Why a Customized Investment Plan is Key to Achieving Your Financial Goals

Investing can be an effective way to grow your wealth over time, but it’s not always easy to know where to start. With so many investment options available and different factors to consider, creating a personalized investment plan can be daunting. That’s where Toomey Investment’s plan development service comes in. By working with experienced financial advisors, you can develop a customized plan that aligns with your specific goals and risk tolerance.

The Importance of a Personalized Investment Plan

Creating a personalized investment plan is crucial for anyone who wants to achieve their financial goals. When we create a personalized plan it is tailored to your specific needs and is based on factors like your risk tolerance, investment goals, and time horizon. Without a customized plan, it’s too easy to make haphazard investment decisions that don’t align with overall financial objectives, leading to unnecessary risks and suboptimal returns.

Most importantly, it provides a roadmap for achieving your financial goals. This roadmap can help you stay on track, even when emotions get high, market conditions change or unexpected events occur. By having a clear plan in place, you’re more likely to make informed investment decisions that align with your overall strategy, rather than reacting impulsively to short-term market movements.

When you take the time to consider your risk tolerance, you avoid making rash decisions that could damage your long-term financial health. By focusing on your goals and having a clear plan in place, you’re less likely to get caught up in short-term market movements that could lead to impulsive decision-making.

Toomey Investment’s Plan Development Process

Toomey Investment’s plan development process is designed to help clients create a personalized investment plan that aligns with their financial goals and risk tolerance. Here’s an overview of the steps involved in the plan development process:

  1. Initial Consultation: The first step in the plan development process is an initial consultation with a financial advisor from Toomey Investment. During this meeting, you’ll discuss your financial goals and investment objectives, your risk tolerance, and any other relevant factors that could impact your investment strategy.
  2. Assessing Your Current Financial Situation: The next step in the process is to assess your current financial situation. This will involve looking at your current assets, income, and expenses, as well as any debt or other financial obligations you may have.
  3. Identifying Your Investment Goals: Once your financial situation has been assessed, the next step is to identify your investment goals. This could include goals like saving for retirement, building a college fund, or investing in a particular asset class or industry.
  4. Creating Your Investment Strategy: With your goals in mind, your financial advisor will work with you to create a customized investment strategy that aligns with your risk tolerance and overall financial objectives. This could include selecting specific investments, determining asset allocation, and establishing a plan for rebalancing your portfolio over time.
  5. Implementation and Monitoring: Once your investment plan has been developed, the next step is to implement it. Your financial advisor will help you execute your investment strategy and will monitor your portfolio over time, making any necessary adjustments as your needs or market conditions change.

Throughout the plan development process, Toomey Investment’s financial advisors are there to provide guidance and support, helping you makes informed decisions that align with your specific financial goals. Call Toomey Investment today so you can feel confident that you’re on the right path to achieving your financial objectives.

Read More

Why You Need Risk Management

If you built your financial plans five, ten, or more years ago, you may find upon close examination, that they no longer fit your life today. Whether from outside circumstances such as market fluctuations or outlooks to internal changes such as approaching retirement, or changes in your family situation, any risk analysis you may have done in the past may not be relevant today.

It’s a given that as humans get older, their priorities change. Carefree youth is for building a career and spending money, whereas with middle age, priorities such as children (and their college funds), charity donations, post-retirement life, and protection for one’s estate for heirs loom larger on the horizon. For this reason, it’s wise to engage in a new round of risk management for your finances to ensure that your strategy matches your life as it is now.

First, Update You Will

We believe that roughly every five years, legal documents such as a will/living will and healthcare proxies should be reviewed. It is important that the wishes outlined in your will correlate with your beneficiary designations of certain assets. Even if you have a living trust in place, a properly set up will is going to help the trust function properly. If there has been a significant change to your finances, relationships, or property, it’s likely time to visit your attorney to get everything up to date.

Update Your Life Insurance

Life insurance needs to change as we get older. For many of us, a small policy – often through one’s employer – is sufficient for our needs. Later, we may turn to term life policies that are generally affordable, though they are not permanent. Ideally, older Americans should be looking for permanent insurance policies that will last their entire lifespan as long as the premiums are paid. These policies often come in the form of universal, variable, variable universal or whole life, and have cash value with a rate of return, and in most cases, the death benefit will never change.

