FINANCIAL PLANNING TAILORED TO SENIORS’

based projection software called “RBC WealthPlan,” which I touched on in the question above. WealthPlan is the center/ chassis of our wealth planning process that helps our clients navigate both good and bad markets over long periods of time so they can envision and live the retirement they want and desire. While volatility is expected in varying market environments in any given year, we concentrate on risk management through investment selection, risk reduction strategies, asset allocation and mitigating longevity risk (outliving their assets).

being knowledgeable professionals that are passionate about serving clients well and being responsible stewards of the assets entrusted to their care.

What are the services that you provide to help seniors with their financial fitness?

We offer most clients (especially seniors) our full menu of services and analysis. For most senior clients, who importantly are not able to re-enter the workforce to provide or replace income that they need, we find it important to discuss ways in which they can possibly avoid outliving their assets (and provide legacy funding goal ideas if this is of interest to them). We concentrate on the amount of risk that they are taking with their investments, monthly expenses and integrating their cash flows/income (including social security and IRA distributions) into their wealth plan. A big part of our check-up includes running retirement income projections (Monte Carlo simulations), which provide us a confidence level of success as they apply statistical measurements of a client’s ability to financially support themselves through retirement and beyond.

How does someone know if they will have enough for retirement?

The main tool we use is our goals-

What is the most asked question or concern that you hear from seniors regarding financial health?

The most asked question is, “What if I (and my spouse) outlive our assets?” Or, can we afford to keep the same lifestyle and same level of spending each month even if the markets go down? Can we afford to give more money and resources to our kids while we are alive? Again, WealthPlan helps us anticipate potential problems they may have in the future and discuss this early on so we can hopefully mitigate dissatisfactory outcomes. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!

What is the most important financial advice for seniors?

Surround yourself with people you trust and those who demonstrate integrity and appropriate stewardship. It is important that the people you depend on put your interests before their own, such as your financial advisor and other professionals. Seniors can mitigate losses in their investment portfolios by making sure their assets are properly allocated and by owning diversified holdings that match their tolerance for risk. For seniors, in particular, the sequence of investment returns they earn each year has a meaningful impact on the longevity of their portfolio. Our overriding goal for the seniors we work with is to enable them to live a comfortable retirement and to be able to realize any legacy/gifting goals they may have for their family and the next generation.

Because seniors generally can’t go back to work to replace lost income or money lost in the markets, it is paramount for this population to work with a financial advisor they trust, depend on and who truly cares about their wants and wishes.

What’s your favorite thing about what you do?

We are passionate about helping our clients in their effort to realize their life goals and being a part of someone’s desires and aspirations. Even though the investment road is sometimes choppy and not linear over many market cycles, we find great satisfaction in guiding our clients the best way possible and seeing their unique wealth plans potentially come to fruition. We pride ourselves on prompt services, expertise and ethical stewardship.

What do you wish everyone knew about your job?

A large portion of our job is managing expectations (and market/investment risks, of course!). Since no one knows the future, we try to put the statistical odds of financial success in our clients’ favor — while also being part therapist. People are passionate beings and are many times emotional about their money. So while we are very numbers-oriented, much of what we do on a daily basis is more psychological in nature and we do provide considerable emotional support when necessary. We also find it important to keep our financial skills sharp by keeping all of our designations and certifications up to date (and add more when it benefits our team and clients).

In what ways do you bring Judaism into your work?

Being Jewish, we find it extremely important to support the communities and organizations that supported us as children growing up here in the Valley. Whether it be the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, Gesher Disability Resources, Jewish National Fund or the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, etc., we strive to give back and perpetuate giving. I provide charitable contributions and general giving to our temple and a variety of Jewish organizations.

RBC Wealth Management, a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC, registered investment adviser and Member NYSE/FINRA/SIPC.

RBC Wealth Management does not provide tax or legal advice. All decisions regarding the tax or legal implications of your investments should be made in connection with your independent tax or legal advisor.

Asset allocation and diversification do not assure a profit or protect against loss.

IMPORTANT: The projections or other information generated by WealthPlan regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results and are not guarantees of future results. Results may vary with each use and over time.