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Financial Planning

Why Barre & Company LLC?

Your choice of the right financial professional is not a simple one. It could also be the most significant investment decision you will make in your lifetime. Here at Barre & Company LLC, our main objective is to provide you financial security today and far into the future. We conduct an in-depth evaluation of your financial profile in order to create a structured plan based on saving and investing. Your financial goals will always dictate which financial instruments we will implement in order to attain financial success. We will help you maximize your financial efforts with a well-organized plan and continue to provide you details and recommendations throughout your relationship with us.

Financial planning is the gathering of information relating to the financial health and well-being of a client. Through an interview process, a client’s financial concerns and future goals are established. The information gathered is then analyzed and compared with the client’s stated goals. From this comparison, recommendations can be made to help a client adjust their current financial behavior, so that any gaps can be filled and/or any current plans can be altered to meet goals. Or, in the best-case scenario, the analysis can simply validate the path they are currently on is the correct one.

Whether you have very limited resources or a sizable estate, you can benefit from the services of a financial planner.

Today, it is almost impossible for anyone not working in the financial field to keep up with rapidly changing financial products and tax laws as well as the volatility of the economy.

Financial product information and planning ideas abound… each claiming to be the best. You are given financial advice in articles, radio talk shows, and advertisements, but this information is often fragmented and not related to your total, personal financial situation.

Putting all this information together into a workable plan can be a daunting project for individuals. We strive to explain your options in easy-to-understand terms showing how each option could affect you.

The busier you are, the less time you have to devote to sorting out these issues, and yet, a comprehensive financial plan can be the key to your financial success. Good planning always costs less than good reacting.

The benefits of taking some time and sitting down with us to create that financial planning road map are numerous and will depend on your individual circumstances. However, one of the key benefits of a well-laid out financial plan that is implemented and monitored is that it will generally allow you to reach financial independence sooner than if you had not formulated a plan of action.

Financial independence can mean different things for different people, but for many it means the ability to cease regular employment knowing that they have enough assets and retirement income to maintain a certain lifestyle for the rest of life and provide for their beneficiaries after death.

Since everyone has different goals and objectives and different factors and circumstances, it is conceivable that your current financial decisions are not compatible with your true goals and objectives.

At Barre & Company LLC, we take the time to get to know you, your financial situation, your financial goals, and your risk tolerance. When you decide to work with us, you can expect to receive these services:

  • Personal attention: We will take the time to go through a full interview with you, asking questions to get to know your entire financial situation, your risk tolerance, and your goals before setting up a customized financial plan.
  • Help developing an asset allocation strategy: Once you’ve worked with us to determine your risk tolerance, we can help you allocate your money based on a mix of asset classes with varying degrees of risk that fit your time horizon and comfort level.
  • Advice on specific investments that match your goals: When you’re comfortable with your financial plan and have determined an asset allocation strategy, we will then make specific recommendations on the types of mutual funds and securities that will best meet your needs. We will also provide research supporting our recommendations.
  • Answers to your financial questions: If the markets become volatile, we will be available to help you understand the reasons behind the instability. If you hear of an interesting investment opportunity or a new stock offering, we have the knowledge to research and investigate these opportunities and help you decide if they fit into your overall plan.
  • Proactive management of your account: We can also bring investment opportunities to your attention, based on detailed knowledge of your financial plan and goals. Furthermore, we help you manage your expectations by explaining the rewards and risks of any investment.
  • Ongoing, regular check-ups: We will call on a regular basis to see if your financial situation has changed. If you’ve gotten married, switched jobs, had a child or purchased a home, your financial plan may need to be adjusted to account for these changes. At least once a year, we will review your account with you and make any adjustments necessary to ensure your plan continues to meet your situation and goals.

The financial planning process is like a science, where a logical step-by-step process is taken to assist you in achieving your financial goals. Our primary focus is to coordinate all areas of your total financial planning picture, putting you on track to achieving the highest-level outcome for all concerned, both emotionally and financially.

Our step-by-step process includes:

  1. Initial interview: We will meet to discuss how our company will be able to impact your personal, family, and business goals.
  2. Data gathering: As a first step toward working together, we spend time with you in a fact-finding interview. This conversation provides us with sufficient information to conduct an accurate analysis. We discover more specifics about your goals and values as well as your current financial situation.
    • Current income taxation
    • Investment and asset management
    • Wealth accumulation or preservation
    • Income/cash flow planning
    • Financial independence
    • Business continuation or disposition
    • Estate planning and gift and estate tax planning
  3. Analysis and evaluation of your financial status: We evaluate the data collected to gain a better understanding of your unique situation and your specific requirements in order to create your personalized financial plan. All the information gathered in Step 2 will be incorporated and its time to start the process of determining if you can meet your stated financial goals and objectives. If you are unable to meet your goals, then current problem areas will be identified that are hindering you in meeting these goals.
  4. Recommending a plan: This step simply involves meeting with you to discuss the analysis and plan recommendations. We determine the direction of plan development and prioritize the issues to be resolved. We are here to help you accomplish your goals in the way you desire and see fit.

