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cornerstone Financial

wealth management

While becoming wealthy is certainly a goal for many people, not everyone has the time or inclination to manage all of their assets by the time they hit a certain threshold. Because the truth is that keeping track of your money is rarely as simple as it sounds. If you can’t answer simple questions about your holdings, such as how much you have and where it all is, a financial advisor can be exactly who you need to get a handle on everything.

How Wealth Management Works

Wealth management is the art of organizing your assets. When financial advisors use the word “art,” they aren’t embellishing, either. As a professional’s portfolio starts to get bigger and bigger, accounts tend to go overlooked for months or even years on end. People may pay outrageous fees without even noticing. Investment returns may stagnate or drop without anyone being the wiser.

If this sounds familiar to you, the Cornerstone Financial staff may have the solution. Financial advisor Chris Clayton can help the people of New Orleans get their assets under control once and for all. When you hire Chris, you can expect to be given all the information you need to make smarter financial decisions.

The objective is not to bog you down with details, but to give you the straight facts about what each choice will mean for your overall portfolio. For instance, if you’re investing in an industry that’s showing signs of distress, he can tell you more about whether it’s better to ride it out or jump ship. If one of your properties has hit a massive spike in value, he can tell you more about how selling will affect your bottom line.

When you’re first getting started in investing, the first few wins can be a truly exhilarating milestone. However, over time, your interest in your holdings may wane and wax. A financial advisor is there to stay on top of the details, so you don’t have to worry about whether you could be making more.

investing

Investments can come in all shapes and sizes, which is more true today than at any other time in history. The combinations are endless, whether it’s a crowdfunding investment or a standard stock option. If you’re interested in learning more about a wealth strategy that will make your retirement easier to fund, look no further than Cornerstone Financial.

Investment Advice that Works

When people can make millions off their old toy collections and lose millions on supposedly sure bets, it may seem like there are no rules to investing. This isn’t true, but it’s easy to see why people throw up their hands and assume it’s all luck. Chris Clayton at Cornerstone may not be able to predict everything ahead, but he can tell you how to look at the market from a new perspective.

It’s important to note that a new perspective can mean different things to different people. The stock advice is always to branch out and diversify, but this blanket statement doesn’t consider what your holdings look like. Plenty of people have diversified portfolios without generating the kind of returns they expected. Chris can tell you that it’s not as simple as adding certain assets and calling it a day.

Whether you’re interested in real estate, bonds, or index funds, you’ll need to know how each investment group will likely perform. This often comes down to preference. Some clients will feel comfortable taking more risks, while others will prefer to play it safe. No matter what your disposable income is or what your personal relationship is with risk, Chris’s goal is to help you strike a healthy balance.

For some clients, he may request they pull in the reins a little, so they can stave off big losses if one asset should tank. Others he’ll push to become a bit more aggressive, so they can have the golden years they always pictured. For whatever category you fit into, a boutique retirement firm can go a long way to giving your portfolio a more comfortable bottom line.

life insurance

Life insurance isn’t always the easiest product in the world to buy. Not only is it a complex contract, full of jargon and exceptions, it’s also a difficult concept to wrap your head around. If you’re considering what it takes to provide for the people you love the most, it’s easy to have questions about what that looks like in real life.

Talking to an expert, one who knows both your long–term retirement plans as well as the types of policies available, can make all the difference. See why a financial advisor can be exactly who you’re looking for if you have questions about this critical protection.

Life Insurance Policy in the New Orleans Metro Area

At Cornerstone Financial, a boutique retirement firm, Chris Clayton can help you learn more about how different types of policies can work to your advantage. Thankfully, insurance carriers are fairly flexible, offering a variety of packages based on people’s circumstances. For instance, some people prefer term life insurance, otherwise known as a life insurance policy with an expiration date. So, you may choose to cover your youngest child up until a certain age (e.g., age 25). After that, you might choose not to have life insurance, or you might buy a more modest plan instead.

