If you’re curious what it would be like to have me serve as your fiduciary financial advisor, you’re in the right place. At HFG Trust, our goal is to help you Simplify Life with a relationship-first approach, built on transparency, education, and advice that puts your interests first.
From the first meeting to ongoing planning across the areas that matter most, this article walks through what you can expect from our work together. (If you’re newer to the term “fiduciary,” you may find this helpful: What is a fiduciary?)
Step 1: The First Meeting – Getting to Know Each Other
The journey begins with a conversation either in my office (see our Kennewick, WA location) or virtually if you’re not located in the Tri-Cities. Explore HFG Trust locations.
This first meeting is all about getting to know one another.
You don’t need to bring anything unless there’s something specific you’d like to discuss. If that’s the case, you’re welcome to bring relevant documents or email them ahead of time so I can review them before we meet.
I’ll want to learn about who you are, what brought you here, and what your financial goals are. I’ll also walk you through the core services I provide as part of HFG Trust’s wealth management services:
- Retirement planning
- Portfolio management (investment management)
- Tax planning
- Estate planning
Afterward, I’ll send you a follow-up letter summarizing the key points of our discussion, so you don’t need to worry about remembering every detail.
Step 2: Tax Planning and Investment Portfolio Allocation
Before our second meeting, I’ll ask you to share your most recent tax return so I can prepare a personalized tax planning session.
Proactive tax planning is something I offer all clients, and I like to introduce this early in the process. Many people come to a financial advisor looking for investment help and a financial plan—and we absolutely provide those. But tax planning is just as important. If you’re not actively looking for ways to be more tax-efficient, you can miss opportunities that could save you meaningful dollars over time.
We use industry-leading software called Holistiplan, which generates a summary report and customized tax planning considerations based on your unique situation. It also includes scenario analysis that lets us compare strategies aimed at improving tax efficiency and avoiding common tax pitfalls. (When needed, we can coordinate alongside your CPA or tax professional.)
We’ll also take a deeper look at your investment profile as part of portfolio management. We’ll answer the question: What portfolio composition makes sense for you? This is based on your:
- Time horizon
- Goals
- Risk tolerance and capacity
- Outside wealth
- Savings expectations
- And more
Step 3: Signing Day
If you’re ready to move forward, we make the onboarding process easy. You can sign in person or from home using DocuSign. Once you become a client, we’ll transfer your investment accounts and begin the implementation phase.
Step 4: Retirement Planning
Next, we’ll schedule a dedicated retirement planning session to build your personalized retirement road map.
We use a powerful application called RightCapital. This tool incorporates your information—your balance sheet, income, retirement goals, and lifestyle expectations—and helps us model your probability of retirement success. We aim for a target of 80% or higher.
From there, we can adjust assumptions and see how life changes might impact your plan. Whether you experience a job change, inheritance, purchase a second home, or go through another major event, we can revisit your plan anytime to keep you on track.
If you want a quick starting point before we meet, you can also explore our retirement savings calculator.
Related reading: How much should you save for retirement?
Step 5: Estate Planning
Last but not least: estate planning.
We’ll walk through your vision and make sure your documents and accounts are aligned to carry that vision forward. If you haven’t created an estate plan yet—or if your documents are outdated—I’ll nudge you toward getting them updated and help you feel more confident and prepared before you sit down with an attorney. For families who need more ongoing support in this area, HFG Trust also offers trust and estate services.
Ready to Get Started?
If this sounds like the kind of advisory relationship you’re looking for, I’d love to connect. Please give me a call at 509-735-7507 or reach out through our contact page to schedule your first meeting.
