clients. I also have access to strategies managed by other firms as well. These strategies can include asset allocation strategies, tactical strategies, separately managed accounts, private funds, hedge funds, structured products, direct indexing and various other investment strategies available.

Here are some of the questions we can help you answer as it pertains to investment management…

• What are my financial goals and time horizon?
• What is my risk tolerance?
• What is my investment personality?
• What are my investment preferences?
• What type of investment strategy will be employed?
• How do I manage investments for appreciation and/or income based on my personal situation?
• What is the strategy for managing taxes in my portfolio?
• What are the fees and costs associated with the investments?
• How often will I receive updates or reports on my portfolio’s performance?
• How will changes in my life or goals impact my investment strategy?

Insurance and Risk Management

Insurance often has a bad connotation to it, but it is really important, in my opinion. The goal of insurance is to try to reduce the impact of the potential risks in your life.

I think of insurance is the necessary short-term pain (paying insurance premiums) to try to protect from potentially much larger pain in the future (death, disability, liability, running out of money, etc.). I want to try to avoid the worst case scenarios that can put me and my family’s financial well-being in jeopardy.

Just like everyone else, I hate paying the ever increasing insurance premiums, but I consider it as a way to protect the wealth I have built up over time and to protect my loved ones if anything happens to me.

I am not an insurance salesperson and do not receive commissions selling insurance. My job is to provide advice for my clients, not sell products. With that said, I do have insurance contacts that can help you find insurance that fits your needs and try to protect the things that matter most to you.

Here are some of the questions we can help you answer as it pertains to insurance..

• What type of insurance do I need? (e.g., health, life, disability, auto, home, long-term care insurance)
• How much coverage do I need?
• What is the premium cost, and how often will I pay it?
• What is the deductible, and how does it affect my policy?
• What is the claims process like?
• Are there any exclusions or limitations in my policy?
• How will my insurance change as I age or my life circumstances change?
• Can I customize my policy or add riders for additional coverage?
• Are there any discounts available for bundling or having a good record (e.g., driving record, health)?
• How financially stable is the insurance company?

Tax Planning

Tax planning is another topic that people often overlook the importance of. Tax planning isn’t just about how much in taxes you can save in a particular year, it’s coming up with a longer-term strategy to be as tax efficient as possible, while also understanding the emotional aspects of any tax strategy implemented.

Most people think of taxes as just crunching numbers, but in reality, these tax conversations can be emotional as well, regardless of what the numbers tell you. You may have strong opinions about paying taxes, who pays taxes (pass along tax burden to children or not), when to pay taxes, etc. that may actually not be saving you the most taxes in the most efficient manner. That’s ok.

In certain circumstances, my desire to protect my children from paying taxes and me paying taxes now rather than in the future overshadows the tax efficiency I could enjoy myself today. These are real conversations that should be had and we try to dial this in with our clients. Again, it’s usually never just about the numbers.

I am not a licensed accountant, so I can’t provide specific tax advice, but my team can help provide insights and education into questions and planning strategies for you to work with your accountant to execute.

Here are some of the questions we can help you answer as it pertains to tax planning…

• What are my short-term and long-term financial goals, and how can tax planning align with these objectives?
• What tax bracket am I currently in, and are there strategies to manage or optimize my taxable income?
• Are there opportunities to defer income to future years when I might be in a lower tax bracket?
• What deductions or credits am I eligible for that I may not be fully utilizing?
• Are there upcoming taxable events I can prepare for, such as bonuses, stock sales, or inheritances?
• Are my investments tax-efficient, and should I consider strategies like tax-loss harvesting?
• Should I adjust where I hold my investments (e.g., taxable vs. tax-advantaged accounts) to reduce tax liability?
• Am I maximizing contributions to tax-advantaged accounts like IRAs, 401(k)s, or HSAs?
• What is the most tax-efficient way to withdraw money in retirement from my various accounts?
• How can I structure my estate or gifts to minimize tax liabilities for my heirs?

Technology

I’m a big fan of technology and love technology that helps me stay efficient, organize, provide insights and save time. As a self-proclaimed technology nerd, I leverage what I believe to be some the best technology available in the wealth advisory and investment management industry.

Since I am extremely comfortable across various technology platforms, my clients have access to this technology as well. This includes access to a comprehensive financial planning platform and investment management and reporting platform.

Financial Planning Platform

Many years ago, I created my own budgeting system using a combination of Microsoft Excel and a self-built Microsoft Access database to track and forecast my family’s budget and cash flows. I still use it today as it can get pretty granular, but the issue is that no one in my family would ever be able to figure it out. That’s not great estate planning on my part. This is why I utilize another easily accessible financial planning system as well.

Today, with the ever increasing tools to help guide people through their financial objectives, it is easier to try to budget and do cash flow forecasting. A big issue though, is some of these technology platforms just come and go and people are left hanging. That doesn’t work either.