You might decide that you would prefer permanent life insurance, a policy without an expiration date. Whether it’s your spouse or your children who you want to cover, it’s important to know the benefits and the fine print of whatever plan you choose. Some will come with a savings component, meaning you may be able to cash in a policy should you hit an unexpected emergency. This is just one reason why talking to a financial advisor can make a big difference in your retirement. The more protection you have for yourself and your loved ones, the easier it is to sleep at night — no matter what’s ahead. There’s a lot to learn about insurance, but it’s far less stressful to master when you have help.

efficient tax planning

With millions of people all over the country, you can imagine that the concept of tax planning truly runs the gamut. For some people, tax planning is an everyday affair, one that’s born from an innate understanding of federal, state, and local tax codes. For other people, the idea of tax planning only really occurs to them when their forms are due, and even then, they may or may not have all the necessary forms they need. Others may report a few numbers and hope they never hear from the IRS. No matter which camp you fall into, you’re likely missing out on the benefits of efficient tax planning.

Efficient Tax Planning in the New Orleans Metro Area

Efficient tax planning is a financial principle that delves deep into how you file. Of course, you’ll need to pay your fair share, but there’s no need to leave anything extra for the government, either. If you really want to do this right, there are some legitimate reasons why you might need a financial advisor to help, even if you already have an accountant by your side.

Hiring a financial advisor to help with your taxes can be a smart way to put your assets into context. A regular CPA may be able to tell you to move a little money over here or donate a little money over there, but they might not be able to tell you what different decisions will mean for your larger financial goals.

At Cornerstone Financial, a boutique retirement firm, Chris Clayton is here to help you plan your taxes so you’re not wasting a single penny. From your work expenses to your deductions to your accounts, he can explain how different laws can work in your favor. The rules behind the tax code are complex, and while clients are free to do their own research, most don’t have the kind of time needed to implement what they learn. Allowing a financial advisor to take over can be the key to having a much better year (and far more funded retirement).

retirement income planning

How much do I need to retire? This question has been asked for as long as the concept of retirement has been around. With every passing year, though, the answers get a modern refresh. Unfortunately, the standard responses aren’t always very helpful for people.

So, one person might say that a million dollars in the bank may reasonably net you anywhere from $40,000 to $50,000, depending on how long you live. Another person might tell you to aim for at least 70% of your pre–retirement income. If the stock advice doesn’t sound very precise to you, that’s because the exact science comes down to the individual. A financial advisor can tell you more about what you need to live the retirement you’ve always imagined.

Retiring on Your Terms

If you’re wondering how to plan your retirement income, you’re starting in a good place. This is because the key to retirement is securing revenue, in much the same way you did during your working years. So instead of relying on just your savings, you diversify your income sources so enough is coming in every month.

At Cornerstone Financial, you can work with Chris Clayton, a financial professional who will tell you more about what diversification will look like for you. This may mean becoming a landlord, so you can count on rental income to help fund your retirement. Or you might pool together your pension, Social Security, and savings together, so you can cover your monthly expenses (and then some). Some clients will even get a part–time job doing what they love to do, like pouring wine or teaching guitar lessons.

By the time you reach retirement age, it’s important to have a firm financial foundation in place. Retirement income planning is largely considered not only the most reliable way to do this, but also the most lucrative. Instead of just having your savings to fall back on, you can generate revenue every month, so you don’t have to worry about a run of inflation or an unexpected emergency.

tax-free retirement

Taxes are a way of life in America, and you probably already know that your societal obligations don’t end simply because you retire. However, you may be interested to learn that countless people overpay every year, simply because they don’t know that there are other options available to them. Whether it’s federal, state, or local tax codes governing how much you give up every year, a financial advisor can dig into the numbers and tell you more about how to structure your finances to avoid giving Uncle Sam a tip.

Tax–Free Retirement in New Orleans

Cornerstone Financial is a boutique retirement firm in the New Orleans metro area. Here, you’ll find financial advisor Chris Clayton, a professional who can tell you more about how your assets affect how much you pay in taxes every year. He can also give you information on what can be done to avoid giving any more than necessary to the government.

The first step is to calculate the state of your assets and then analyze how they fit into the much bigger laws. Chris will be able to break down the values, so it becomes more than just a jumble of dollar signs. Even the most regimented professionals can have difficulty tracking where their money is going and why, and this is even more true for people who keep little more than shoeboxes full of receipts in their closets. Chris can show you how tax laws can actually help you either keep your money or give it to the causes you care most about.

If you’re wondering how to have a tax–free retirement, the answer for you will be different than for others. It may be as easy as avoiding capital gains on certain investments or opening up a trust in a descendant’s name. Chris Clayton at Cornerstone won’t tell you what to do, but he will give you recommendations and suggestions that factor in everything from future tax code changes to the type of retirement you picture for yourself.