Area of Expertise
Encompass Wealth Management specializes in helping families and businesses pursue their financial goals. We specialize in drafting and implementing investment portfolios that mitigate market risk while diversifying holdings and striving to attain growth.
We take the time to listen to our clients. The process of investing, saving for retirement or for college education is one that should be done slowly and with the client’s input and feedback. We work as a team. We are not here to tell you that you are deep in the red or that you are never going to retire and will work for the rest of your life or how you have neglected your personal finances. Again, we are a team. We are here to help you.
FOR INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES
Investment Portfolio Management
Given the cyclical nature of the financial markets, we pay particular attention to the Business Cycle. By recognizing which phase of the cycle we are currently in, we are able to make proactive rather than reactive changes in our portfolios. With each phase of the business cycle having its own unique strategy, we manage risk in client portfolios and adjust investment strategies as the business cycle evolves.
Each client is different, but our disciplined process is the same. It is very important that together, we determine your risk tolerance, time horizon and investment objective for the funds you have invested. We understand how important capital preservation is to our clients, so we invest carefully to help preserve your assets. We believe that in today’s volatile markets, client assets must be actively managed and rebalanced to take advantage of opportunities and minimize risk.
We believe our process, developed over fourteen years of investing, is solid, sound and disciplined. We look to reduce risk, enhance returns and realize gains as tax efficiently as possible. Every investment decision you make should be the result of a deliberate process. By utilizing a fee based commission free platform, you and your advisor share a common goal- to grow the value of your assets. In a fee based environment, OUR interests are aligned.
Personal Financial Planning
Financial planning is at the very core of the services we provide to individuals and families seeking to build, preserve, and manage wealth over time. Our process is comprehensive, seeking to balance your needs for risk management, income and investment returns, tax management, retirement planning and estate planning.
We provide a secure, customized website that will allow you and designated family members to see a complete real-time snapshot of every financial balance you have across financial accounts and institutions. With your permission, the site can be accessed by your other trusted advisors, including attorneys and CPAs. This complete aggregation of balances from your checking, savings, investment accounts, credit card companies, loan balances and mortgage companies provides you with an accurate, daily net worth statement that then dynamically overlays your financial plan, enabling you to see if you are on track every step of the way.
Individual Retirement Planning
We help you meet your retirement income needs and maintain the lifestyle you have worked so many years to achieve. By integrating ROTH and Traditional IRAs, 401(k) and other employer sponsored plans into your overall strategic plan, we create a retirement income distribution strategy that addresses inflation and market fluctuations to help you enjoy your retirement years.
Social Security benefits are a crucial element of retirement planning. There are many factors to Social Security that can affect you and your spouse’s decision on whether to start or delay receiving your benefits. At Encompass Wealth Management, we have the calculators to provide a complete Social Security benefit analysis for both you and/or your spouse.
Strategic Family Estate Planning
Preserving wealth from one generation to the next can be complex and time-consuming. In estate planning, we work with your estate attorney to ensure that mechanisms to facilitate the efficient transfer of wealth are established and maintained. We work to minimize taxes and maximize benefits to your intended recipients, including both individual and charitable beneficiaries, whether via lifetime or testamentary bequests. We can help beneficiaries set up estate accounts, determine date of death values and handle asset transfers on behalf of beneficiaries. When your family is meeting the challenges that accompany the loss of a loved one, we can relieve your stress by assisting with your family’s financial matters.
Give us a call to make an appointment today. We can help you get your estate plan in place. Let Encompass Wealth Management be your trusted partner every step of the way, with our broad range of options.
401(k) Consulting & Asset Allocation
What’s your retirement “flight plan?”
At Encompass Wealth Management we offer individual help with your 401k. Anyone can select last year’s best performers just by looking at the numbers. That’s like navigating your aircraft by looking behind you. Where you’ve been in the past is not necessarily where you wish to go in the future. Last year’s investment winners could be this year’s investment losers. We suggest you navigate your investments by looking at what lies ahead in the business cycle. We can help you with that.
When was the last time you review your 401k performance statement? Are you selecting the right investment allocation and diversification? What are your investment options? Let us help you today.
FOR BUSINESSESS AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
Corporate Retirement Plans
Encompass Wealth Management specializes in corporate retirement plans. If you are a business owner or are in any way associated with the administration of your employers corporate retirement plan, you are most likely a “fiduciary” of that plan. As a fiduciary, you have responsibilities that you might not be aware of. Newly enacted regulations by the Department of Labor (ERISA 408(b)(2)) have increased the oversight and burdens placed on those who provide retirement plans for their employees or administer retirement plans for their employers. You could easily be held to a “fiduciary” standard by the government and not even be aware of it.
ERISA 408(b)(2) was implemented primarily to provide transparency of fees and disclosure of conflicts of interest that previously were hidden by most plans. At Encompass Wealth Management, we have advisors that help you navigate the fiduciary process included in creating and administrating a company retirement plan. We are aware of the standards, laws, and trust provisions of a plan and can help you prepare an investment policy statement, which is the blueprint of your retirement plan. We help you gather the information that is necessary in making informed decisions as to the investments that you choose. We monitor the holdings for consistency and correlation to the investment styles chosen and review performance relative to its assumed risk and in relation to its peer group.
