We Do Strategy, Not Product

Have you ever reflected on how you felt after purchasing a particular stock, bond, annuity or mutual fund? Were you worried that the investment you just made didn’t really meet your needs? Have you ever pondered the reason why you felt this way?

A common problem people encounter with financial advisors is that most advisors are really product specialists and not design specialists. The majority of advisors are commonly trained to fit clients into a pre-structured product that was designed to be sold to the widest possible audience.

Unlike typical financial advisors, the Wealth Architects at The Hidden Wealth System are design specialists; they are specially trained to have a special focus on helping you to discover, uncover and preserve your wealth. Our Wealth Architects work with you to build an overall, common sense wealth creation and preservation strategy that accounts for Hidden Wealth areas such as; 1. the avoidance of taxation on the growth and distribution of your savings, 2. market loss elimination and 3. the ability to out-pace inflation . You will not find off-the-shelf, one-size financial product like an annuity, bond, stock, or mutual fund, etc…

Are you worn out by trying to decide which one-size-fits-all financial product you should select? Are you looking for a real wealth creation and preservation solution, optimally designed for your specific financial needs and goals?

If you want a true, peace of mind retirement solution for yourself, you must register for our Worry-Free Wealth Webinar. We’ll show you how we can help you to design and build your own Personal Protected Pension Plan™.

There’s no cost to register and there’s nothing to buy at this wealth educational webinar.
Simply register now, simply go to:
www.HiddenWealthWebinar.com/ or call, toll free (855) No Tax 2 U, that’s (855) 668-2928

Higher Taxes Are on the Way!

As you may have heard, earlier this month the President released his budget proposal for 2013—and no surprise, it features a significant tax hike for many Americans. As the USA Today explains:

President Obama’s proposed budget plan includes $1.5 trillion in new taxes, most of it coming from an item that has divided the White House and the Republicans throughout Obama’s presidency: Tax cuts signed into law by President George W. Bush.

Those cuts are due to expire at the end of 2012 — a little less than two months after the presidential and congressional elections — but Obama only wants to end them for individuals who make more than $200,000 a year and families than make more than $250,000 annually; tax cuts for the middle class would be extended.

Obama and his team say higher taxes are needed along with spending cuts to reduce the nation’s $15 trillion-plus debt. “The president’s budget has $1 of revenue for every $2.50 for spending,” said White House chief of staff Jack Lew, speaking on NBC’s Meet The Press.

This comes as to surprise to those who have been paying attention—as the federal deficit continues to soar, the government is seeking to offset its rising costs by generating additional revenue. Specifically, married couples earning over $200,000 and individuals earning over $100,000 could be stuck paying tax rates higher than 60%!

Unless you act now, your retirement savings may severely impacted by these rising tax rates.

What can you do about it?

Email Millie, our Client Concierge, at millie@TheHiddenWealthSystem.com or phone her at (866) 998-7699. She will tell you about our Personal Protected Pension Plan, which will allow you to grow your investments safely—tax and market risk free!

The bottom line is that all income earners in America are facing a tax hike — the only question is, when? Unfortunately, with the cost of living increasing and the economic instability continuing, millions of Americans simply can’t afford to stay the course as their tax bill continues to soar. Tax increases are coming and they are coming for you! If you want to enjoy a retirement income that’s free from taxes contact us today before these increases arrive.

Protect yourself from imminent tax increases! Email Millie at millie@TheHiddenWealthSystem.com or phone her at (866) 998-7699. Please provide Millie with the two best times to contact you. We are currently experiencing a high volume of inquiries. Providing two contact times will insure that she is able to reach you.

More Wall Street Volitility - Get Off the "Dow Jones Coaster"

Do you have money in the stock market? If so, you are no doubt suffering from whiplash caused by watching the market shoot down, down, up, and then down some more. It’s like riding on a roller coaster that you really didn’t want to get on in the first place.

But, it doesn’t have to be this way! There’s no reason to ride on the “Dow Jones Coaster” every day. Our clients did not lose a single penny during these recent market swings. That’s because they only participate in market gains; they never give back any of their earnings. In our unique design you never have to make up for any losses. Not only is The Personal Protected Pension Plan™ safe from market loss but, when you retire, your distributions are tax-free.

If the past month has taught us anything, it’s that our political system is a mess—and it’s dragging the economy down the tubes with it. Between the debt ceiling debacle and the continuing European debt crisis, traditional investments face a completely uncertain future. To make matters worse, when the economy begins to recover (or even before then), inflation is likely to erode any hard-fought gains that the market may experience.

