At COLWYN, we provide our qualified clients with portfolio evaluations and help design wealth diversification and tax-advantaged investment strategies using Alternative Investments. Not every Alternative Investment is suitable for every investor; our approach is tailored to meet each client’s individual financial needs and goals.

We are purists by methodology, using the traditional fundamentals of portfolio creation with an emphasis on the endowment model theory.

Wealth Management defined…
Financial care with a specific focus.

Wealth Management is an extended and enhanced type of financial planning. Think of wealth management as a step up from traditional financial planning. Wealth Management utilizes an office based approach (rather than a single person) and provides a range of services for the client that includes personal financial planning, investment management, tax reduction and estate planning strategies. Business continuity planning, tax preparation – even budgeting, bill paying and other financial or legal services are available.

The difference is a broader point of view. Financial planning usually means creating a strategy for accumulating wealth for retirement or to meet personal goals. Investment management focuses on managing financial assets with some performance level in mind. Wealth management on the other hand, considers the total net worth of a family, a couple or an individual. It weighs financial decisions in light of an investment portfolio and additional components of the financial picture such as real estate, insurance, a business, a legacy interest, charitable gifting, etc.

Attention to detail. Every successful professional reaches a point of delegation – there comes a point at which you can’t do it all yourself.  The same is true in the area of finance and investment.  A good wealth management practice is designed to pay attention to the financial details in your life.  Wealth Management is not a singular event, rather it is an ongoing relationship with regular reviews and communication.

Wealth management combines advisors and business professionals from different disciplines who work as a team. The team looks at your goals, needs and priorities to determine the right, individualized strategy for managing your assets and enhancing your net worth.

Do I need wealth management? Nearly all thoughtful and potentially complex questions have the same answer – it depends.  If you have financial concerns, issues and priorities that demand more time than you can afford to spend or if you find that items are missed, details are skipped or you find yourself pulling time from other important projects to make sure nothing is left to chance then it may be time for this kind of financial care. Significant wealth calls for a vigilant, ongoing management approach by a team of focused professionals.

Investment Portfolio Management

Our model of investing is based on an endowment oriented model founded on investment fundamentals.  Those fundamentals are Diversification, Asset Allocation, and Risk Management.  Our portfolios are custom built to your goals and objectives and are not available through ordinary brokerage firms, financial planners, financial advisors, or investment advisors.  We believe in a strong use of alternative investment products to help counter the volatility of the traditional equities markets.  We give you access to the same institutional shares used by many of the nation’s biggest pension funds, endowments and institutional investors configured in custom portfolios tailored to your specific needs.

Rebalancing
Even the best designed portfolio needs attention.  Otherwise a carefully allocated portfolio will drift due to varying performances of the portfolio’s underlying investments.  That’s why every portfolio is examined on a daily basis: to identify opportunities for rebalancing.  In addition, we will conduct formal reviews of your portfolio at least semi-annually or more frequently depending on your needs.  There are no additional fees for these portfolio services – no additional fee and never any commissions.

Sudden Wealth Planning

Unexpected wealth – Now what?

What’s the plan when you have a windfall? Through luck, inheritance, talent, or legal decisions, some people receive “sudden wealth” – a lump sum of money that is several times their annual income. Sometimes people think that the money will solve all their problems, but if they aren’t careful that new found wealth can create entirely new ones.

We’ve all heard stories about people who won the lottery and ended up broke. You may have seen stories on TV or in magazines or newspapers about people who lost incredible fortunes in a matter of years, or let sudden wealth wreck their families – collapsing marriages or destroying long term relationships.

How can you avoid those kinds of problems?

Rule #1: get financial advice from a qualified source. You would think that anyone who receives a six-figure or seven-figure check would immediately talk to a financial advisor, but that isn’t always the case. The selected resource should be familiar with your situation (or willing to become so) but distant enough from family and business interests to be objective and candid.  Some never bother to seek qualified financial advice at all. Instead, they listen to relatives or neighbors.

The problem is, sometimes these relatives or neighbors

• Have never had significant wealth themselves
• Only see wealth in terms of material things
• Want to live out their own fantasies as a part of your good fortune
• Recommend that you to take risks with your money
• Assume that you are “set for life” and are therefore insensitive to your needs and interests
• Propose questionable investments or encourage behavior that is legally or ethically gray…

While your relatives and neighbors may mean well, they are likely not financial advisors.

