Coordinating Your Financial Life Can Lead to a More Prosperous Retirement

The devil is in the details. That’s a lesson learned the hard way by many investors who thought their financial planner had dotted every “i” and crossed every “t,” only to find their nest egg wasn’t fully adequate to achieve their financial goals. Perhaps it wasn’t properly hedged against inflation or protected from avoidable taxes, making it unable to provide the legacy or income they could depend on throughout retirement.

“Unless someone is coordinating your investment strategy with your tax, risk management and estate plans, important details can slip through the cracks,” says Roffé Hofmann, founder of Association Financial Services, LLC. This practice is an independent Registered Investment Adviser Firm (RIA) headquartered in Troy, Michigan, conducting business in 16 states.

Hofmann began his career in 1994, serving the health, life, disability, and long-term care insurance needs of the self-employed. Four years later, Hofmann founded Association Services, which later became Association Financial Services, because he had become the go-to-guy for “financial” advice related to savings plans for profit and non-profit organizations. He developed a reputation for his knowledge of 401(k) plans, governmental savings programs such as 403(b), and 457 plans, as well as CSRS, and FERSfor civilian federal employees.

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“If you’re not familiar with the complexities of these systems, you should speak with a professional who can help you create a financial plan, a personalized ‘roadmap’ that can help you solve your short- and long-term financial goals,” he advises.

Comprehensive, Independent Financial Advice

Today, Association Financial Services is a fee-based financial services provider with a 100 percent client retention rate. Clients are, more often than not, living average lives in middle-class or blue-collar neighborhoods. Some have inherited money, but most have simply worked hard, lived below their means, saved and invested regularly. These are careful consumers who want realistic solutions, not sugar-coated projections.

Hofmann brings public and private sector clients extensive experience in investment options as well as risk management. His practice includes a special emphasis on 401(k) to IRA rollovers and Social Security planning. Hofmann’s passion is helping create a diversified financial portfolio that may include all or a combination of guaranteed returns, capital appreciation potential, and lifetime income.

His management approach typically places a portion of the client’s assets in “safe” buckets and some in “variable” buckets, depending upon the client’s individual risk tolerance. In the safe bucket, Hofmann advises the use of fixed-indexed annuities which correlate with market growth and have guaranteed minimum returns in market downswings, or fixed annuities with guaranteed returns that perform reliably despite any change in the market. These products are also geared toward clients who may be risk-averse and don’t feel comfortable investing in the market, especially those at or near retirement. The rest of the assets are placed in “variable” investments, such as equities, bonds, ETF’s, or REIT’s, allowing investors to take advantage of potential growth opportunities. Hofmann frowns upon the use of variable annuities and states, “More often than not, VA’s are not good investment products and only benefit the pocket book of the representatives selling them.”

The offices reflect the founder’s laid-back and occasional irreverent style. Anything but stodgy, Hofmann helps put clients at ease. You’ll never hear industry jargon you can’t understand. You’ll never ask a question that’s unimportant.

The office also includes a “dream team” of professionals. Two CPA’s and two trust attorneys act as fiduciaries, dedicated solely to the best interest of the investor. “No single person can simultaneously stay abreast of changes in tax law, regulatory shifts, the volatility of the marketplace and the many other factors that impact someone’s short- and long-term goals. Together, we help ensure our clients’ assets are growing while protecting them against unnecessary taxation, probate costs, and ensuring their estates are left to heirs and philanthropic causes as desired,” explains Hofmann, whose own academic achievements earned him lifetime memberships in both the Beta Gamma Sigma and the Golden Key International Honor societies.

The Association Financial Services team assesses each client’s short- and long-term objectives, before recommending a customized financial plan. “Independence allows us to always place clients’ interests ahead of our own or that of a broker-dealer,” adds Hofmann. “If a client has a problem, we have the expertise to find a solution.”

“We don’t have shareholders to answer to and we’re not limited to certain proprietary products. Independence allows us to put clients’ interests ahead of our own or that of a broker-dealer.”

—Roffé Hofmann, Founder of Association Financial Services, LLC

*Insurance products may be part of a financial plan and are offered through Association Financial, LLC, an affiliated company conducting business in 6 states.

Association Financial Services, LLC, is a Registered Investment Adviser Firm (RIA), conducting business in 16 states either through registration or an exemption.

Association Financial Services, LLC, and its Financial Representatives, may only transact business in a particular state where it is appropriately registered orexempt from registration.

This content was provided by Financial Service Directory. Kiplinger is not affiliated with and does not endorse the company or products mentioned above.