Beyond Numbers: The Art of Retirement Planning in Paramus, NJ

Retirement planning may seem like a numbers game to many investors. You save a certain amount in your retirement funds and then sail happily into your golden years when the time comes.

Understanding the Unique Needs of High-Net-Worth Individuals

But at Integra Wealth Management, we practice a comprehensive approach to retirement planning that goes far beyond the numbers. While we continually seek to optimize the returns on your retirement funds in a manner consistent with existing risk, we focus first on your individual lifestyle and retirement goals. After all, to make sure you have the optimal numbers, there needs to be a concrete strategy for what you want to do in retirement. Travel? Run a business? Play golf? The list can be nearly endless. We also tailor retirement plans for when you want to retire. 

At Integra Wealth Management, we also know that there are special considerations for affluent clients. The portfolios of high-net-worth individuals in Paramus especially should be personalized around their lifestyle and goals. Your high net worth simply means that you have more assets to invest. You can invest in standard asset classes, such as stocks, bonds, and cash, but also in other asset classes as well, such as precious metals, commodities, and private equity. 

Wealth Management New Jersey: A Holistic Approach

Our wealth management New Jersey strategies Integrate comprehensive investment management with retirement planning for a holistic approach that seeks to maximize and preserve your assets. We can develop a customized financial plan for you both now and in retirement, covering cash management, asset management, risk assessment management, estate planning strategies, tax planning strategies, and retirement planning. 

Section 3: Managing Investment Risk for a Confident Retirement

Managing investment risk is one of the key components of the art of retirement planning as we practice it. Investment risk occurs with all investments and must consistently be managed, but it’s especially important to a confident retirement. 

Investment risk is the chance of market prices dropping and, thus, portfolios losing money. When you are young and accumulating retirement funds, any declines in the value of your holdings will likely be made up in the following years. The U.S. stock market averages such as the Standard & Poor’s 500 periodically go into bear markets, drops of 20 percent or more in a year. However, in the past 30 years, it has returned nearly 10 percent per year on average, even factoring in bear markets. 

But if bear or lackluster markets occur as you’re heading into retirement or actually in your retirement years, it can affect you more negatively. For that reason, it’s important to balance risk and returns in all asset classes for high-net-worth individuals in Paramus and elsewhere in New Jersey. 

Integra Wealth Management uses several strategies for balancing risk and return. Your retirement portfolios should aim to be diversified among asset classes to help make sure that any investment risk in one asset class is counterbalanced by the characteristics of other asset classes. While stocks may be volatile, asset classes such as bonds and cash instruments.

Bonds and cash may have an inflation risk profile. The interest rates of both were at historic lows for many years after the Great Recession of 2008-2009. The low interest rates meant that the returns did not keep pace with inflation, especially as inflation rose to very high levels over the past several years. If your investment returns don’t at least keep even with inflation, the portfolios are potentially losing money because they’re losing purchasing power. Well-chosen stocks can counterbalance inflation risk.

Your asset allocation may change in long-term retirement planning. When you’re younger, you may want to better position returns with relatively heavy asset weightings in stocks (again, because periodic losses can be made up as upward equity markets begin to climb again). But as you age, prudent asset allocation may weigh more heavily toward bonds and cash, as they aim for capital, and it’s important to remember that while investing in individual bonds and holding them until maturity or the call date enables you to effectively manage interest rate or market risk, it does heighten the importance of scrutinizing credit risk of each individual issuer while carefully assessing your own liquidity needs.

We believe high net-worth individuals consider taking a defensive stance as they near retirement by evaluating the returns and risk of blue-chip stocks with steady histories of earnings and dividends.

The Role of a New Jersey Financial Advisor in Retirement Planning

At Integra Wealth Management, a New Jersey financial advisor adds value to retirement planning by organizing all their financial planning around your goals and lifestyle preferences. We customize all our recommendations.

Because risk management is so important to retirement planning and risk tolerance is so unique to the individual, we utilize Nitrogen (Riskalzye) to help clients identify their risk score. The Risk Score guides us regarding your overall risk attitude, which we then use to guide specific portfolio recommendations. 

Beyond Retirement: Sustaining Wealth Across Generations

As a high-net-worth individual, your financial planning goals may include sustaining wealth across generations. Our CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERS provide strategies for wealth preservation and legacy planning in order to do this.

Wealth preservation includes comprehensive financial planning of your cash and assets, reviewed and adjusted periodically according to your goals and the portfolios’ market performance. You also need financial risk management to insure your assets (house, care) and health (healthcare and long-term care insurance) appropriately, including life insurance if you have dependents. Appropriate tax strategies will also help conserve your wealth by limiting your tax liabilities.

Legacy planning can also include charitable giving beyond your lifetime. It’s important to engage all family members in financial planning discussions.

We invite you to connect with Integra Wealth Management for personalized retirement planning that takes into account your individual lifestyle and goals, your retirement objectives, and your overall financial picture. 

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.

All investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss. There is no guarantee that a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns or outperform a non-diversified portfolio. Diversification does not protect against market risk.

Bonds are subject to market and interest rate risk if sold prior to maturity. Bond values will decline as interest rates rise and bonds are subject to availability and change in price.

Investing in stock includes numerous specific risks including: the fluctuation of dividend, loss of principal and potential illiquidity of the investment in a falling market.

This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax or legal advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific situation with a qualified tax or legal advisor.

More about the author: Dan Minnis

As the Private Wealth Manager, Dan is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional. He has dedicated a significant amount of time and effort to completing rigorous coursework, exams, and experience requirements. He offers his clients highly focused financial guidance and strategies to help them achieve their financial goals.

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