What should you do? The answer is quite simple: stop exposing your retirement to market risk! The Personal Protected Pension Plan™ is tax-free, market risk-free, and protected against inflation. Stop exposing the fruit of your life’s work to unnecessary (and rapidly increasing) risk. Stop riding on the Dow Jones Coaster for hours a day!

To see if The Personal Protected Pension Plan™ is right for you, email Millie, our Client Concierge, at millie@TheHiddenWealthSystem.com or phone her at (866) 998-7699. Please provide Millie with the two best times to contact you. We are currently experiencing a high volume of inquiries and two contact times will insure that she is able to reach you. There is absolutely no reason for you to subject yourself to the rapidly increasing volatility of traditional stock investments. Wall Street is simply not the solution for couples and individuals that are looking for steady, reliable growth. Contact us today and let us help you discover and uncover your hidden wealth!

Do You Want to Work Into Your 8o's?

As the economy continues to sputter and the cost of living continues to increase, baby boomers are becoming increasingly concerned about their ability to retire—and with good reason. For those fortunate enough to still have a job, salaries have typically held steady or even been cut. Meanwhile, gas prices continue to climb, while investments and real estate have largely lost value. Add to this unpleasant cocktail the threat of major inflation in the near future and it is very easy to see why prospective retirees are concerned.

As economists dissect recent data, they are coming to the conclusion that many baby boomers will have to work well past the age of 65 before they can afford retirement. In fact, some economists are suggesting that many would-be retirees will be forced to work well into their eighties before they have enough saved for retirement. While some have dismissed these forecasts as overly gloomy, it is a mistake to ignore them altogether. It is a fact that our economy is currently experienced painfully weak growth—at a time when we need to be adding jobs rapidly to keep unemployment under control. The future of our economy is also very unclear, as many of our manufacturing and communications jobs have been outsourced. And while the stock market has rebounded from the crash of 2008 and 2009, investors remain unconvinced that the recovery is going to last. Finally, even if our economy is able to overcome these obstacles and regain strength (not to mention full employment), there is little question that inflation will be a factor in years to come. The question is not whether we will experience inflation or not—the question is how severe will it be?

Meanwhile, you have been working hard for decades, saving and investing your money in hopes of reaching retirement while you are still young enough to enjoy it. Now, through no fault of your own, your plans are in jeopardy. I have good news for you, however. It’s not too late to seize control of your financial future. A carefully crafted plan can help you weather the economic storms we are currently experiencing—and will make the retirement of your dreams possible. Get in touch with us today and let us create a strategy to protect you from the dangers of inflation and economic stability.

Personal Protected Pension Plan

The Personal Protected Pension Plan is a proven, safe money solution for your retirement income needs.  In this unique plan design, you particpate in the up-side of the market but never lose money to the down-side of the market.  Click the link below to watch this short video to see why Debbie, one of our clients, decided to stop giving her gains back to the market and never lose principle again.

Personal Protected Pension Plan

Worried About Social Security? Prepare Now!

Are you worried about Social Security's future? Well, join the crowd.

As the national debt soars, the pressure on Washington to cut spending is rising. Social Security is bound to become a part of the cost-cutting conversation.

The program is projected to pay out more this year than it takes in, which is as much a function of the weak economy as it is an aging population. The New York Times reports that, if nothing changes, Social Security will be able to pay full benefits through 2037 after which, payroll taxes will only provide enough income to pay out about only 75% of benefits.

Most experts agree that the program needs to be bolstered for the long-term. Some proposed solutions are:

1. Raise the retirement age to 70 for people who are at least 20 years away from retirement,
2. Increase the Social Security payroll tax,
3. Subject more income to the payroll tax,
4. Reduce initial benefit payments and
5. Cut cost of living increases to beneficiaries (this would affect current retirees).

Don't like these options? Too bad. At least some combination of them will be required in order to keep the program alive, in the long-term.

What can you do about it? Stop depending on the government (and your employer) for your retirement. The government has shown that it cannot be financially responsible and most companies today do not offer pensions. Instead, they offer 401(k) or 403(b) plans that require employee contributions. The company then manages these plans (some times ineffectively). When they employee retires, they are then able to take distributions from the plan's contributions and earnings.

To be successful in retirement, you need to do what made you successful before you retired-rely on yourself. There is a way for individuals to create their own Personal Protected Pension Plan! This type of plan is protected from market loss, grows tax-free, can a accessed tax-free and anything remaining after your death can be passed to your heirs, tax-free.
Does this sound too good to be true? Do you want to learn more? You can explore this fascinating concept in detail in the Personal Protected Pension Plan section of our website. I encourage you learn all that you can so that you can take charge of your own financial future.