Consider Disability Insurance

As we get older, the chances that we’ll be out of commission for either the short term or the long term due to health issues become greater. You may wish to pick up a short-term disability policy that will pay benefits for three to six months in case of accident, injury, or illness. With these policies, you can often have the majority of your earned income paid directly to you with no restriction on expenses.

Long-term disability insurance offers an important benefit for those who may be at risk of losing the income they need to survive financially because of permanent illness or injury. These benefits are typically 40 to 70 percent of the policyholder’s income. Long-term disability can be purchased with different elimination periods, and for durations usually stated in years. Some policies will pay until retirement.

What to Know About Long-term Care Insurance

As the population lives longer than ever, chances are greater that we could live to the point where we require others to care for us. Many people mistakenly believe that programs like Medicare will pay for long-term care. (It will not.) Medicaid may cover long-term care, but only after your assets have been reduced to near zero. For this reason, it may be wise to entertain a long-term care policy to avoid exhausting our assets and placing the burden of care onto loved ones. Long-term care insurance is a policy that helps pay for the costs associated with long-term care, either at home or in a care facility. Long-term care insurance covers care generally not covered by health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid.

Talk to a Professional

Toomey Investment Management, Inc. is a Wallingford, Connecticut-based financial advisory company that offers clients risk management services as well as asset protection.

At TIMI, our business model is designed to treat all of our clients equally and fairly. We realized long ago that the financial industry dedicated many resources to capturing money from prospective clients but much less to service and accountability for existing clients. At Wallingford, Connecticut-based TIMI, we listen carefully, keep in touch, and return your calls and communications quickly, so you can count on us. We will work effectively to optimize your financial situation and solve your problems. Call us at 203-949-1710 or visit our website for more information.

Read More
  • toomeyinvest
  • Finance
  • May 30, 2023

Managing Your Finances: Tips for Handling Inheritance and Settlement Events

A large inheritance or a financial settlement can be both a bonus and a burden. It’s a bonus because the money could come in handy for boosting retirement or education savings, upgrading a home, or quality-of-life events such as travel. The burden is because a large amount of money imposes certain responsibilities on the recipient such as taxes, investments, and the many choices involved in managing the money. Experts offer a number of tips for recipients of large funds. These include:

Taking your time. If you inherit a large amount of money or receive it in a settlement, take your time in deciding what to do with it. Inheritances often involve grief in mourning a loved one who has passed, and settlements often happen after a life-changing event such as an accident. Don’t make any fast decisions and be certain to consult with a professional financial advisor. Initially, it’s wise to park the money in a federally insured bank or credit union, which will allow you to store up to $250,000 per depositor. You can arrange for more coverage by setting up several different types of accounts.

Choose a financial advisor carefully. Different types of estate planners will have different responsibilities when it comes to preserving your money. Some advisors may try and steer you toward certain types of investment in order to maximize their own commissions. Consider using an independent RIA, who is not limited in what they can offer in constructing a bespoke plan that is truly tailored to your needs. This way, there should be no conflicts of interest arising on the planner’s part.

Seek help for non-cash assets. If you inherit non-cash assets such as securities, you may find they’re not a good match for your investment style or your goals. Seek assistance in determining whether it’s a good idea to keep them or sell them and turn them into something else.

Debts or investments? Many people use inheritance or settlement money to pay off debts. And while this makes sense for high-cost debts such as credit cards or student loans, it may not make financial sense to pay off a low-rate home mortgage, for example. With an experienced financial advisor, you can make some cost-benefit comparisons to determine whether the money will serve you better be used to pay off loans, or investing in high-yield products.

Tax implications. There are a variety of tax implications depending on the source of the inheritance or settlement, and the amount of money involved. For instance, some lawsuit awards or settlements are not taxable, and some are. If you’ve inherited a non-qualified annuity, your tax liability will be vastly different than an inherited IRA, or real estate. A financial advisor can help you understand how to configure your inheritance or settlement best to reduce your tax liabilities.

