Have you Considered Consolidating Retirement Accounts?

As you grow your wealth, your financial picture can grow in complexity. You may be tapping different firms for a variety of services, as an example. Yet, if aspects of your financial life are siloed from each other, it could lead to blind spots and that could result in hidden risks, higher expenses and wasted time. 

The risks of doing it all yourself

Consider your retirement accounts and portfolios. You may have a Roth IRA account to supplement your company's 401(k) plus perhaps taxable accounts with different robo-advisors.

With each account managed through different platforms and advisors, there is a risk of overlapping investments or missing out on optimal tax strategies, potentially causing you to bear higher tax liabilities than necessary.

In this scenario, you're the single point of contact for your investments, so you carry the burden of account coordination, all while not having a cohesive strategy that maximizes your retirement savings potential.

There is another option. Take advantage of an integrated financial planning approach. Edelman Financial Engines for example, is able to help coordinate all your investment accounts and retirement savings‚ as well as all other aspects of your financial life. 

The potential edge of an integrated approach

A financial planner can work with you and our team of experts to help organize your investments, tax planning, insurance, estate planning, mortgages, and more into a cohesive plan that could uncover new ways to help build, grow, and protect your savings and income.

Integrated financial planning is designed to strategically coordinate aspects of your financial life, so they can work in concert to move your wealth forward. To fully capture the potential benefits, it is necessary to evaluate all elements of your financial life together. 

Seeing your full financial picture can reveal opportunities

Think of your employee benefits at work. A financial planner, in coordination with you and a tax professional, can help connect your overall tax strategy to your benefits package, such as whether a Roth conversion of your 401(k) is appropriate or when might be the most opportune time to cash in stock options.

A financial planner may also suggest working with an insurance professional to help identify a less expensive and more personalized insurance strategy beyond what you're offered at work. By evaluating the insurance market and your unique needs, they can tailor an insurance plan that not only provides sufficient coverage but also potentially save you considerable premiums over time.

In addition, your planner can ensure your investments are fully diversified across your portfolios, by carefully balancing asset allocation in accordance with your risk tolerance and market conditions. This thorough diversification approach helps mitigate risks associated with market volatility while also seeking to maximize potential returns across your investments.

Furthermore, by aligning your insurance and investment strategies with one another, your financial planner contributes to a more integrated approach where every aspect of your financial life works synergistically. This holistic plan not only helps secure your assets but also sets a robust foundation for the opportunity for future financial growth and prosperity.

This holistic view won’t occur if aspects of your financial life are carved up among different advisors. When you consolidate your retirement accounts at Edelman Financial Engines, you have the assurance that when it comes to investment advice, your planner has your best interests because your planner is a fiduciary. 

So, what are your next steps?

Speak with a financial planner about consolidating your retirement accounts, including 401(k)s you may have with previous employers. Discuss financial services that you are receiving that a planner can help you manage. A financial planner can help integrate all of these elements in a way that can give your wealth new potential while simplifying your life, so you can enjoy the wealth you worked so hard to build.