Planning for your future retirement involves evaluating your current financial standing and creating an accumulation strategy that will help to ensure a desired retirement lifestyle. Because an individual's retirement years can span decades, retirement planning generally dominates other financial goals. A successful plan put into place during the wealth-building lifespan should address ways to maximize growth and tax-efficient distributions, as well as how to leave retirement assets to the next generation. 

Accumulation planning addresses an individual's investment needs, asset allocation, and the suitability of different types of securities in light of your goals and risk tolerance.  Asset allocation is used to distribute your investable assets among a variety of investment categories. This process will:

• Reduce overall investment risk
• Create more reliable investment forecasts
• Improve the risk/return tradeoff of your portfolio

Accumulation planning also involves the choice of securities for your investment portfolio. Basic securities are stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Separately managed accounts, indices, option strategies, short-term assets, and annuities are also used to optimize your portfolio.

Alternative investments may also be an option for the right investor. One of the premier benefits of alternative investments is diversification, resulting from the inclusion of investments that react differently to the markets than more traditional investments. Managed futures, hedge funds, oil and gas, tax shelters, and real estate are all examples of alternative investments. These products generally involve substantial risk and limited liquidity.

Some situations require different expertise than typical stock and bond portfolio implementation. These situations usually pertain to employer-related retirement plans and stock options, margin strategies, and real estate exchanges.

Most investors understand that as risk increases, the potential for return also increases. But there is a point for every individual where the level of risk is not worth the potential return. The goal of asset allocation is to provide you with the risk/return scenario that is most comfortable for you.

Investors should note that diversification does not assure against market loss and that there is no guarantee that a diversified portfolio will outperform a non-diversified portfolio. Alternative investments may be illiquid in nature, redeemed at more or less than the original amount invested, subject to special risks and not suitable for all investors.

In today's world, there are common needs and desires people seek to accomplish. To protect their ability to earn and accumulate wealth, many people choose to hold insurance, as well as maintain an emergency fund, to guard against depleting savings that are intended for other goals.

There are several ways to save for retirement:

• Qualified employer-sponsored plans
• Individual retirement accounts (IRAs)
• Personal savings
• Executive deferral plans

Qualified plans are employer-sponsored retirement plans such as 401(k)s and pension plans. While there are contribution limits and strict distribution rules, these plans are popular because of their tax benefits. Generally, employers will make participation even more attractive by matching all or a portion of an employee's contribution. It's important that you choose the optimum plan to benefit the key people in your company.

IRAs are inexpensive, easy to establish and maintain, and also offer favorable tax incentives. They can be created by an individual or provided by an employer. Most people use IRAs to consolidate retirement savings that were previously held in employer-sponsored plans. Our process coordinates your IRA investments with your other savings plans.

You may find that qualified plans, IRAs, and social security won't provide enough money to support your desired retirement lifestyle. By identifying your retirement gap, you can develop a strategy for personal savings invested outside of the traditional retirement vehicle.

Business owners or executives may have access to other tax-advantaged retirement savings vehicles. Nonqualified executive compensation is a generic term used to describe a compensation arrangement that provides retirement income—and, in some cases, death benefits—to key employees of a business.

At the heart of planning for your retirement is the distribution of accumulated assets. The correct distribution method will help to ensure that your retirement savings last beyond your lifetime with minimum shrinkage from taxes. From premature distribution options that allow access to retirement assets prior to age 59¹/₂, to products intended to provide stable monthly payments for retirement, early consideration of distribution planning is paramount to a successful retirement plan.