Learn how working with a Wealth Advisor may help you reduce financial exposure and manage risk.
By Christina Cruzpino, Regions Private Wealth Management Executive
Managing risk in today’s volatile financial world is about more than having a solid mix of stocks and bonds. In fact, many of our clients take far greater risks in other aspects of their lives, sometimes without realizing it.
Consider business owners, who invest their time, energy and hard-earned savings into their company. When the economy goes through turbulent or uncertain times, business owners may face significant risks involved with holding much of their wealth in one asset.
To help identify and minimize such risks, we recommend integrating strategic planning as part of your financial lifestyle. Strategic planning helps clients analyze their current financial situation and better allocate their resources to reduce the impact of unpredictable events, allowing them to feel less exposed and more confident about achieving their goals and aspirations.
How It Works: You and your Regions Wealth Advisor build a full picture of your goals, financial resources, expenditures, and then identify concentrated risks. We review everything from real estate you own, to your investment portfolio, to business ownership or your career.
First, we find out whether your family’s personal needs are being met. Creating a needs analysis focused on cash flow allows us to evaluate your liquid assets — such as cash balances — to help determine if you have the resources to live comfortably and maintain your standard of living regardless of unexpected events.
Next, we look at market-dependent investments, such as stocks and bonds, to determine whether you are properly diversified. The goal is to use these investments to maintain your desired lifestyle while balancing risk and return. This is achieved by measuring the full asset allocation for your market-dependent investments.
Finally, we look at a third area called “aspirational” risks. This is where many business owners and corporate executives find themselves overexposed to one particular asset — whether through business ownership or their company’s stock. To measure aspirational risk, we compile a balance sheet of your assets in creating your “life portfolio.” Your “life portfolio” proportionately measures the type of assets you possess in conjunction with your full financial planning picture.
If the biggest asset in your life is your business and all your savings are concentrated there, it may also be your biggest liability. What will happen to your business if one partner dies? What if demand for your product unexpectedly falls off? What if you get sick and can no longer work? We can test these questions through a probability analysis. A probability analysis will illustrate the likelihood you will meet your goals based upon asset performance, expenditures, inflation, and the impact of risk.
We know these “what if” conversations can be difficult, but our planning process enlightens clients and enables them to better diversify, so they don’t have to worry so much about the unpredictability of life. Your Wealth Advisor and Regions Wealth Strategy and Planning practice may provide additional “what if” testing to illustrate potential outcomes.
No matter what your profession is or where you are in life, opening up this kind of dialogue helps ensure you’re well diversified and better protected. Doctors, lawyers and other practice professionals can also benefit from strategic planning process. Some of them would be unprepared if a partner in their group got sick and was unable to continue in the practice. Retirees may discover they are over-weighted in one asset or investment, which can be especially risky in retirement.
Given all the uncertainty in the world today, there is no better time to start planning. Talk with your Wealth Advisor to learn more about the Regions strategic planning capabilities.