At Toomey Investment Management, Inc. (TIMI), our business model is designed to treat all of our clients equally and fairly. We realized long ago that the financial industry dedicated many resources to capture money from prospective clients but much less on service and accountability for existing clients. At Wallingford, Connecticut-based TIMI, we listen carefully, keep in touch, and return your calls and communications quickly, so you can count on us. We will work effectively to optimize your financial situation and solve your problems. Call us at 203-949-1710 or visit our website for more information.

Read More
  • toomeyinvest
  • Finance
  • May 30, 2023

Looking to Your Financial Health During a Divorce

Weddings are happy times, and few people want to think about the possibility of divorce in the early years of their marriage. But as many as half of marriages end in divorce, and these painful events are full of difficult decisions at a time when emotions are running high. Basic issues such as the financials in the heart of divorce can become clouded with other distractions. Unfortunately, the time to protect your financial health is often overrun with a thousand other considerations, but it shouldn’t be.

Recently, a panel of Forbes Finance Council members gathered to brainstorm about financial considerations that are often overlooked when dealing with a divorce. Some of their most important points included:

Looking at your joint accounts. Many people spend injudiciously when a divorce is happening, and one partner may be harmed by the financial decisions of the other spouse when it comes to joint accounts, credit cards, and loans. It’s important to seek financial advice at this time so you can protect yourself from suffering the repercussions of bad financial decisions on the part of your soon-to-be-ex-spouse.

Ensuring the bills are paid. It may be a hum-drum thing, but the bills are due regardless of what’s going on in your personal life. During a divorce, some couples tend to ignore run-of-the-mill financial housekeeping duties like ensuring the mortgage is paid. It’s important to make a timely decision about who will be responsible for payments on bills and get that in writing. You may wish to quickly refinance the mortgage to whoever will remain living in the house, so the other spouse isn’t on the hook for the credit hit that will occur if payments are late or non-existent. Experts recommend that divorcing spouses keep a close eye on their personal credit scores so they can receive early warning of any anomalies.

Life insurance policies. Often, it’s the main breadwinner who secures life insurance to cover future alimony and/or child support in the event the breadwinner has a premature death. Many people tend to choose these amounts at random. It’s important to seek professional help to calculate the present value of future payments in order to make sure the future payments are covered.

Tax considerations. Couples often split their assets without considering the tax ramifications of their choices. A couple might, for example, determine that one partner will get the retirement accounts and the other will keep the house if the values are similar on paper. There are strong tax considerations that may make these decisions not as equitable as they appear.

Consult with a Professional Financial Services Partner

One of the first things individuals undergoing a separation or divorce should do is ensure they are getting good advice from a financial services expert. In Connecticut, we are an equitable distribution state, which makes all marital assets fair game for equal, or in some cases, unequal division. It is imperative that both parties understand the long term pros and cons of each decision made that may potentially impact the rest of their respective financial lives.

At Toomey Investment Management, Inc. (TIMI), our business model is designed to treat all of our clients equally and fairly. We realized long ago that the financial industry dedicated many resources to capturing money from prospective clients but much less to service and accountability for existing clients. At Wallingford, Connecticut-based TIMI, we listen carefully, keep in touch, and return your calls and communications quickly, so you can count on us. We will work effectively to optimize your financial situation and solve your problems. Call us at 203-949-1710 or visit our website for more information.

Read More
  • toomeyinvest
  • Finance
  • January 9, 2023

Why You Should Not Panic Sell During A Down Market

Many Americans are logging into their investment accounts with a sense of dread these days. How much more, you may be thinking, have I lost since the last time I logged in? 

2022 has proven to be the worst year for the stock market since the financial crisis of 2008. The poor performance can be chalked up to a variety of factors, including rising interest rates, economic worries, the war in Ukraine, global inflation, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and more. As of December 20, 2022, the S&P 500 was down by more than 19 percent for the year. It can be hard to look at as it relates to your investment or retirement accounts. 

But experts have a piece of advice for you: don’t panic sell. 

Watching your investment portfolio or your 401(k) plan that you have been building for years take a sudden dive is difficult to watch. You may have an overwhelming urge to sell up and salvage what you can. But in the long run, this can be one of the most damaging actions you can take.

Reasons Not to Panic-Sell

The market will likely come back. History shows us that downturns in the market are ultimately only temporary. In the end, large rebounds return most portfolios to the black in just a few years.

