Our Services

Riverbend offers services for every area of your financial life, from planning for retirement, investments, education expenses and charitable giving to insurance, cash flow and estate planning.

Risk Tolerance Identification

Before embarking on any investment strategy, it’s critical to know your risk tolerance — the degree of variability (gain or loss) in an investment return you’re comfortable with — so that you choose the right kind of investments and are able to set clear objectives We spend time getting to understand your ability and willingness to stomach potential swings in the value of investments. When your investments are aligned on the proper risk-reward continuum, you have greater peace of mind with investment decisions.

Investment Strategies

An individualized investment strategy encompasses everything from enhancing and protecting wealth to transferring and possibly donating wealth. We help develop current and future investment strategies that keep pace as you migrate through different seasons of life. We evaluate and forecast life transitions and the impact they may have, so that you can face these transitions with confidence.

Investment Management

Based on your investing goals, your values and your level of risk tolerance, we build a customized investment portfolio designed to achieve your goals within a specified timeframe and within the risk boundaries you have determined are comfortable for you. Constant review and monitoring keep the plan on track. Your circumstances, and investment markets will change over time, so your plan needs to be fluid and adaptable to change with them. We regularly review and rebalance your investment portfolios as needed to reflect these changes. You receive monthly statements and have access to online, on-demand reports to stay abreast of changes that are made and how your portfolio is performing.

Wealth Accumulation

As your wealth grows, so does the complexity of your complete financial picture. We work side-by-side with you to craft strategies reflective of your long-term goals, yet mindful of opportunities and risks that could arise along the way.

Tax Minimization Strategies

Rising taxes are a concern for many people, especially as they approach retirement. So tax minimization strategies are important to your financial plan. Tax-deferred alternatives allow your investments to earn compound interest free from income taxes for years, potentially allowing your money to grow at a faster rate. We partner with qualified attorneys and tax professionals to ensure that your legal documents are in order and that you have a tax-efficient strategy that covers the preservation and distribution of your retirement assets.

Asset Protection Strategies

We help you develop unique strategies to guard your wealth and assets. Assets are seldom lost all at once. They can be depleted slowly over time due to an illness, a disability, or even a long-term care need, leaving a healthy spouse without the funds they need to live. The first step to developing an asset protection strategy is to identify any exposure. From there, we will develop strategies to help protect you now, and in all the seasons of life to come.

Education Planning

As tuition continues to rise at 5-9% each year, it may seem as though it will take a small fortune to put your child through school. Federal loans, grants and scholarships can help, but the great majority of the financial burden typically falls on you. These costs may come when you’re trying to save for your own retirement, or assisting aging parents. With sound financial planning, we can help you make wise decisions, developing the right strategy early and sticking with it.

Retirement Planning

Life is full of milestones, and one of the most biggest is retirement. You spend a lifetime working hard, sacrificing and planning, with the intent to be well-prepared for your golden years. Your retirement goals and aspirations are important to us, and we specialize in cutting through the confusion and frustration that retirement planning can create.

Retirement Income Strategies

Most people desire financial security in retirement, but few spend time developing plans for post-retirement income before they retire. By building post-retirement strategies now, you may be able to take advantage of strategies that minimize taxes and maximize income. The sooner you start thinking about retirement income, the better.

IRA & 401(k) Rollovers

When you change jobs or retire, there are four things you can generally do with the assets in any employer-sponsored retirement plan:

Leave the money where it is
Take the cash (and pay income taxes and perhaps a 10% additional federal tax if you are younger than age 59½)
Transfer the money to another employer plan (if the new plan allows)
Roll the money over into an IRA

Rolling over from one qualified plan to another allows your money to continue growing tax-deferred until you receive distributions in retirement. We can help you determine if a rollover is the right move for you. If you decide to cash out of an IRA, we can help you find suitable vehicles to help you reach your retirement income goals.

Annuities

Today, the majority of the burden for retirement income seems to have shifted to the individual. For this reason, you may want to consider a guaranteed* fixed income component to your retirement strategy. Adding an annuity may help ensure that a portion of your retirement income will be guaranteed.* An annuity is a contract you purchase from an insurance company. For the premium you pay, you receive certain fixed and/or variable interest crediting options, so that your interest can compound tax deferred until withdrawn. When you’re ready to receive income distributions, annuities offers a variety of guaranteed* payout options. Most have provisions that allow you to withdraw a percentage of the value of the contract each year up to a certain limit. However, withdrawals will reduce the contract value and the value of any protected benefits. Excess withdrawals above the restricted limit typically incur “surrender charges” within the first 5 to 15 years of the contract. Because they are designed as a long-term retirement income vehicle, annuity withdrawals made before age 59½ are subject to a 10% penalty fee, and all withdrawals may be subject to income taxes.

* Annuity guarantees rely on the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Annuities are insurance products that may be subject to fees, surrender charges and holding periods which vary by carrier. Annuities are not FDIC insured.

Life, Group & Disability Insurance

The right mix of insurance policies can help protect you and your family against the many risks you face. We work closely with you to evaluate the insurance coverage you need, and make strategic recommendations that fit your overall financial plan.

Long-Term Care Insurance

Since you would have to reduce your financial means before Medicaid will pay for long-term care, and neither your employer group health insurance nor major medical insurance will cover long-term care, you may want to consider planning ahead for these potential expenses. We can help evaluate your situation and determine if purchasing a long-term care insurance policy may be the right move to help you feel confident in your financial future.

Cash Flow & Distribution Planning

Cash flow planning can include in retirement distribution planning, tax planning, and estate planning. Once we identify areas of focus and desired outcomes, we can discuss various strategies to reach the end goal. This may involve cash flow models of different strategies to better measure the impact of various alternatives, or assistance with budgeting.

Strategies for Financial Independence

Some people find they have a shorter time frame to achieve financial independence, which is why it’s important to begin planning as soon as possible. Once you identify where you want to go, we can develop a roadmap to get you there. By building solid, transparent relationships, we’re able to offer candor with care, preparing financial independence plans to suit your risk-tolerance and timeline. We discuss cash flow, perform analyses, evaluate investment choices, develop contingency plans, and conduct estate planning.

Estate Planning

Estate planning goes beyond just having a will. It includes organizing your assets to pass to the next generation (or two) with the fewest family disputes, minimizing the amount of federal and state taxes an estate must pay, and naming individuals to make financial decisions for you when you no longer can. Comprehensive planning can be complex, including numerous legal documents and insurance strategies. We can refer you to professionals to help with your unique circumstances and individual needs.

Legacy Planning

You may have a clear vision of your legacy, or have some thoughts that are still percolating. We’ll dig in with you to think through big aspirations and help outline what it will take to make dreams come true, as well as patiently assist in thinking through details of family and other dynamics. Being able to clearly articulate your desired legacy to your loved ones is powerful. When the timing is right, we can also help you craft and articulate the right words so the message you deliver is received as you would like when you share your legacy plans with family and friends.

Charitable Giving Planning

We admire the aspirations of many of our clients to create a living legacy through financial generosity during their lifetimes or upon their passing. The benefits impact not only you but your family, often over multiple generations. In turn, their estate and tax treatment are also positively impacted. There are numerous financial planning and giving options in the area of charitable planning that allow an individual, estate or business to make a meaningful impact on the causes they support. We can refer you to a qualified professional to help decide if integrating charitable giving into your estate and financial planning is a good option for you.