Risk management may mean something entirely different depending on the stage of your career, your past investment experience and your family legacy…

Stage 1

To those in their early and career building stages, protection of your largest asset may mean protecting your future income stream as you provide for your family and accumulate savings for retirement.

• Risks may include illness or accidents that prevent you from working and interrupts your income (straining your cash flow and budget) or worst…a premature death.
• Business risks may include loss of a key employee due to death or disability or possibly control of the company if a buy-sell agreement between owners is not funded.

Stage 2       

As your family and career mature, your focus may shift to protecting the assets you have accumulated.

• Risks include extreme market volatility of your investment assets as you approach retirement or possibly a long term care medical issue.
• Business risks include disposition of a business interest at retirement to a partner, heir or other key employee….or lack of liquidity for you to “cash out” of your business.

Stage 3 

In retirement, risk management may include insuring a stable and sustained retirement income that is tax efficient and accounts for increasing expenses due to inflation and potential healthcare expenses.  Ultimately, you will want to have your estate passed on to family members and/or charity while minimizing the drain of any potential transfer and estate taxes.

• Risks include changing tax laws and potentially complex and sometimes hostile relations among family members and heirs.