My preference is to utilize a well-established, comprehensive financial planning platform for myself and my clients. This platform is called eMoney.

Not all wealth advisors utilize available financial planning platforms for their clients. That’s fine, but I wouldn’t do it that way. For for my wealth advisory clients, I use e-Money to provide a comprehensive picture of my clients current and potential future financial picture.

eMoney allows me to work with my clients so that everyone can have better clarity on the numbers and to try to be on the same page with everything. It allows better insights across cash flow and net worth forecasting, estate structure, insurance gaps, tax planning, document sharing and other aspects within a dynamic, easily accessible client portal.

In addition to my knowledge of the platform, I have an internal financial planning team and an external eMoney support team that can assist with any nuances of the platform, help with structuring the data in specific ways if needed, create specific reports for specific client needs, and provide guidance on various aspects my clients would like to see from a financial planning perspective.

Investment Management and Reporting

As an institutional investment portfolio manager, I need the best tools for me to be able to manage investment strategies for not only my clients, but the clients of other financial advisors across the firm. I also need strong reporting functionality so that I can provide better insights into the investment strategies’ allocations and performance over time.

Although the custodians that we hold our clients assets at might be adequate, they are severely lacking, in my opinion. For this reason, I heavily utilize the Orion platform for investment management and reporting for all of my wealth advisory clients.

Orion allows me to better execute investment strategy management, trade around restricted positions, allocate across multiple strategies within one account, monitor rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting opportunities, generate custom reports, and offers many other functionalities that are imperative to me managing my clients assets.

Finding a Wealth Advisor For You

If you think you could use the services of a wealth advisor, the next challenge for you is to figure out which wealth advisor is best for you and your needs. As someone who performs deep due diligence on the investments I allocate to in the investment strategies I manage, you need to perform the deep due diligence on the wealth advisor that you choose to work with.

Here are some things to consider when doing your due diligence on wealth advisors…

• Who is the wealth advisor, is there a team backing them, and what is everyone’s experience?
• Is the advisor providing full comprehensive wealth advisory service, just managing investments, or are they selling you products?
• What is their capacity? Do they have hundreds of clients and you have trouble getting an appointment, or are you among a select number of clients that can be adequately serviced?
• Will you be working with the experienced advisor, or will you be pushed to a junior advisor for most of the work?
• What are the investments options available and who is managing the assets? How much knowledge does the advisor actually have in what you are invested in?
• What technology platforms do they use? Are they investing in technology for better client service? Do you have access to a comprehensive financial planning portal?
• What is their fee structure: AUM-based, flat-fee, commission-based, hourly rate, a mix?

I’ve been an investment consultant to other financial advisors since 2017, and I can tell you, the quality of wealth advisors is all over the place. So it’s important for you to do your due diligence.

Summary

People often ask what a wealth advisor does and is it worth it? I always ask, what might the cost be of screwing something up for you and your loved ones? I personally want to reduce my risk while building wealth and supporting my loved ones until my last days and beyond. This is why I have a team of professionals to support me across the various aspects of my life.

My concern with unforeseen negative outcomes impacting me and my family is the reason why I have an accountant, estate attorney, dentist, doctor, mechanic, have many conversations with investment firms, network with other professionals, participate in financial planning/investment groups, etc. It is up to you to determine whether a wealth advisor is needed for your own personal needs.

Unlike what many people may think, a wealth advisor isn’t just about investment management, although that is a very important part not to screw up. It’s also about all of the wealth management services provided.

As with anything, value is in the eye of the beholder and in the quality of services provided. Again, try to evaluate the real cost of making a significant financial mistake and that will help lead you to whether you need to work with a wealth advisor or not.

Next Steps

If you are looking for a local wealth advisor for help with your or your family’s needs, I would love to help!

• If you are interested in learning more before we chat, please reach out to me at [email protected] and I will send you an introductory presentation about me, my firm, team, services and fees.
• From there, if you are interested in setting up an initial discussion in person, via phone, or video call, we can easily do so. We’ll have a no pressure conversation about your goals and how my team and I might be able to help.
• If you decide that my team and I are a good fit to help, we can establish a formal advisory relationship and we can get to work!

If you need some more time, feel free to browse the KulwickiInsights.com website. Through this site I share my knowledge about the financial markets, investments I manage and other financial topics that may interest people. You can also visit my firm Freedom Wealth Alliance’s website at freedomwealthalliance.com

If you have any questions on anything, please do not hesitate to ask.

Thanks!

Eric

Eric Kulwicki CFA®, CFP®
Investment Consultant / Portfolio Manager / Wealth Advisor
(262) 798-7979
[email protected]

Freedom Wealth Alliance / Intrua Financial
675 North Barker Road
Suite 220
Brookfield, WI 53045
www.freedomwealthalliance.com