Tag: Financial Advocacy
Understanding How to Plan for Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) (Ep. 34)

Understanding How to Plan for Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) (Ep. 34)

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Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) are a crucial and essential aspect of retirement planning, yet how they work is an often misunderstood concept.

How do RMDs impact your financial strategy, and what can you do to manage them effectively? Are there ways that attorneys can better serve their clients by understanding the nuances of RMDs?

In this episode, host Greg DuPont defines and explains the concept of RMDs, their significance, and strategies for managing them effectively to benefit your financial plan. He emphasizes the importance of proactive planning in order to take these payments into account and not be surprised later down the line. He also unpacks the important role of attorneys in educating and in guiding their clients through these financial decisions.

Greg discusses: 

  • Definition and Importance: What RMDs are and why they matter in retirement planning
  • Tax Implications: How RMDs affect taxable income and the potential for higher tax brackets in retirement
  • Strategies for Management: Options like Roth conversions and other methods to minimize tax impact
  • Role of Attorneys: How estate planning attorneys can help clients navigate RMDs and improve their financial outcomes
  • And more!

 

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How to Be a Financial Advocate for Your Clients with Mike Ringel (Ep. 12)

How to Be a Financial Advocate for Your Clients with Mike Ringel (Ep. 12)

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Financial planning is not just about numbers and calculations. It is also about understanding your client’s values, goals, and dreams so that you can assist them in achieving them through sound financial strategies.

Whether you are an attorney, a CPA, or a financial advisor, you need to have the skills and mindset of a financial advocate to serve your clients well.

In this episode, Greg DuPont sits down with Mike Ringel, CPA, RICP®, CDFA®, CExP™, Financial Coach at Wealth Design Group, to dive into the secrets of financial advocacy. They explore the importance of embracing a consultant mindset, the value of specialized knowledge in financial planning, and the need to create holistic financial plans that align with your clients personal values.

Greg and Mike discuss: 

  • Mike’s transition from being a CPA to becoming a financial advisor and the challenges he faced along the way
  • The importance of viewing yourself as consultants rather than salespeople
  • Focusing on uncovering clients’ real issues and helping them achieve their desired state
  • The shift in the legal industry towards providing holistic financial guidance
  • The purpose of Mike’s practice, which is to empower families to discover purpose, freedom, and abundance in their lives through investing and financial planning
  • Mike’s experience in working with solo and small law firms to help them protect, grow, and eventually exit their businesses
  • And more!

 

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About Our Guest:

As the son of a college professor (Dr. Herbert Ringel, Ph.D., Physics), Michael’s passion for teaching began at a very early age. While his father wanted him to pursue the same noble profession, Michael’s mathematical mind and entrepreneurial spirit led him down a different path. After pursuing his CPA and MBA, he explained to his father that he would be pursuing a career in teaching and education, except in a nontraditional setting. He decided to teach families about money and investing.

Since 2004, Michael’s has been working with business owners, divorced women, families with children with special needs, and typical families to build confidence around their money.

Michael’s philosophy is to guide each family to discover for themselves what is important to their family, both personally and financially. Then, Michael shares with each family a variety of financial strategies that are prudent for them. He shares with them what may be financially possible for them in the future. It is only then when they agree upon a prudent strategy, that financial products and services are recommended to fulfill each strategy. Michael’s academic approach to financial planning has served his clients well.

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The Role of Influence in The Mindset Pillar of Financial Advocacy (Ep. 11)

The Role of Influence in The Mindset Pillar of Financial Advocacy (Ep. 11)

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Switching the mindset from selling to influencing is a game-changer.

The top advisors in the financial industry don’t sell – they let people come in pre-sold. 

This approach helps build trust and, eventually, strong relationships with clients.

What steps can estate planning attorneys take to become more influential with their clients?

In this episode, Greg DuPont and Matt Halloran share the sixth pillar of financial advocacy: Mindset with a shift into the importance of being influential. They explore the art of influence over sales and the importance and power of effective listening as attorneys. Greg and Matt also delve into building trust and the importance of authenticity and humility.

