Financial Planning

Longer Financial provides an investment plan for clients. When an account is established, we do a comprehensive review of the client’s financial circumstances in order to identify investment goals and objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon, liquidity needs, and tax considerations. We then design an investment plan that addresses each of these factors. To help prospective clients reflect on the factors that will be addressed in their investment plan, we have prepared two articles: one on investment risks and the other on asset allocation. The investment risks article is geared toward investors with assets in a taxable portfolio, while the asset allocation piece focuses on retirement assets. Both pieces stress the importance of having an investment plan in place, and both may be of interest to anyone seeking guidance in preparing a plan.

Once a client selects Longer Financial as investment advisor, we identify and evaluate the assets that will be placed under our management. Our staff obtains the cost basis and acquisition date of each security by working with the client’s accountant. This lays the groundwork for accurate reports of realized and unrealized gains and losses. This is of particular importance for taxable accounts, because the tax consequences of buy and sell decisions are always considered before a trade is placed.

We work closely with each client’s accountant, attorney, or plan administrator to structure the plan to maximize the aftertax return, within specified investment constraints. The types of investments chosen for taxable accounts may differ from those selected for nontaxable accounts, because of differences in the taxability of income and realized gains for various accounts or assets.