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Financial News

7.30.2010
Market Update Podcast
Listen in for the latest financial market news!
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7.29.2010
ETFs for the Wealthy

Exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), once used as simple building blocks of “beta” exposure in small accounts, have become more sophisticated and can be effective tools used in a number of high-net worth portfolios.
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7.14.2010
Why the brokerage makes money and you don’t

This recent article in the New York Times highlights the multiple ways in which a brokerage house does not serve your best interest. Unlike what the article suggests, you don’t have to “learn to live with it.”
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5.26.2010
When 100% “Protected” Equals Zero
This recent article from the NY Times highlights a consistent problem we see – high commission products being shoehorned into portfolios.
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4.19.2010
The Game is Rigged

Many people have been inquiring about the Goldman Sachs situation in our offices. While conflicts of interest plague brokerage houses (not our firm), the allegations in this case are particularly disturbing.
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3.6.2010
We don’t face tough ethical “choices,” we are simply ethical
Unfortunately, we see the impact that commissions and corporate compensation structures can have on thoughtful portfolio designs – it isn’t pretty.
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2.1.2010
A Plan for Pro Athletes
Unfortunately there are a lot of examples of those who come into sudden wealth at a young age who ultimately lose their financial footing and declare bankruptcy. This does not have to happen.
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1.13.2010
A Decade of Violated Trust

Every industry and business faces challenges; however the recent developments in our industry have challenged the very core of finance.
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1.7.2010
Brokers Flee Big Firms
Independent financial advisors, like Sierra Nevada Wealth Management, are gaining ground from Wall Street brokers in the competition to manage more than $5 trillion in Americans' savings.
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12.16.2009
The Closet Indexing Problem

This is a significant problem in many of the portfolios we see.
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Process

Sierra Nevada Wealth Management works collaboratively with your established accounting, legal and insurance advisors to further enhance your financial goals. In cases where new perspectives or resources are needed, SNWM has established a confidential network of professionals in various fields to address complex and sophisticated financial, legal and risk-related problems.  This includes accountants, attorneys with different fields of expertise, bankers, insurance brokers, real estate specialists and philanthropy consultants.  We have a high-degree of confidence in the network of professionals we have developed, and have not encountered an issue to date which our network cannot resolve.  While working with each client is a unique process, our services generally follow the steps listed below:

 

Wealth Management

Wealth management integrates the personal objectives determined from the financial planning process to the daily management of the investment portfolio.   It is the continuous management of the financial profile with considerations of investments, risks, taxes, changing personal circumstances and investment conditions.  It is a complex, sophisticated and interrelated process, but one which we believed offers our clients the best opportunity to maximize their total financial profile.  Each aspect of your financial picture is designed to work together, which is unfortunately rarely the case for most individuals and families, regardless of assets base.  Clients develop a high-degree of confidence in their own financial picture knowing that SNWM is working exclusively for them to achieve their objectives, that the financial plan has been rigorously developed, and that the after-tax and after-cost returns are being optimized within the framework of the personalized Investment Policy Statement. 

 

In-depth Financial Planning + Sophisticated Investment Management = Wealth Management


Wealth Management begins with the financial planning process detailed below, and continues through to the Investment Management Services detailed below:

 

Financial Planning

The financial planning process is comprehensive and thorough.  It is completely confidential.  It is designed to uncover personal or family objectives and the over-allocation or under-allocation of resources in certain areas of the financial profile, before turning to desired or required investment return goals and risk tolerances.  Less than optimal resource deployment is common due to changing employment benefits packages, changing tax laws, family situations and the piece-meal approach in which financial products are usually delivered to the public.  The end result of the process is a personally optimized plan designed to efficiently meet your objectives.  The financial planning process at SNWM focuses on the following areas and steps:

            Step One -- Introduction to SNWM
            Step Two -- Data Gathering, Evaluation and Goals and Objectives Setting
            Step Three -- Tax and Cash Flow Planning
            Step Four -- Asset and Income Protection Strategies
            Step Five -- Retirement and Education Planning
            Step Six -- Investment Strategies and Development of Investment Policy Statement
            Step Seven -- Estate and Wealth Transfer Planning

 

Investment Management

SNWM manages a combination of traditional and alternative asset strategies towards targeted return levels, which are determined in advance by an Investment Policy Statement (IPS).  We encourage clients to engage in a comprehensive financial planning process, be it with SNWM or elsewhere, to develop the most accurate IPS to meet your objectives.  There are often significant opportunities to improve a financial and risk profile beyond a singular focus on investment return levels, thereby increasing the probability that objectives will be met.   However, in certain cases, it is possible for SNWM to manage assets from an IPS developed previously.  Please contact us for more information if this is your situation.  Investment management services include:

 

Family Office

Many families accumulate substantial assets over the course of a single, or multiple generations.  In these situations, family assets, or a portion of family assets, can be managed together to obtain a more favorable investment cost or terms structure, a more properly aligned family-level strategy or to open doors to new opportunities that may not be available individually.  In many cases, due to assets levels involved, this includes additional emphasis on philanthropy and family foundations, and how a family’s charitable work can maximize tax advantages and mission impact.  Family office services include the aspects of financial planning process and: