Wealth Management Attorney in Miami, FL
You have worked hard your entire life. Now what?
Most people have worked hard their entire life for the possessions they have, but only a small percentage of the population rise to a high level financial security. For those who have, managing your wealth ensures that you and your family are financially stable, your children have money for college, your husband or wife is taken care of if something were to happen to you, and your future retirement will become a reality.
As a law firm with attorneys that were previously state prosecutors, our wealth management attorneys know that wealth is not acquired quickly. It is earned through hard work, which is why we pride ourselves on not just providing investment advice but personally assisting our clients with creating a comprehensive wealth management plan that will sustain your current level of wealth and acquire additional assets through calculated investment campaigns.
Assess the Present
When planning investment strategies, it is important that you have a clear understanding of your current financial situation. This includes an evaluation of all of your current assets and their respective performance. As wealth management attorneys, our approach is to personally assist you with a current assessment of your assets, because we know that this is an important step in accomplishing your long-term financial goals.
Stocks
Some of the most volatile or risky investments include stocks of all kinds. During your assessment, you need to consider the past performance of the stocks you currently own, the position of the industries those stocks are located in, and the current political and regulatory climate of each industry. Moreover, categorize your stocks according to the level of risk associated with each stock.
Prefered Stock
Preferred stock carries numerous advantages over common stock and could easily be considered to have a minimal amount of risk due to the following factors:
- Prefered stockholders are usually paid a fixed dividend.
- Prefered stockholders are paid dividends before common stockholders.
- Some preferred stock allows the holder to collect dividends in arrears, if a company is struggling and suspends dividend payments.
- Some preferred stock allows stockholders to have preferential treatment with respect to investment recoupment, if the company is liquidated.
These factors make preferred stock an appealing safe investment with a minimal amount of risk, but preferred stock is only sold to a select amount of investors. Therefore, it is fairly uncommon investment.
Common Stock
Common stock is one the most widespread types investments, but it carries with it certain pros and cons. Common stock can yield high returns through both dividends and appreciation. However, common stocks sold by some companies and within some industries can be extremely volatile due to the current climate of the stock market. This volatility is also affected by the political landscape in the U.S. and around the world.
Bonds
Bonds come in many forms. Check out this comprehensive piece on bond investing. Generally speaking, one of the most secure bonds are U.S. Treasury bonds. The reason being, treasury bonds are issued by the U.S. government, and it is generally assumed that the federal government will never be unable to pay its debts. Although all investments carry a certain degree of risk, treasury bonds are the closest thing to a riskless investment. Other bonds include corporate, municipal, and agency bonds.
Bonds can be an appealing investment, because their returns are fixed. From an assessment perspective, a bond’s rating is an important piece of information to have. An experienced wealth management attorney will use this rating to determine the assumed value in the present and in the future of any bonds you own, because ratings are issued on the basis of risk. Lower ratings are given to companies that have an increased risk of a defaulting on a debt. Therefore, careful consideration must be given to each bond type and its rating.
Real Estate
When purchased and used correctly, real estate can be a good short-term and long-term investment that can yield high short-term returns or consistent residual returns. However, as with most investments, good management is a key factor in successful real estate transactions. When assessing the value of your real estate, you need to consider your overall goals for each piece of property. Are you planning on purchasing and re-selling the property for a quick profit? Maybe you want to rent the property to a tenant for long-term residual income. In either situation, an accurate evaluation of your required return on investment and the perceived level of risk will help you determine the value of real estate investments currently in your portfolio and the evaluation of future investment opportunities.
Gold
Gold is one the oldest investments known to man. Gold will always hold a certain amount of value regardless of whether or not a company has gone out of business, a government collapses, or new government regulations are put in place, which is part of gold’s appeal as an investment. Although gold prices like other physical commodities can fluctuate, gold’s value consistency is one of the reasons why so many investors have a certain amount of money invested in gold.
Evaluating the Strength of Your Portfolio
A portfolio’s strength can be viewed through many different lenses such as returns, risks, and, one of the most important ways to evaluate a portfolio, diversity. The overall goal of wealth management for most people relies on a common premise, minimizing risks and maximizing returns. One of the most common ways to accomplish this goal is through diversification. Diversifying your portfolio can minimize the amount of overall risk expose you are exposed to.
Diversification
Diversifying a portfolio is accomplished by investing in multiple companies, industries, types of securities, and types of investments. For example, if you invested $4 in each of two companies, company A and B, suppose company A has a great quarter, and its stock price rises from $4 to $6. Company B has a bad quarter, and its stock price drops from $4 to $3. You as an investor have yielded an overall profit of %12.5 or $1.
I could have invested all of my $8 investment in company B, which would have left me with a 25% or 2$ loss, or I could have invested all of my money in company, which would have yielded a $4 profit. However, it is just as likely that the scenario could be reversed by company A having a bad quarter and company B having a good quarter. By investing in both companies the losses of one company are offset by the gains of another. Although you did not yield the highest return possible, you minimize your risk of incurring a overall loss. This simple example demonstrates the two fundamental goals of diversifying your investments, minimizing your risk and yielding consistent returns.
Mutual Funds
Mutual funds are a type of investment that demonstrate the benefits of diversifications. A mutual fund is comprised of a pool of investors that purchase hundreds of stocks or bonds in multiple types of industries. When you purchase shares of a mutual fund your are not purchasing stock but rather, a share of the fund itself. Shares of mutual funds generate returns through appreciation and capital gains disbursements, but due to the fund’s diverse portfolio, mutual fund shares tend to be less volatile than stocks and maintain a high level of liquidity.
Plan for Future Success
Our team of wealth management attorneys will assist you with structuring your portfolio maximize the diversity of your investments. This includes evaluating your current investments, the performance of those investments, and their potential for future returns. Active management is the key to your future financial success, and in order to maximize your returns, our attorneys recommend a mixture of investments involving varying levels of risk, some of which you may not be aware of.
Customizing Your Investment Strategy
Each time a client steps into our office to discuss investment strategies, we take the investor’s goals into account. Everyone is at a different stage in their life cycle, and due to this, each investment strategy is unique. If you are planning on retiring soon, you will most likely not want to consider investments that could be deemed high risk with the possibility of high returns and losses. A younger client might be willing to consider investing in high risk securities. However, both of these clients, regardless of age, require a wealth management strategy that is tailored to their needs and that takes their short-term and long-term goals into account.
Understanding How Your Investments are Taxed
As you invest successfully, it’s important that you obtain a wealth management attorney that understands the complexities of the tax system and how certain assets are taxed. In 2016, the IRS audited almost 1.1 million tax returns, and as a wealth management law firm that specializes in taxes, we have witnessed the financial consequences that a poor tax strategy can incur on an individual’s financial stability. So it is important that you consult with a with a professional that is knowledgeable about how each investment is taxed when considering new and existing investments. Our team of wealth management attorneys give our clients an additional sense of security, because they know that they are working not just with excellent investment professionals but also, tax experts.
*Authoritative sources:
small percentage
risky investments
Common stock
Bonds
Rating
value consistency
Diversification
1.1 million tax returns
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Wealth Management Lawyer in Miami | Miami Asset Planning Lawyer
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Wealth management law firm with attorneys specializing in portfolio evaluation, trading and selling securities, real asset management, and investment planning. Schedule a consultation today.
