Our Services

Goals And Objective Summary

The first and most important part of the comprehensive financial planning process is to identify goals and objectives.  This process involves stating the personal life goals of each of our clients as it relates to the six areas of financial planning.  It also states the goals and objectives of Sea Clear Financial Planning, LLC.  Our clients always know exactly what to expect from our comprehensive financial plans, as it is clearly stated in the Goals and Objectives Summary.

Cash Flow Analysis

The next phase of the financial planning process involves reviewing our client’s cash flow. Analyzing a client’s cash flow is his or her reality check. The difference between what comes in and what goes out is a gauge of one’s financial health. After compiling information on income, expenses, taxes and savings we will construct a Cash Flow Analysis that will clearly show where resources are coming in and how they are being spent.  From that we can determine monthly living expenses, projected retirement living expenses, the amount needed to fund an emergency fund, and the amount of discretionary income that is available for life’s financial goals.  If after analyzing our client’s cash flow, there appears to be an ongoing deficit, we will provide recommendations on how to construct a budget and consolidate and reduce debt.

Insurance Planning

As part of the Insurance Planning process we will perform a comprehensive review of our client’s Umbrella, Homeowner’s, Auto, Long-Term Disability, and Long-Term Care Insurance to determine its appropriateness and completeness. Many individuals do not understand exactly what is covered until a problem occurs. Through our extensive Insurance Summary, our clients know exactly where they stand with coverage. Based on our analysis, we will then make impartial recommendations addressing areas where coverage may be lacking and where revisions may be necessary. Since we do not sell insurance, our clients know that our recommendations are unbiased, appropriate and in their best interest.

Tax Planning

Sea Clear Financial Planning, LLC advises clients on ways to reduce taxes through the use of deductions, exemptions, and investment strategies. We review client’s withholdings and offer strategies to minimize large returns or payments. We review retirement plan contributions to see if clients are fully taking advantage of this opportunity to reduce their income tax liabilities. We work closely with a client’s tax professional to implement tax planning strategies both now and in the future.

Retirement Planning

The Retirement Planning phase involves integrating the age our clients would like to be financially independent given their resources and stated financial goals. It involves reviewing current living expenses and establishing an expected retirement living expense. We will provide a detailed Retirement Planning Analysis that will clearly lay out all goals, savings, and recommendations.

Investment Planning

At Sea Clear Financial Planning, our Investment Planning approach is to build an investment portfolio that is capable of accomplishing our client’s financial goals while matching the level of risk in the portfolio to our client’s tolerance for risk. That is why the first step in our investment planning process is to discuss risk tolerance and financial goals with our clients. Next, after reviewing our client’s current portfolio, we identify and discuss their current asset allocation. Then, if necessary, we recommend a new portfolio that is more suitable based on their goals, risk tolerance and time horizons. Lastly, we discuss how as a Retainer Client, we would implement and manage this new recommended portfolio.

Estate Planning

The Estate Planning process involves reviewing our client's current estate planning documents (wills, living wills, powers of attorney, etc.) Through our Estate Plan Document Summary we will summarize the individuals our clients have chosen to carry out their wishes. After a thorough review, we will summarize the primary and contingent beneficiaries listed on our client’s retirement plans and life insurance policies. If our client's do not have estate planning documents, we will recommend an estate planning attorney who specializes in drafting these documents, and attend any necessary meetings.

Education Planning

As part of the Education Planning process we will discuss our clients wishes for education funding and determine an appropriate method or methods to accomplish these goals. We will prepare a detailed analysis to determine the needed level of savings to meet those education goals.

Wealth Management Services

Once our clients have completed their initial term as a Comprehensive Financial Planning client, they have the option to move forward as a Sea Clear Financial Planning Retainer Client. This relationship involves incorporating our extensive Investment Management Services with our ongoing Financial Planning Services. At Sea Clear Financial Planning we believe our clients are best served with a long term relationship whereby all their financial needs are taken care of in one place.

Investment Management

At Sea Clear Financial Planning, our investment philosophy is simple. We invest for the long term. That means investing with patience and confidence. It means tuning out the short-term noise that distracts many investors, impeding their chances of reaching their goals. Our investment management approach is to build an investment portfolio that we believe is capable of accomplishing our client’s financial goals while matching the level of risk in the portfolio to our client’s tolerance for risk. We believe that over time a diversified portfolio is the best chance of reducing risks and achieving favourable returns. We do not believe in chasing returns. We believe in preserving and growing wealth. We believe the best investment portfolios are the ones that achieve clearly stated goals. We believe investment management is one piece of the comprehensive financial planning process, no more or less important than any of the other pieces.

Through Morningstar Managed Portfolios™ Sea Clear Financial Planning, LLC has teamed up with the widely recognized investment research firm. Morningstar Managed Portfolio is an investment-management program that provides a diverse range of portfolios that are researched, engineered, and monitored by Morningstar Investment Services. For each investor, the Managed Portfolio Service identifies just the right combination of securities to keep risk in line and maximize return potential. We work closely with Morningstar Investment Services to implement and monitor the individual portfolios and asset allocations that we have recommended for each of our client's. As part of our Investment Management Services we will gladly assist in opening, consolidating, transferring and rolling over any accounts. Through the Morningstar Investment Services website, our clients have 24 hour access to their portfolios online.

Comprehensive Financial Planning

At Sea Clear Financial Planning, our ongoing financial planning services involve implementing, updating, and revising our clients Comprehensive Financial Plan throughout the year. Through meetings our clients are able to clearly see the progress they are making towards achieving their goals. For our meetings we will review and update all Goals and Objectives. We review and update our client’s Cash Flow Analysis to make sure our clients are clearly aware of all their resources and expenses. We ensure our clients are saving the appropriate amounts given their resources and goals. We recommend our clients establish and contribute to an emergency fund. We update our clients Life, Long-Term Care, Long-Term Disability, Auto, Home and Umbrella Insurance Summaries and continuously monitor their insurance coverage to be sure it remains adequate and appropriate.

We re-run and review our clients Retirement Analysis based on their ever changing circumstances to ensure they continue to stay on track to achieve financial independence. As part of the Estate Planning process, we monitor our client’s estate planning documents to ensure they continue to be appropriate given any change in circumstances or estate tax laws. We work with our clients to update their Estate Planning Document Summary and their beneficiary designations so it clearly lays out exactly who they have chosen to carry out their wishes. We will schedule and attend any meetings with an estate planning attorney to either draft or review current estate planning documents. For those individuals interested in education planning, we will set up the appropriate funding vehicles and regularly monitor the savings amounts and investment vehicles.