About Us
Seeing The Whole Picture, Taking The Right Steps
Financial planning is not an event, it is a process. Our principals are financial planning specialists who will work with you one-on-one, developing a deep understanding of your financial objectives, personal preferences, family situation and risk tolerances, and then design a life plan around you. Working as your personal CFO, we will meet with you regularly to:
Get to know you and your family and what's important to you. Help you identify and prioritize your long-term goals. Create a vision of your future—your lifestyle, where you'll live, and how much it will cost. Forecast the growth of your portfolio making realistic assumptions that you agree with, about the risk you are willing to accept and the investment returns you should realistically expect. Model different scenarios for achieving your goals showing you how different decisions—such as retiring a couple of years later or working part-time—can impact your nest egg. Help you make the best decisions that fit your current situation and long-term expectations.
Strategy vs. Discipline
At United Capital we view advice as creating a strategy and the investment recommendations as the discipline to implement that strategy.
Having an investment portfolio without a strategy is like taking a trip across country to a place you have never been without directions. You may eventually get to your location, but that's going to take some luck, and a few wrong turns. Your trip would be much more certain, enjoyable and predictable if you had a map. Unfortunately, we have found that most people do not have a "map" -which we refer to as a strategy or they have a decent strategy, but do not have the discipline to implement.
Strategy
We start by defining Strategy as the answer to the question, "What do I do?" This includes the following:
- Having a written Financial and Estate Plan.
- Selecting an appropriate Asset Allocation.
- Creating an Investment Policy Statement that fits your needs.
- Developing a retirement income stream from your various investments, and more.
Once we have created a strategy that you are comfortable with, then we are able to track this strategy on an ongoing basis. This allows us to be proactive rather than reactive as your financial situation changes.
Discipline
Discipline focuses on the implementation of the strategy and answers the question, "How and When do I do it?" This includes the following:
- Creating an investment plan.
- Monitoring the Portfolio.
- Identifying ways to maximize return, while minimizing risk.
Life is Full of the Unexpected
No matter how well you plan, unexpected events are inevitable. Positive, negative, or somewhere in between, these events can significantly impact your finances. Events that require careful financial consideration include:
- Positive events, such as gifts, bonuses or inheritances
- Negative events such as emergencies, losses or liability issues
- Discretionary expenditures such as dream purchases, special vacations or major gifts to children
To help prepare for the unexpected, United Capital works together with your other advisers to assess your personal aspirations and financial constraints, continuously monitor your situation, mark your progress, and make necessary adjustments.