Your financial life has so many moving parts and managing your investments is just a very small part of that. Whitaker-Myers Wealth Managers has the experience, expertise and resources to offer a full spectrum of financial services. Thanks to strong partnerships with local experts, we can ensure that as your plan and situations changes, we're ready to serve your specific needs.
Our Personal Services Include:
Asset Allocation
In Financial Peace University, Dave Ramsey states, money is like manure, left in one spot it stinks but once spread around it helps stuff grow. Asset Allocation is an investment concept that looks to balance risk and reward by apportioning a portfolio's assets according to an individual's goals, risk tolerance and investment time horizon. Generally, there are three main types of assets used in asset allocation: Equities (Stocks - such a growth fund, growth & income fund, aggressive growth fund and an international fund), Fixed Income (Bonds) and Cash. Non-traditional asset classes can include real estate and alternative investment options, which Whitaker-Myers Wealth Managers can help you explore*.
Asset Management
Whitaker-Myers offers full service asset management for clients who prefer to utilize the skills and expertise of professional money managers. As an independent Registered Investment Advisor, we do not have proprietary mutual funds or ETFs but rather have an open architecture platform that allows us to utilize professional money managers with many years of experience. Our advisors will sit down to determine an approach that is right for you - from capital preservation to aggressive growth designed to meet your specific short term and long term goals.
College Planning
If your goals include providing for the future of a child or grandchild, our advisors can help you plan for the appropriate amount of funding. The most commonly used vehicles used to fund college are Coverdell Education Savings Accounts and 529 college savings accounts, which we'll help you establish, fund and invest.
Debt Management
Many clients come to us because they have a 401(k) rollover or specific investment need but may still have consumer mortgage or non-mortgage debt. Our advisors are highly skilled and trained in the principals taught by Dave Ramsey and the Ramsey Personalities, which include working through Baby Step 2, paying off all your non-mortgage debt using the debt snowball approach. Whether you need help building your debt snowball for the first time or just need someone to help give you encouragement and advice, our advisors are here to help. We also have strategic relationships that allow us to provide you with debt management options that can help you reduce your interest cost and pay down debt sooner so you can move along to Baby Step 3,4,5,6 & 7.
Estate Planning
You've worked hard to build your assets over your lifetime. As you learn in Financial Peace University, the most fun you'll ever have with money is when you're able to give to those things and people that are important to you and your family. Proper estate planning can help ensure that your assets accumulated are preserved for the use you have intended. We can offer financial strategies and products designed to efficiently manage the transfer of wealth from one generation to the next, and mitigate the related tax issues.
Financial Coaching
Roughly 7 out of 10 Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck. Almost half of Americans have less than $10,000 in retirement savings. It is our opinion at Whitaker-Myers Wealth Managers, that this is a financial behavioral issues not an income issue. We have seen too many low income American's become Everyday Millionaire's to let their income be the excuse! Thus if you're one of the statistics above you might need a Financial Coach. Whitaker-Myers Wealth Managers has three Ramsey Solutions Master Series Coaches on staff to help clients acheive their non-investment and retirement goals. Anyone can win with money, you just need someone to show you how. Learn more about our financial coaching services here!
Financial Planning
Financial plans should start with your dreams and aspirations. We have a dedicated process that helps you answer questions such as, "Have I saved enough? Do I have enough life insurance? How do I plan for Social Security?" and much more. Understanding where you're at today allows us to make appropriate decisions on what type of accounts to use (Traditional IRA vs. 401(k) vs. Roth IRA), how much to allocate to retirement savings vs. non-retirement savings and much, much more. We will conduct a detailed review of your current investment statements, employer retirement plan options, insurance policies, tax returns and other personal and business documents to help guide our discussion and narrow the focus. Tracking and managing your financial plan and portfolio is a continuous process and conversation. As a fee based advisory firm, your one fee gives you unlimited access to your financial advisor so as your life changes and your plan needs modified or updated, you have a dedicated contact who knows you and your financial situation in great detail.
Insurance Planning
Since insurance helps protect you in case of an accident, illness, disability or death, it plays a cructial role in your comprehensive financial plan. Through Whitaker-Myers Insurance Agency and Whitaker-Myers Benefit Plans, we can provide a wide array of quality insurance alternatives that can offer an important layer of safety for you, your family and your business. Shopping your insurance with an independent agent, like Whitaker-Myers Insurance Agency, is actually Dave Ramsey's most popular money-saving tip. Whether you have an auto, home, disability, long term care or term life insurance need, let us show you why clients have looked to Whitaker-Myers for their insurance needs since 1869.
Professional Advisor Coordination
With your knowledge and permission, we collaborate with your other professional advisors such as your CPA or attorney to help ensure that all your financial matters are addressed in a cohesive and well-coordinated manner. For example, your attorney would be heavily involved in the set up and maintence of a proper estate plan. We can also work with your CPA to ensure our investment strategies are designed to lessen or shift current and future tax liabilities.
Tax Preparation
As one of the Ramsey Trusted, Tax Endored Local Providers (ELP's) you can rest assured our Tax Advisors will have the heart of a teacher. We take pride in being selected by Dave and his team to serve listeners and fans of our local markets of Ohio, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas and West Virginia. At Whitaker-Myers Tax Advisors we offer accurate and thorough tax preparation services for individuals and their families. We monitor and review any federal or state tax law changes to keep our clients informed and advised. Having your Financial Advisor Team and Tax Preparation Team, coordinated under the same roof provides a level of coordination that is convenient and allows for collaboration between advisors, for a client experience that is second to none.
*Asset Allocation does not ensure a profit or protect against loss.
**Insurance products and services are offered and sold through Whitaker-Myers Insurance Agency Inc. and Whitaker-Myers Benefit Plans, LLC and individually licensed and appointed insurance agents.