“Sharp, sudden market declines are disconcerting, prompting many investors to reduce their stock holdings, or pull out of the market,” according to analysts with MFS Investment Management. “As history has shown, financial markets have rebounded from market shocks, posting strong long-term gains. All too often, investors that have sold out during a crisis have locked in losses and possibly missed the rebound. Riding out market declines and benefiting from potential rebounds may be a better plan.”

It’s an opportunity to buy. As the saying goes, “When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.” If you have some cash to spare, now can be a great opportunity to take advantage of undervalued stocks and purchase some, so your portfolio can bounce back better than ever when the market sees the upswing. 

Consider a downturn “economic exercise.” Just as a body that never faces physical challenges will never get strong, economies that experience no turbulence should be viewed suspiciously. In order for continued growth to occur, regular downturns are necessary to find and eliminate market bubbles and adjust to intrinsic market prices.

Warren Buffet once famously said, “Our favorite holding period is forever.” While you may not be prepared to hold your investments forever, be certain that you’re selling for the right reasons and under the right circumstances. In a panic, a mistaken effort to stem more losses is not the right circumstance. 

Seek Professional Advice

To gain the peace of mind that your financial plan can weather future market downturns, it may be beneficial for you to seek the advice of a professional who will be able to create a comprehensive financial plan that’s suited to your tolerance for risk.  

At Toomey Investment Management, Inc. (TIMI), our business model is designed to treat all of our clients equally and fairly. We realized long ago that the financial industry dedicated many resources to capturing money from prospective clients, but much less on service and accountability for existing clients. At Wallingford, Connecticut-based TIMI, we listen carefully, keep in touch, and return your calls and communications quickly, so you can count on us. We will work effectively to optimize your financial situation and solve your problems. Call us at 203-949-1710 or contact us for more information.

Read More

Is an Annuity Right for You?

Annuity Written On Yellow Sheet And Piggy Bank With Money.

Americans today are living longer than previous generations. That’s the good news. The challenge is coming in saving for retirement and ensuring those savings last a lifetime. 

Meeting the challenges of retirement savings has always been a difficult prospect, but in today’s volatile economic environment and a reduction in the income provided by employer-sponsored pensions, the challenges are steep and require more knowledge and initiative. 

In most cases, pensions have been replaced by defined contribution plans, such as 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). This means that employees and investors must bear most of the responsibility for building their own retirement portfolios. Because of the nature of 401ks and IRAs, these savings are much more exposed to the whims of global financial markets, leaving savers with more uncertainty.  

Increasingly, financial advisors are recommending annuities to help alleviate retirement savings uncertainties and replace the guaranteed income that a pension would supply. 

Different Types of Annuities

There are different ways to invest in annuities based on the purchaser’s needs. Investors can purchase a fixed annuity in which the payments are spelled out exactly ahead of time in the contract. Alternatively, investors can purchase a variable annuity that will invest funds in the market. While there is more potential for growth with a variable annuity, there is also more risk since it’s essentially based on an investment portfolio and subject to market whims. 

Before you choose an annuity, it’s a good idea to consult with a financial investment management advisor to determine what type and configuration are right for you. Regardless of which type of annuity you choose, the power of tax deferral means you can build up your retirement savings more quickly, leaving you with more money to do work for you. 

What Are the Benefits of Annuities?

With an annuity contract, investors are essentially buying a stream of payments that will be made to them over time to protect against the risk of outliving their income. There are many different annuity types, allowing investors to find one that ideally fits their lifestyle and retirement plans. There are benefits available that guarantee income, as well as locking in death benefits for loved ones. 

Because annuities are tax-deferred, annuity holders don’t pay taxes until they withdraw their money. Deferred annuities take advantage of this deferred tax paradigm by putting off tax payments until retirees begin receiving income distributions. The growth that happens in the tax-free interim can significantly build a retirement portfolio. 

As an example of how this tax-deferred process can work, consider the purchase of a $100,000 annuity compounded at a five percent annual rate for 20 years. Tax-free, this money would grow to $265,330. If the investor withdrew that money in a lump sum and paid a 32 percent tax rate on it, they would come out with $212,424. However, if the saver put the $100,000 into a taxable investment account, they would realize only $149,765 in that time.

What Are the Drawbacks of Annuities?

