STRATEGY

Building Your Wealth Strategy

In every aspect of our work, ML&R Wealth Management makes an uncompromising commitment to provide world class client service and to meet every client's highly individualized wealth management needs. As we build our relationship, our focus remains on you and on resolving complex issues within the following four life planning components:

• Enhancing wealth
• Protecting wealth
• Transferring wealth
• Donating wealth

Each component is addressed when, and if, it plays an essential role in your life. We assist you in balancing and identifying changing needs within your career and creative aspirations, charitable goals, family sharing time, and social and leisure activities. When changes are warranted, we are there for you to help ensure smooth transitions: for you or for multiple generations and branches within your family.

Enhancing Your Wealth

We offer a prudent approach based on our fiduciary relationship with you as your trusted investment advisor in managing your financial portfolio.

Fiduciary duty is generally considered the highest legal duty one party can have to another. As a Registered Investment Advisor firm, we have a legal responsibility to always act in your best interests - and we take that responsibility very seriously.

We apply a passive investment approach, tailoring your portfolio's level of risk (and its expected returns) according to your personal preferences, goals and circumstances. In addition to seeking broad global diversification according to the tenets of Modern Portfolio Theory, we assist with appropriate asset location between taxable versus tax-advantaged accounts.

Protecting Your Wealth

Many of your financial goals can span a lifetime, or even generations, so preparation for uncertain events that could otherwise derail your overall strategy is important. Once your long-term objectives have been defined, we will additionally assist in identifying potential threats to your success and implementing protection against them.

Our approach to wealth protection is thoughtful, deliberate and highly individualized. Planning comes first: exploring concerns related to managing the effects of taxes, inflation and market fluctuations; privacy, security, and legal actions; property and casualty losses; business continuation; and legacy creation and protection. Next we consider procedures, documents and similar techniques that can offer the protection required. As a final option, we might incorporate insurance or related tools - but only as required for clearly defined roles.

Transferring Wealth

While many identify leaving a legacy as among their most important life goals, research indicates that only about one-third of wealth transfers succeed after transition! Equally interesting, a common trait among those who succeed is the ability to sustain a smooth and open flow of internal communications among family members. (Source: The Williams Group, www.thewilliamsgroup.org)

We have the resources in place to assist with financial management and estate planning details, as well as offer you guidance on the critical personal dynamics that represent the key to success in multigenerational wealth transition.

Donating Wealth

The true value of philanthropy lies in the meaning it brings to those both giving and receiving. For example:

• A pleasant by-product for a family engaged in charitable pursuits appears to be the value it adds to effective communication of family values among generations. (Source: The Williams Group, www.thewilliamsgroup.org)
• Ongoing legislative reform may afford existing and new opportunities for charitable giving to play an increasing role within your tax planning efforts. Keeping up with the latest regulations in this area can add value to your charitable pursuits. If your goals include a philanthropic component, we carefully integrate it within your overall strategy.