Stacy is a senior executive at a large national company and plans to retire in two years. She is divorced and has no children. As well as being an avid traveler, Stacy is very active in her community, sitting on the boards of two charities that support women.

She has amassed $3 million in retirement funds and cash. While Stacy owns her own home, she does not have any investments in a taxable account nor has she ever sought the advice of an advisor. She expects to inherit a condominium worth $500,000 and an investment portfolio worth $2.5 million from her father, who is in his 90s.

Her Concerns

Stacy is starting to think about retirement and wonders if she can continue to live the lifestyle she is living now, which includes frequent global travel and a strategy of giving to causes she is passionate about. She donates both money and time to these causes and plans to continue doing so in retirement.

Stacy’s top concerns are:

• Taking care of herself financially and creating a strategy for aging that includes medical insurance, home care, and the possibility of living in a community assisted living facility;

• Ensuring her investments can support her – Stacy realizes she needs a investment strategy that will generate sufficient income for her lifestyle;

• Figuring out how to incorporate her expected inheritance into her own investment strategy when the time comes;

• Determining the best way to give to the charities and causes that she supports;

• Examining whether or not starting a non-profit organization fits into her overall retirement plan.

Stacy seeks professional guidance but wants to work with an advisor who will include her in the process rather than have her sitting on the sidelines. She wants to be educated on the strategy and to have a clear and accountable idea of how it will meet her goals and objectives.

The Solution

Refresh Investments worked with Stacy to visualize her retirement years and the lifestyle she wants.  They helped her map out the details on the non-profit organization she could create, her ideal travel plans, and the legacy she would be proud of.

Next, they looked at her existing portfolio and developed a strategy to generate income to support her retirement lifestyle. Stacy’s current portfolio had a high risk profile - the same one she employed early in her career and which had never been updated. After understanding the appropriate level of risk for her portfolio, Stacy delegated the portfolio to Refresh Investments for professional management, knowing that they will continue to monitor and adjust the portfolio risk throughout her retirement years.  Refresh Investments also created an investment strategy that will generate the necessary amount of income to sustain Stacy upon retirement. They will manage her portfolio for her and continually monitor it to align with her financial objectives.

Refresh Investments also identified different scenarios that modeled various investment strategies so Stacy could see the possible outcomes and effects on her retirement plan.  They also illustrated gifting strategies that minimized tax burdens and efficiently gave more money to the charities she works closely with. 

Note: The above case study is hypothetical and does not involve an actual Refresh Investments client. No portion of the content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience the same or certain level of results or satisfaction if Refresh Investments is engaged to provide investment advisory services.