After going through the Rolodex of great benefits annuities may offer, many people find themselves asking the age-old question: what’s the catch? Any time you see guarantees with an insurance-related product, there is almost always a caveat or trade-off that needs to be considered in the decision-making process.

Limited investment options are a theme in many index and variable annuities. Are there any contracts with more investment flexibility than others? Absolutely. But every annuity limits contract holders to a list of funds/crediting strategies, and in some cases, dictates account allocations and caps returns on a particular index. This can often result in muted returns that the investor would not otherwise be subject to in a taxable brokerage account. 

Many annuities come with a base M&E (mortality risk and expense) charge, sometimes coupled with living and/or death benefits — guaranteeing payments during life, or locking in death benefits for heirs – that almost always come with additional expense. In fact, it would not be abnormal to see some annuity contracts costing over 3% in annual fees. While some investors are happy to pay such an expense for security and peace of mind, others may opt to forgo the insurance benefit because they believe they emulate the same benefits in the market without the expense.

Is An Annuity Right for Me?

Although all portfolios should be tailored on a case-by-case basis, annuities should be recommended with elevated care. Not only are annuities often expensive, but it is not uncommon for contracts to come with multi-year surrender charges that may prevent contract holders from accessing their money without penalty. These are some of the reasons that annuities have gained a less-than-stellar reputation.  With that said, when an investor has been made aware of the pros, cons, and mechanics of an annuity, it can play an invaluable role in the confidence of their retirement income plan. 

Consult a Financial Advisor

At Toomey Investment Management, Inc. (TIMI), our business model is designed to treat all our clients equally and fairly. We realized long ago that the financial industry dedicated many resources to capturing money from prospective clients but much less to service and accountability for existing clients. At Wallingford, Connecticut-based TIMI, we listen carefully, keep in touch, and return your calls and communications quickly, so you can count on us. We will work effectively to optimize your retirement savings options and solve your problems. Call us at 203-949-1710 or visit our website for more information. 

Read More

What Is Life Insurance?

If you’ve never carried life insurance, you may be wondering whether you need it. While you’re young and single and have no dependents and no mortgage, it’s not unusual to skip purchasing a life insurance policy. Many workers get small policies through their employers. 

But if your circumstances have changed – you have a spouse or a partner, or a child, you have taken on a mortgage or started a small business – you will probably want to purchase a policy to protect your loved ones and their inheritance. 

At its most basic, life insurance is a contract between an insurance policyholder (you) and an insurance company. In the contract, you promise to pay a pre-set monthly premium for a certain amount of coverage, and the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money in the event of your death. In some cases, you can receive funds before your death (in the event of a terminal illness). Once the payment is made, your beneficiaries (the people you name in the policy such as a spouse or children), can use the funds for whatever they wish. 

What Are the Basic Types of Life Insurance?

There are three common types of life insurance: term life insurance, whole life insurance, and universal life insurance. There are also many variations of each of these policy types and almost limitless riders available, but here is a general description of how they function and differ from one another. 

Term life insurance. A term life policy is one that lasts for a specified period, such as five or 10 years. Life insurance coverage ends when that set period expires, and payouts are possible only if the insured person’s death occurs during that specified period. It is possible, in some cases, to carry the term for longer than the set period of time, but premiums may greatly increase. Because roughly 2% of term insurance policies actually pay out, they are almost always the cheapest way to obtain a straightforward death benefit. 

Whole life insurance. As the name implies, whole life insurance offers coverage for the insured person’s lifetime as long as the insured person’s premium payments are in good standing. Unlike term life, these policies can build cash value like an investment. If you reach your later years when there are no minor children to care for or no mortgage to pay off, you can often get back a portion of the money you paid into the policy. In some cases, you can even borrow against this money in the form of policy loans. The downside is that premiums tend to be higher than for term life policies. 

Universal life insurance. Universal life insurance guarantees a death benefit, and the premiums remain level, or unchanged. Unlike whole life insurance which has fixed premiums over the life of the policy, Universal Life can offer flexible premiums. As long as the cost of insurance is paid for, either through the policy cash value, or premium payments, the policy will remain in force. However, policyholders must remain cognizant of premium payments, as the cost of insurance increases as you age, and accessing/reducing the cash value may result in policy lapse. 

