+ How is Barnard Financial different from other financial advisory practices?

That’s one of our favorite questions.

Firstly, we offer strategies for the whole person. We believe every person has unique gifts and talents, and we love to help support each of our clients’ individuality through our planning. We get to know all the specifics of you, your situation, family, hopes, goals, needs, and make a plan exactly suited to those.

Secondly, we reject blind following of the rigid ‘status quo’ in financial planning. We will not use outdated, irrelevant financial advice just because it was been has been done in decades past, or is what everyone else does – because it has been shown now more than ever that this just does not work to give Americans the retirement they deserve. On a daily basis, we research our knowledge base of resources to continually tailor our planning to be completely relevant to what is our clients’ lived reality.

+ Are you a fiduciary? What is that?

Yes, as a fiduciary, Jeremy is legally bound to always put his clients’ best interests first. It is worth nothing that fiduciary is not the same as fee-based. A fee-based advisor can still (and some do) offer advice that recommends clients keep money in stocks when they would rather move to a cash position (for example) because the advisor wants to keep his fees in place. Jeremy will never do this. Control is in the hands of the client. While fee-based is good on many levels, being a fiduciary is the gold standard of ethics and integrity in the field and a designation we are proud to have, and stand completely behind.

+ You’re an independent advisor? Why does that matter?

It is slowly becoming known that if you are a captive agent – that is, working for only one big name company of the financial world -You cannot offer your clients products outside of your company line.

This trickles down to the smallest things. Aside from not offering insurance products or portfolios not offered by your firm, you cannot even recommend classes or resources not specifically branded by your company, EVEN IF it is in the clients best interest. It is a conflict of interest that so many advisors insist on having the best financial advice on the planet, while aligning themselves exclusively with only one (ultimately limited) set of offerings.

An independent advisor has access to offerings from literally hundreds of companies. They do not have to wait for their company to come up with a new product that sort-of or mostly meets their clients’ needs, they can go in search of the perfect fit, and can navigate the open water of the open market exactly to find solutions for their clients’ goals and dreams.

+ How does payment work? Are you fee-based?

We believe in 100% fee transparency and you will always know what you are paying. Because of our holistic planning, every plan is different for every client, and so there are various costs associated with various plans, all of which are discussed at every step of the planning process. In other words, planning fees are determined based on the needs and planning of each client, and our clients are always aware of what they are paying and why.

+ What if I don’t qualify for a particular strategy?

We always work to find a strategy tailored to each individual client. We are outside-the-box thinkers and always find a plan B. Planning is a process, and we work together to finalize a plan that meets your needs and qualifications.

+ You seem to be growing a lot. Are you able to take me on as a client?

It’s true, we are busy, even throughout the crazy beginnings of 2020, and we will continue to be.

Our practice continues to grow because of reciprocal relationship of trust of trust between us and our clients. We are proud of our every bit of our success as it helps us become better at serving our clients. Growth also means the ability to grow our team as needed, the ability to diversify our offerings, and the ability to serve a continually growing base of clients who value our hard work, ethics, and success.

+ I’ve heard a lot of negative things about annuities. Why do include them in some of your plans?

Yes, traditional financial wisdom does not include annuities – because traditional wisdom is based on products that are obsolete and bear little resemblance to products on the market today.

Today, as opposed to in the past, if you die-prematurely in the contract, there is a death benefit, not to mention tax free long-term care. Our absolute favorite benefit of the indexed annuity, however, is growth in safety with little to no fees. This is often a part of a plan that allows clients to count on growth without subjecting their hard-earned money to undue risk. The ‘worst’ complaint about annuities is that they can limit liquidity for periods of time, and that’s always something we keep in mind with our clients. Often, however, when thinking of the period of time the annuity is in use (7-10) years, and imagining worst-case scenarios, the benefit of the major goals achieved at low risk is quite worth the lost liquidity.

A January 2018 survey from Yale Finance argued for indexed annuities instead of fixed income bonds, which we invite you to look at here: https://dta0yqvfnusiq.cloudfront.net/commo93759149/2018/02/Ibbotson-White-Paper-5a78d2dea0f40.pdf

We strongly feel that it is time for the old stories of annuities to be laid to rest.