    We ensure that you understand and are comfortable with our recommendations, such that you would have the ability to execute the recommendations on a current and ongoing basis, if required.
  5. Implementing the plan: This step involves ensuring that the recommendations in Step 4 are put into action and commencing your journey to financial independence. At this time, you will have a solid understanding of what needs to be done to maximize your income and assets to meet your desires, goals, and dreams. This will act as the implementation guide and benchmark for monitoring the project as we all move forward in time. As a point of service, future implementation strategies will be reviewed regularly. Comprehensive planning is always an ongoing process, and we are here to help and serve.
  6. Monitoring the plan for changes and progress: We conduct periodic portfolio reviews and maintain ongoing personal communications to keep you informed and involved. We also invite your input, encouraging you to keep us informed as any questions, concerns, or significant financial developments occur. We may recommend investment adjustments when your situation or objectives change or when an opportunity arises to maximize investment performance.

What is a Fee-Only Planner?

Barre & Company LLC is a fee-only financial planning firm committed to assisting client to reach their financial goals. Fee-only planners, like us, are compensated solely by fees paid by their clients and do not accept commissions or compensation from any other source. As fee-only planners, we believe there is a significant conflict of interest if an advisor stands to gain financially from the purchase of any investment or insurance product he/she recommends to the client.

Fee-only investment management is the newest and most attractive way to pay for professional money management and is the type of arrangement recommended by many leading financial writers and experts.

Rather than paying sales commissions for brokers to sell you products, you pay a reasonable annual fee based on your account value. The fee-only advisor does not charge commissions. He/she is interested in growing your account and providing long-term service.

Barre & Company LLC charges a reasonable, quarterly management fee based on the value of your account.

The main difference between a stockbroker and us is that they make a living by charging their clients commissions. Therefore, the more they charge, the more money they make.

Stockbrokers often charge 1%-2% per trade on stocks and as much as 6% on mutual funds. Stockbrokers may charge additional fees, such as 12b-1 fees or surrender fees on mutual funds, surrender fees and bloated internal expenses on annuities, and heavy markups on products like unit trusts or bonds.

On the other hand, as a fee-only advisor, our compensation is a flat percentage of your account value. We do not earn any money from commissions, trailers, or markups. We earn money only if your account grows or if we gain new clients.

Do not be confused or misled! Fee-only is definitely not the same as fee-based. Fee-based is a confusing term for a compensation structure that used to be called “fee-plus commission.”

Fee-based usually means that you pay for a plan or other advice and then pay to buy investments with commissions or markups that go to the advisor. This can be worse than the straight commission arrangement because you may pay twice without realizing it.

Fee-only is what leading financial writers often recommend. It is safer and more objective, and without the drag of commissions, your investment has every reason to perform as good or better than the fee-based or commission approaches.

There are 3 basic ways you can pay for investment help: by the hour, by a set fee, or by commissions.

Specific advisory services, such as evaluating your overall financial needs, developing a comprehensive financial plan, or developing an asset allocation plan are usually billed on an hourly basis. Fee-only advisors charge either a set fee for services rendered or a fee, usually 1%-2%, based on a percentage of the assets under management. A commissioned advisor gets paid on a per transaction basis by the companies whose products he/she sells.

For ongoing management, the type of payment arrangement you have is important because of the issue of sales pressure. If an investment advisor is compensated solely by commissions or is affiliated with a firm that offers only its own proprietary investments, you’ll want to know the implications of this arrangement and get assurances that this will not influence decisions made for your account.

What is an Enrolled Agent?

An EA is an individual who has demonstrated technical competence in the field of taxation and can represent taxpayers before all administrative levels of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 

“Enrolled” means EAs are licensed by the federal government. “Agent” means EAs are authorized to appear in place of the taxpayer before the IRS. Only EAs, attorneys, and CPAs may represent taxpayers before the IRS. The EA profession dates back to 1884 when, after questionable claims had been presented for Civil War losses, Congress acted to regulate persons who represented citizens in their dealings with the U.S. Treasury Department.

EAs advise, represent, and prepare tax returns for individuals, partnerships, corporations, estates, trusts, and any entities with tax-reporting requirements. EAs prepare millions of tax returns in a typical year. EAs have expertise in the continually changing field of tax law, which enables them to effectively represent taxpayers audited by the IRS.