What Type of Life Insurance is Right for You?

There’s no easy answer to this, as everyone’s circumstances differ. It will depend on your age, your health, your obligations, your lifestyle, and your budget. It’s a good idea to consult with a firm like Toomey Investment Management that will independently broker out your options to find the policy that is the best fit for you and your family. 

At Toomey Investment Management, Inc. (TIMI), our business model is designed to treat all of our clients equally and fairly. We realized long ago that the financial industry dedicated many resources to capturing money from prospective clients but much less on service and accountability for existing clients. At Wallingford, Connecticut-based TIMI, we listen carefully, keep in touch, and return your calls and communications quickly, so you can count on us. We will work effectively to optimize your life insurance options and solve your problems. Call us at 203-949-1710 or visit our website for more information. 

 

Read More
  • toomeyinvest
  • Wealth
  • October 24, 2022

How to Build Wealth: Strategies You Can Start Now

If the idea of building your wealth seems overwhelming and complicated, this is a post you need to read. The reality is that it doesn’t have to be at all and it’s something that’s within reach for anyone.

In simplest terms, wealth is your assets minus your debts. So, to build wealth, you need to focus on increasing your assets and reducing your debts. It really is that simple.

To get there, there are several things you can start doing right now to build wealth so you can live the life you want.

The Self-Subscription

It’s amazing how many subscription services there are in 2022. Data shows that U.S. users pay for four streaming services on average and 7% of Americans have six or more! And that’s before we account for all the other residual monthly costs we have. What if, instead of those 3 or 4 monthly service subscriptions, we subscribed to our own investment accounts? Simply put, if it wasn’t for retirement plans at work that automatically defer some of our salaries for us, the retirement crisis in this country would actually be far worse. Treating your investments as a monthly bill that your credit score depends on may be the first step to true financial freedom.

Live More Modestly

All too often, people have income increases and as a result, they immediately increase their spending. So even though you’re making plenty of money, you end up with little or no savings. Don’t fall into that trap. Spend less than you earn and make building wealth a top priority.

Live modestly and always pay attention to where your money is going. Make a list of everything you spend money on for an entire month, and then look for areas where you can cut back. You might have no idea how much you spend on things you don’t need until you see it all right in front of you.

Debt Control

The best way to get into a better financial situation is to have a handle on your debts. Although a number of financial personalities have championed paying off all debts, we think debt is one of the most important tools you can use to enhance your long-term wealth. If your secured debt (collateralized) is low interest, paying this over time will free up cash assets to invest elsewhere while earning a higher rate of return than the money you’d be saving by eliminating your cheap debt. Utilizing a healthy credit score to advantageously borrow cheap money is a far cry from the high-interest unsecured debt people should avoid at all costs. Little tricks like these shine a bright light on the many ways to utilize debt instead of eliminating almost all of it completely.

Make Your Money Work for You

Once you have funds available to invest, you can let your money grow over time thanks to compound growth. If your employer sponsors a retirement plan, take advantage of it. If the company provides matching contributions, allocate enough of your own money to get the full match. You should also be investing in taxable, and tax-free accounts to ensure maximum withdrawal flexibility later in life. Accounts like these will enable you to invest in accounts that allow access to your investments prior to age 59 ½ without having to pay penalties or ordinary income taxes. Having a diversified tax strategy is just as important as having a diversified portfolio.

Get Professional Help with Wealth Building

At Toomey Investment Management, we focus on keeping our portfolio costs low, as well as helping our clients understand how the investment process works. We have designed a series of models that we use to choose the right investments for each client’s goals. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you build wealth for the future.

Read More
  • toomeyinvest
  • Finance
  • August 25, 2022

Do I Need a Financial Fiduciary?

If you’re taking the initiative in your financial planning, you may have heard that you need a financial fiduciary. A fiduciary is a professional or a company that is required by law to act in your best financial interests. The fiduciary might be a financial advisor, a lawyer, or even a real estate agent. This person can manage your assets, such as investment portfolios or other accounts, as well as real estate. Because this person is required by law to manage your assets in your own best interests, they have a duty of care to your finances and must disclose if the management of your assets benefits them.

Isn’t My Financial Advisor a Fiduciary?