Greg and Matt discuss: 

  • How top advisors focus on building influence rather than selling
  • Greg’s journey of transitioning from using convincing arguments to being more influential
  • The need for experts to present their views in an easily understandable way for people to accept
  • The difference between sales and influence
  • The importance of stepping into your authority and using a humble approach to build trust in professional relationships
  • The challenge of gaining trust as a financial advisor in a world of readily available information and the importance of providing insight over opinion
  • And more!

Resources: 

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The Fourth Pillar of Financial Advocacy: Wealth Accumulation (Ep. 8)

The Fourth Pillar of Financial Advocacy: Wealth Accumulation (Ep. 8)

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Embarking on the journey towards financial security and prosperity requires more than simply making decisions. It also requires strategies to multiply and maximize wealth.

In this episode, Greg DuPont explores the fourth pillar of financial advocacy: Wealth Accumulation. He shares the three big secrets behind it along with valuable insights on how to optimize savings strategies and engage in valuable conversations with your clients. Greg emphasizes the importance of tackling debt and taxes to maximize wealth accumulation.

Greg discusses: 

  • The three secrets of wealth accumulation
  • The drawbacks of relying solely on 401(k) for savings and the need to consider alternative investment options
  • The need to take more risks for higher returns in a pre-tax environment and how shifting to an after-tax world can reduce the required rate of return
  • The goal of Wealth Solutions Network to help the general public with their finances
  • The potential to cut down debt repayment time by being systematic with compound interest and alternative solutions to traditional retirement savings
  • And more!

Resources: 

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The Third Pillar of Financial Advocacy: Wealth Enhancement (Ep. 6)

The Third Pillar of Financial Advocacy: Wealth Enhancement (Ep. 6)

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The concept of wealth enhancement goes beyond accumulation.

It’s about having the mindset of empowerment and protecting wealth to achieve personal goals. 

What are the essential factors to consider when it comes to clients?

In this episode, Greg DuPont talks about the third pillar of financial advocacy, wealth enhancement, as well as three secrets about it. He explores the importance of prioritizing a simple, fulfilling life and leaving a legacy and the role of math in wealth enhancement, focusing on understanding values and communicating results effectively. In addition, Greg touches on the power of savings and the potential of alternative assets when diversifying.

Greg discusses: 

  • The three secrets of wealth enhancement
  • Why people in retirement want a simple lifestyle and to leave behind a legacy, not an extravagant lifestyle
  • The role of math and communication in wealth enhancement when it comes to influencing and assisting clients
  • Why the investment world’s math can be disingenuous
  • An explanation of the Monte Carlo tool and its connection to gambling casinos
  • The importance of enhancing our wealth to protect ourselves from external risks
  • The importance of diversifying investments beyond traditional asset classes
  • The role of financial advocates in addressing known risks and providing resilience for unknown risks
  • And more!

Resources: 

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The First Pillar of Financial Advocacy: Wealth Management (Ep. 3)

The First Pillar of Financial Advocacy: Wealth Management (Ep. 3)

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Financial advocacy is divided into six fundamental pillars that teach attorneys how to serve their clients better in their financial affairs.

Wealth management, wealth preservation, wealth enhancement, wealth accumulation, wealth transfer, and the financial advocacy mindset.

In this episode, Greg DuPont talks about the first of the six pillars of financial advocacy, wealth management. Greg highlights why attorneys need to have valuable conversations with clients about their wealth while exploring how his team can help you find the answers to your questions.

Greg discusses: 

  • His definition of wealth management 
  • His evolution as a wealth manager, from being a captive agent to realizing the importance of low-cost fixed index investing and structures that drive the outcome
  • Reasons why members of his network don’t need to have all the financial answers for their clients
  • The licensing component needed to fulfill the wealth management pillar
  • The three S’s for the average investor 
  • How his back office can provide investments solutions and support for members of the network
  • Why he believes that traditional wealth management doesn’t work and how his system focuses on using the right tools to preserve wealth
  • And more!

Resources:

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