Small Business Retirement Plans
Running a small business is challenging as it is. Let us help you design a retirement plan that can motivate, reward and retain those key employees who have made you and your business successful. There are several plans to choose from. Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP IRA), Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE IRA) or a Self-Employed 401(k) plan are some options.
These three plans are generally more suitable for very small businesses—usually, ten employees or less. Each of these plans has different characteristics—such as the ability to cover employees, contribution limits, and administrative responsibility, to name a few. To choose the right plan for your business, you need to understand the nuances of these plans and match them to your priorities (e.g., higher contributions or simpler administration). We are here to help you decipher and select the right plan for your business.
Non-Profit Endowments
In the heart of Washington, D.C. it is natural for Encompass Wealth Management to work with non-profit organizations to protect and preserve endowments with rigid investment policy. We design and implement portfolios that are in line with the organization’s mission and vision while adhering to socially responsibility investing principles.
Let Encompass Wealth Management give your board members a thorough analysis of your investment portfolio to confirm if it is in line with the organization’s investment policy, mission and objectives. We will make you look good.
Be the hero in your community.
Charitable Giving
Charitable giving can provide tax benefits for you and your heirs. We conduct a full assessment of short- and long-term tax and estate planning implications to help you achieve your wealth management objectives.
You have done well for yourself. Now it is time to help those who have not been as fortunate as you have. You could receive great tax benefits to your heirs. The journey to wealth is not only about accumulation but also about leaving a legacy. Wealth is a vehicle to do good for you and for others. Put that wealth to work so others have the same opportunities as you had.
Give us a call so we can help you leave your legacy. You may not leave a legacy like the philanthropists Bill Gates, Warren Buffett or George Soros but you will make a difference.
INSURANCE
Protect the ones you love the most. You do not want to be a burden on your family. Whether you are in your 20s or in your 60s, there is always a need for life insurance. As independent advisors, we are not captive to one life insurance company.
Some of the types of insurance we offer to our clients are: Universal Life Insurance, Variable Universal Life Insurance, Whole Life and 10/20/30 year term.
Close you eyes and imagine how you would like your family to live if you are not here. Do not put up getting life insurance any longer. We can help you get the right coverage with the right insurance company.
We strive to help clients save on their current life insurance. We can conduct an in-force policy review of your existing life insurance policy to determine if you could potentially increase your face value with the same monthly premiums.
Buy/Sell Agreements Insurance
The death or long-term disability of a business owner may lead to internal turmoil, customer erosion and disruption in revenue flow. A buy/sell agreement funded with life insurance may help prevent these problems from arising and potentially damaging your business.
A buy/sell agreement gives employers peace of mind knowing that their business is in capable hands should they no longer be able or want to manage it. It also: (1) Provides money to create a fair market value exchange; (2) Promotes equitable and orderly transfer of wealth, ownership and management; (3) May offer tax advantages; (4) Guarantees heirs a buyer for assets they may not know how to manage; and (5) Provides heirs cash to pay estate debt, expenses and taxes.
Call us to make an appointment to see the benefits of these business insurance plans.
Key Man Life Insurance
Key man insurance is simply life insurance on the key person in a business. In a small business, this is usually the owner, the founders or perhaps a key employee or two. These are the people who are crucial to a business–the ones whose absence would sink the company. You need key man insurance on those people!
Here’s how key man insurance works: A company purchases a life insurance policy on the key employee, pays the premiums and is the beneficiary of the policy. If that person unexpectedly dies, the company receives the insurance payoff. The reason this coverage is important is because the death of a key person in a small company often causes the immediate death of that company. The purpose of key man insurance is to help the company survive the blow of losing the person who makes the business work. The company can use the insurance proceeds for expenses until it can find a replacement person, or, if necessary, pay off debts, distribute money to investors, pay severance to employees.
Long-Term Care Insurance
It might be hard to imagine now, but chances are you’ll need some help taking care of yourself later in life. The big question is: How will you pay for it?
Buying long-term care insurance is one way to prepare. Long-term care refers to a host of services that aren’t covered by regular health insurance. This includes assistance with routine daily activities, like bathing, dressing or getting in and out of bed.
A long-term care insurance policy helps cover the costs of that care when you have a chronic medical condition, a disability or a disorder such as Alzheimer’s disease. Most policies will reimburse you for care given in a variety of places, such as: Your home; A nursing home; An assisted living facility or An adult day care center.
Considering long-term care costs is an important part of any long-range financial plan, especially in your 50s and beyond. Waiting until you need care to buy coverage is not an option. You won’t qualify for long-term care insurance if you already have a debilitating condition. Most people with long-term care insurance buy it in their mid-50s to mid-60s.
Whether long-term care insurance is the right choice depends on your situation and preferences. We are here to help you in the selection process.