Many people assume that just because they have a financial advisor, this person is automatically a fiduciary. This isn’t necessarily true. Not all financial advisors are completely independent like Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) and even though they may have advanced planning credentials, they may be limited by the firm at which they are employed.

The Right Advisor At The Right Firm

Guaranteeing the trustworthiness of a financial advisor is often the responsibility of the investor. When choosing an advisor, it’s important to look for advisors with advanced credentials such as Certified Financial Planners, Chartered Financial Consultants etc., but we would argue that it’s even more important to inquire about the structure of the firm you’re partnering with. Advisors can, for instance, pass tests and acquire some of the industry’s best credentials, but work for a company that only offers one line of products and services. It’s extremely important to understand that you’re not just partnering with an advisor, but the firm he or she operates under. Knowing if your advisor can solicit a number of different broker dealers, insurance brokers, and investment custodians in structuring your financial plan could mean the difference between decent results, and great results.

For greater peace of mind, it’s important that you are able to trust your financial advisor explicitly and trust that they are making investment decisions that are in your best interest (instead of their own). To get the best possible performance from your financial planning, look for a professional firm with fiduciary responsibility that can customize a plan for you, your assets, and your lifestyle.

Choose Toomey Invest Management in Wallingford, CT

Toomey Investment Management, Inc. (TIMI) is an independent RIA, and we believe our business model enhances our ability to enhance our client experience. We realized long ago that the financial industry dedicated many resources to capture money from prospective clients but much less to service and accountability for existing clients. At Wallingford, Connecticut-based TIMI, we listen carefully, keep in touch, and return your calls and communications quickly, so you can count on us. We will work effectively to optimize your financial situation and solve your problems. Call us at 203-949-1710 or visit our website for more information.

Read More

Have You Checked the Beneficiary Designation of Your Retirement and Other Accounts?

It’s a common mistake to believe that because you have a will, you don’t need to name beneficiaries for your other financial accounts such as IRAs and other retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and annuities. After all, your chosen heirs will get them in the end, right?

Not necessarily. It’s worth checking to see who is currently named as the beneficiaries of these accounts. You may have designated them so long ago that you’ve forgotten. But it’s important to note that even if you have a will, beneficiary designation on the account overrides a will. So you might just be leaving your IRA to an ex-spouse or family member who has passed away, or only your older children and not your younger ones.

Despite the wording of your will, the individual named as a beneficiary of your accounts will receive that money, even if the designation was made years or decades ago. Your will only covers the distribution of your assets included in the probate estate.

Take A Few Moments to Check the Beneficiary Designation

Aside from the fact that your beneficiary designation may be out of date, it’s possible that you never actually named a beneficiary. This means that after you pass away, your estate will become the beneficiary. Unfortunately, at that point, the money will become subject to the long and expensive probate process, which may leave your heirs waiting a long time to inherit.

It’s also important to name contingency beneficiaries to your accounts. This means that if your first beneficiary were to die before you (or at the same time as you in, say, an accident) the money would then pass on to the contingency beneficiary or beneficiaries. If you have children, this is a good way to ensure that the money will go to them if you and your spouse were to die at the same time.

Examine the Wording of Your Beneficiary Designation

You may have nebulous language in your beneficiary designation that leaves benefits for your “children.” If you don’t name them specifically, the inheritance issue could become murky, particularly if you have a blended family. Be sure to name each beneficiary specifically to avoid complexities and family arguments, and to understand what the term “per stirpes” means. It’s also worth designating contingent beneficiaries for each of your children in case they were to predecease you. Also, avoid designating one child as a beneficiary under the assumption that he or she will share the money with their siblings. The designated beneficiary has no legal obligation to do so.

Seek Professional Advice

Good estate planning helps protect your family and your beneficiaries. Look for a financial services firm that will stress-test your estate to make sure you’re addressing all aspects of your death benefits. The end result is an evolving plan that helps protect your family and friends.

At Toomey Investment Management, Inc., we are a dual registered, Independent RIA. This means that we retain the independence and flexibility to associate with a number of broker-dealers/custodians to can offer a range of products or services. We believe our business model best enables our comprehensive and objective approach as financial fiduciaries.  If you feel like we would be a great match for you and your family, please call us at 203-949-1710 or visit our website for more information.

Read More