Only EAs are required to demonstrate to the IRS their competence in matters of taxation before they may represent a taxpayer before the IRS. Unlike attorneys and CPAs, who may or may not choose to specialize in taxes, all EAs specialize in matters of taxation. EAs are also the only taxpayer representatives who receive their right to practice from the federal government, unlike CPAs and attorneys who are licensed by the states.

An individual must pass a difficult 2-day examination administered by the IRS, which covers taxation of individuals, corporations, partnerships, estates, and trusts; procedures; and ethics. Next, the successful candidates are subjected to a rigorous background check conducted by the IRS.

Alternatively, an individual may become an EA based on employment at the IRS for a minimum of 5 years in a job where he/she regularly applied and interpreted the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations.

In addition to the stringent testing and application process, EAs are required to complete 72 hours of CPE, reported every 3 years, to maintain their status. Because of the rigor associated with becoming an EA and keeping up with the required credentials, there are fewer than 33,000 EAs in the U.S.

EAs are required to abide by the standards of ethical conduct as published in U.S. Treasury Department Circular 230. EAs found to be in violation of the provisions contained in Circular 230 may be suspended or disbarred.

The NAEA is the key professional organization representing EAs. The principal concern of the NAEA and its members is honest, intelligent, and ethical representation of the financial position of taxpayers before governmental agencies. Members of the NAEA are required to complete a minimum of 30 hours of CPE each year in the interpretation, application, and administration of federal and state tax laws in order to maintain membership in the organization. This requirement surpasses the IRS’ required minimum of 16 hours per year.

Employee Benefit Communications

Employee benefit plans deliver the best value when they are understood and appreciated by every employee. As a long-recognized leader in employee benefit plans, Barre & Company LLC understands the need for specialized and effective communication to make benefit plans successful. Our communications department presents your employee benefit information to your employees in a clear, simplified way and, importantly, in terms they can easily understand.

Presenting the information that’s right for your corporate culture

Our communication specialists can provide clear and engaging descriptions of benefit plans. Professional communicators develop visual materials that enhance your employee meetings. We also design annual employee benefit statements that provide employees with a personal summary of the value of their benefits. Other materials we develop include slide shows, videos, brochures, payroll stuffers, posters, and customized materials that communicate your benefits effectively.

Custom designs for your employees

No two benefit programs are exactly alike. We create a communications program for your corporate culture, which is tailored to your employee demographics. We also assist with conducting enrollment and benefit update meetings.

A coordinated communication program

It is important for your employees to understand the true value of the benefits you provide. A program of regular benefit communications ensures a deeper appreciation of employee benefits. Barre & Company LLC provides the professional communication expertise that helps shape positive employee attitudes toward your company and the benefits it provides.

Defined Contribution Plans

One certainty of today’s world is that each of us is responsible for contributing to our financial security during retirement years. Defined contribution plans are one method that employers can utilize to support their employees in planning for their financial futures. Barre & Company LLC helps each client design and implement plans that will benefit both the employer on a current tax-deductible basis and the employee on a tax-deferred basis. We design the plan features that best suit the needs of your company and your employees.

Specialization

At Barre & Company LLC, our staff specializes in the administration of profit sharing, money purchase, 401(k), 403(b), employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), and non-qualified tax-deferred compensation plans. Our service-minded approach and eye for automation help assure prompt and accurate administration of your defined contribution plans. We work with you in every phase of plan administration, from data gathering and account reporting to compliance testing and legislative changes.

ESOPs

We specialize in the administration of ESOPs. As an employee-owned company, we understand the complexities of ESOPs. Our services include repurchase liability studies and specialized consulting from an employee stakeholder point of view.

Flexibility

Our flexible computer system helps us work efficiently to perform a broad range of record-keeping activities.

Our services include:

  • Providing participant statements that are detailed and easy to understand on a quarterly, semi-annual, or annual basis
  • Generating year-end annual reports that summarize the plan’s financial and participation activity
  • Certifying benefit payments
  • Checking the plan for compliance issues
  • Processing year-end IRS Form 5500 reports

We take a proactive approach and offer actual deferral percentage projections and detailed allocation analyses. We also conduct frequent plan document reviews to make sure your plan is continuing to meet your needs. Our extensive knowledge and experience with a wide variety of plans allow us to identify potential problems before they arise.

Preparing for the Future

Barre & Company LLC will assist you in encouraging your employees to prepare for their future needs. We will be a part of your team in communicating the plan provisions and benefits to enhance your employees’ appreciation of the plan to its fullest. Giving you first-class consulting, administrative, and communication services for your defined contribution plan is our goal.

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