+ I’ve heard a lot of negative things about life insurance. Isn’t it just to get a death benefit? Why do you promote it?

Cultures and communities all over the world support each other through collecting money at the time of a loved one’s death to take care of immediate expenses. Life insurance is part of this, but today, in America, it is a vehicle for so much more.

Tax code breaks allow for life insurance to be: a tax-free savings account, college funding for children and grandchildren, retirement savings, housing savings, and so much more. The earlier it is included in a plan can maximize its endless benefits.

There is a cultural misunderstanding that life insurance has to be very expensive as well. This often has to do with a misunderstanding about what percentage of funds are being used for the benefit (usually a smaller amount) and what percentage is going to the savings vehicle (a higher amount). Jeremy is always ready to break down each scenarios to get the most minute details to show exactly how and why life insurance can pay back over and above its investment.

We continually experience the value life insurance lends to retirement planning, to the point where we are shocked when we hear it mentioned as purely a death benefit tool.

+ Isn’t retirement planning only for the wealthy? I’m not rich.

While many of our clients do enjoy great financial security, we want to help everyone have a secure retirement, wealthy or not.

Planning can take time and preparation to maximize benefits, to both protect and maximize assets. We encourage you to take the first step in scheduling a consultation with Jeremy, because planning can only help your retirement, whether you consider yourself in a top-tier financial position or not.

+ How do you go about taking new clients?

Our client relationships are supremely valuable to us. We work best with those who are willing to work together with us, and who are willing to let us help them achieve their goals.

We are reaching a breaking point with the traditional American 401k savings plan, and many people are turning to us to diversify and rescue their retirement. Some are just looking at a second pair of eyes on the plan they already feel confident in.

In either scenario, we start with a simple conversation to see if it is a mutually agreeable relationship, and that needs and capabilities align.

The next step is listening to our clients’ current situation and where they want to go. We construct a plan that tackles gaps and shortcomings. We work the plan over til we have reached the highest possible level of success in meeting our clients’ needs. At this point, both the client and Barnard Financial are free to decide they are ready to work together or not. When the decision is made to move forward, we make a specific time frame, expectations, and move into the precise details of making the plan come to life.

+ What about planning for my kids’ college? Can you help me with that?

It brings us joy to help with planning for the next generations. While many invest in 529 savings plans, and we will work with them as clients wish, we have found that there is not enough time in the span of the child’s life to maximize growth. For example, if there is a bad year for markets the year before the child is due to enter college, the 18years of growth is subject to risk in that short period of time.

Luckily, many of our plans include other tax-advantaged programs that are not subject to that risk. We would love to crunch the numbers for you and find something that works for your children and grandchildren.

+ Do you have any advance tax savings strategies?

Absolutely. Many of our clients with high yearly earnings can be helped with legal strategies to reduce the current period’s taxes due.

We are only able to offer this advice to current clients, and not as a separate service.

+ It seems like you don’t like the stock market. Why?

We can see why it can come across that way, but the truth is we think the stock market is a wonderful thing.

It has single-handedly churned a great amount of possibility and success into every corner of America, and it is part of what has brought a great amount of wealth to our country.

However, many of our clients are entering a phase of their life (retirement) where subjecting large amounts of their nest egg to risk is not something they feel in their gut that they are ready for the tumult of.

We work together with them to find the rock-bottom amount that they want to have available to them without any risk of loss. This is our fiduciary responsibility, to make sure that they have the amount available to them through retirement that they are not willing to go below. This can require removal of funds from stocks - and we work toward placing that money at best use for our clients without subjecting it to the sudden risks the market could take that will cause them many years of rebuilding, when they are focusing on enjoying their retirement and having peace of mind.

+ Can you give me tax advice? Are you a tax attorney?

We plan with the whole person and their whole financial wellness in mind, and part of that is certainly taxes. Our practice is tax-strategic and tax-aware, and we are happy to offer advice with that in mind. We are not CPAs and cannot help you prepare and file your taxes, but we do have tax experts we work with and can recommend.