Keeping Your Plan on Track

Part of my job as a Wealth Strategist is to help my clients to stay on track with their financial plan. This includes helping them to avoid making big money mistakes. I've recently developed a list of five, thought-provoking questions that can help clients to realize mistakes that they may not be aware that they are making:

1. What is the process that you use to budget or examine your consumption activities? The answer to this question can help you keep your family's spending within your acceptable limits.

2. Do your goals and aspirations have realistic time lines? This answer helps to keep you from setting unrealistic expectations for your financial plans.

3. Do you know what you can do, so that you can share with others what you want to do? The purpose of this question is to explore if you have adequate protection against unforeseen losses.

4. How have you strategically diversified your investments in order to reduce unpredictable fluctuation? This answer will help protect you from unnecessary investment risk.

5. Will you outlive your retirement resources? The answer to this question will determine the effectiveness of you inflation impact plan.

Consumers Hold On To Their Investments

Advisor Today magazine reports that a new survey by the Life Insurance Marketing Research Association (LIMRA) shows that only "16 percent of the consumers polled in the survey have taken any action with regard to their financial portfolios." The survey also revealed that more than two-thirds of the consumers ranked economic conditions in the U.S. as 'very unfavorable,' although an increasing number believe that conditions will improve within the next 12 months.

As a Wealth Strategist, I encounter many people who believe that "staying put" and waiting for the market to return is the safest strategy. While their caution is understandable, this belief is flawed in a couple of ways: first, reliably predicting how the market will perform is difficult, at best. Reliable industry statistics reveal that even the four and five star rated fund managers are able to only capture 52 to 63% of the upside of the market. If you missed the 10 best market days between 1984 and 2003 (the biggest bull market ever) the 10 percent market average over this period drops to 7.1 percent. Miss the twenty best days and the average drops to just 5.3 and miss the 20 best days and your return is only 1.8 percent.

Secondly, assuming a perfect investment strategy, historical models show that average market performance will require years of a "stay put" strategy for a portfolio to simply return to the position it was in prior to the most recent market melt down. But don't just take my word for it, here's a link to the New York Times "Comeback Calculator" that will help you estimate how long it will take your investment portfolio to recover its peak value.

So what's the average investor to do with what's left of their retirement funds? What if there was a way to earn a guaranteed 8% on your money plus a 10% bonus without ever risking your principal or your gains? Would you take advantage of that? More to the point, why would you not take advantage of that?

Try this exercise, use the "Comeback Calculator" to estimate the recovery time of your portfolio using the 3.16 percent compounded annual growth rate of the S&P 500 over the last 10 years (1.8% when you adjust for inflation), assuming that you will make no further contributions to the account. Now use the "Comeback Calculator" to determine your recovery time using an annual return of 8 percent. Using the stay put strategy and an initial $100,000 investment (which is now worth only $60,000), the calculator shows that the stay put strategy will not return you to the starting position anytime in the next thirty years. If you were to use a guaranteed 8% return strategy, it takes 11 years to return to your former position.

As startling as this is, the real impact is in the long run. In 15 years, the stay put strategy yields a total value of just over $61,000 while a guaranteed eight percent strategy yields a value of over $126,700. Could you use an extra $65,000 for your retirement? If the answer is, "No, I won't need the extra money," then just continue to use the stay put strategy.

To learn more about the Personal Protected Pension Plan and how your bonus can earn you a first year return of better than 18%, call me or watch the video on my How You Can Retire Wealthy web site. Here's to helping you uncover your Hidden Wealth!

Did You Buy a Home This Year? Don't Forget Your Tax Credit!

Legislation passed in 2008 provides a tax credit for first-time home buyers. The credit equals 10% of the home's purchase price up to a maximum credit of $7,500. The credit applies to homes purchased on or after April 9, 2008 and before July 1, 2009. The credit is available in full for single taxpayers with income up to $75,000 and married taxpayers with combined incomes of up to $150,000. Under this credit, your tax bill is reduced (or your refund increased) dollar for dollar up to the $7,500 maximum.

The credit is claimed on the tax return for the year in which the home was purchased. If the purchase was made in 2009, you can elect to take the credit in either 2008 or 2009, whichever provides you the greatest tax benefit.

For more tax saving tips visit our website: http://www.howyoucanretirewealthy.com/

What part of your overall personal wealth is most important to you? Take our Personal Wealth Index and find out: http://www.wfgnetwork.com/wealth_index.php?inner_class=gp

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