Rule #2: find an investment advisor familiar with the issues surrounding sudden wealth. Ideally, you want someone who has consulted people in a similar situation. Sudden wealth is truly a special circumstance. It’s not just a matter of putting more money in bank accounts or investment accounts. Sudden wealth can mean a whole lifestyle shift – a new address, a new reason to get up in the morning, or maybe even new questions about what you want to do with your life.  Your loved ones may not look at the money the same way you do, and there needs to be harmony, thoughtful discussion, and shared understanding.

Any new millionaire, or near-millionaire, should strive to make their new found wealth grow and last. To accomplish this, you will need an investment plan with a long term view.  You also need to plan to defer or reduce taxes and other risks to your wealth.  With your new wealth, you’re probably looking at a level of taxation and potential risk that most people will never experience.

So if you find yourself with sudden wealth – plan, go slow, get counsel, act with intent and purpose. Call or e-mail us so that we can help you understand the options available to you.  We’ll help you sort through your interest, assist you in establishing financial priorities, and work with you to achieve those objectives.

401K, 403b or IRA Rollover

Are you making mistakes with your IRA or 401K rollover? You might be.   As you prepare to retire or perhaps are changing careers, you’ll be getting one of the largest checks of your life, your IRA / 401k / 403b lump sum distribution. We can help you navigate through all of the possible options and assist you in making the best decision possible. By using the services of an independent RIA firm like Colwyn Investments, you will likely have increased investment options available to you if you rollover your distribution to a retirement account. You may even save money. People frequently have 401k, 403b, and IRA retirement funds in multiple accounts.  There was probably thoughtful strategy and planning that went into those accounts when they were created but many of these kinds of accounts no longer receive the kind of attention and focus they should have when spread across numerous companies.  Let us help you consolidate these funds into a single portfolio that is designed specifically for your objectives and interests.

Roth IRA Conversions

A Unique Opportunity For IRA Owners

Starting in 2010, anyone may convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. No income limits will stand in the way of the conversion. Should you do it? Here’s why it may (or may not) make sense for you to go Roth this year.

Why you might want to consider it.  A Roth IRA permits tax-free growth and tax-free income distributions in retirement (assuming you are age 59½ or older and have held your Roth account for 5 years or longer). You can contribute to a Roth IRA after age 70½, without having to take mandatory withdrawals. While contributions to a Roth IRA aren’t tax-deductible, the younger you are, the more attractive a Roth IRA may seem.

However, older investors have reason to go Roth as well – especially if they don’t really need to withdraw IRA assets. Under present tax law, converting an untapped traditional IRA to a Roth will shrink the size of your taxable estate, and careful estate planning could foster decades of tax-free growth for those IRA assets.

Currently, if you name your spouse as the beneficiary of your Roth IRA, your spouse can treat the inherited IRA as his or her own after you die and forgo withdrawals. So those Roth IRA assets can keep compounding untaxed across the rest of your spouse’s life.

If your spouse then names a son or daughter as a beneficiary, that heir has the choice to make minimum withdrawals according to his or her life expectancy, all while the assets continue to compound tax-free.

Why you may want to think twice about it. The IRS regards a traditional IRA-to-Roth IRA conversion as a distribution from a traditional IRA – a taxable event. You will need to pay taxes on the entire amount of the conversion.

You may be tempted to use the current IRA assets to pay the conversion tax, but should you?  Probably not if you’re younger than 59½ as you’re looking at a 10% penalty on the amount you withdraw, and you’ll lose the chance for tax-free compounding of those assets within the Roth IRA.

Be sure to consult your tax advisor before you convert. Before you arrange any rollover, trustee-to-trustee transfer, or same-trustee transfer of your IRA assets, there are many variables to consider, and they differ greatly from person to person. Always consult a CPA or tax professional so that you fully understand the potential tax impact of a Roth conversion on your finances and your estate.

Also, remember that while the income limits on Roth IRA conversions went away in 2010, the income limits on Roth IRA contributions still apply. High-income IRA owners can make the conversion, but they may not be able to pour new money into the account.