What is a Financial Advisor?

A financial advisor is a professional who provides expert guidance and advice on various aspects of personal finance. They are educated and trained to assess your financial situation, understand your goals, and risk tolerance, and develop a customized plan to help you achieve financial success. It’s important that you be an active part of the planning process, after all the plan should be all about you. Advisors often specialize in areas such as retirement planning, investment management, tax planning, estate planning, and more.

Expertise and Knowledge

One of the primary reasons to seek the help of a firm such as Americore is their expertise and knowledge in the field of finance. They undergo rigorous training and often hold relevant certifications. Their in-depth understanding of financial markets, investment strategies, programs and tax laws allows them to provide valuable insights and recommendations tailored to your specific circumstances.

Goal Setting and Financial Planning

Financial advisors play a crucial role in helping you define and prioritize your financial goals. Americore Group works with you to understand your short-term and long-term objectives, whether it’s saving for a down payment on a house, funding your child’s education, or building a retirement nest egg. Once your goals are established, an advisor will develop a comprehensive financial plan that outlines the steps needed to achieve them. This plan will take into account your income, expenses, investments, and risk tolerance, providing you with a roadmap to financial success.

Investment Management

Investing can be a complex and intimidating endeavor, particularly for individuals without specialized knowledge in the field. Americore Group’s Investment Management Services can help take the guesswork out of investing by creating a tailored investment strategy. Your Investment strategy will be based on your goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon. His objective perspective can help you make informed rational decisions and avoid emotional mistakes that often plague individual investors.

Risk Management and Insurance

Financial advisors also assist in assessing and managing risk in your financial life. They analyze your insurance needs, whether it’s life, health, disability, or long-term care insurance, and recommend appropriate coverage to protect you and your loved ones. By evaluating your risk tolerance and considering potential contingencies, they help you build a robust financial safety net that safeguards your assets and provides peace of mind. Similarly an assessment of your risk tolerance for investments like stocks, commodities and other financial instruments should be reviewed so your plan is designed within your comfort zones.

Ongoing Guidance and Support

We are not a one-time servicer. Instead, Americore works independently or with your existing team of advisors as a long-term partner in your financial journey. We provide ongoing guidance and support, contributing optional programs to your financial plan as your circumstances change. Software and online services can’t provide the one on one attention necessary to achieve personalized planning and program assistance. Throughout changing needs, your advisor will help you navigate through financial transitions, adjusting your plan to keep you on track toward your goals.

We live in a complex and fast-paced financial world, which is another reason why a financial advisor can be your trusted ally, offering expert guidance and support to help you achieve financial success. Expertise, personalized approach, and comprehensive planning will save you time, provide peace of mind, and potentially increase your wealth in the long run. If you’re serious about securing your financial future, consider partnering with a reputable professional who will work with you to create a roadmap for success. Contact us today –  it can pay dividends in the years to come.

First, Let’s Clear Up Who I Am Not.

I am not the Dennis Bays warrior invite in Evansville Indiana.  While I am always impressed by people who commit to a goal and then compete to meet it, I did not create this event halfway across the country.  Don’t let that stop you this August, if you want to enter it in 2023. Also, I am not the Dennis Bays in Ohio who is a tank inspector.  Good work, Ohio Dennis Bays; keep it up.  And though as an owner of my own firm, I too sometimes feel like chief bottle washer, I am not the Dennis Bays with that job description.  That Dennis Bays is in Washington in the oil and energy industry. 

Now Lets Cover Who I Am.

I am the Dennis Bays of Americore Group in Agoura Hills, CA who runs a Financial Advisory Firm.  If you already know just what a financial advisory firm is, go on to the next paragraph.  I get this question a lot, so let me just cover this to keep things straight. A financial advisory firm has expertise in one or more investment areas and provides guidance for an individual’s unique financial situation-Investopedia. Americore reviews a situation, assess multiple relevant factors and reveals an option or options that will be best for the individual or company’s overall success. 

At Americore Group, I have spent years honing my skills for helping small and mid-sized businesses discover and utilize legitimate, available funds to facilitate growing and prospering.

I Don’t Replace Your Current Consultant; I Work with Them.

Keep your current consultant team.  As a financial advisory firm, Americore does not replace your current team of advisors and consultants.  Americore, works with them.  We are interested is helping you find long term financial success and goal achievement.  To do this, we facilitate access to make-sense programs available to you.  Businesses rarely take advantage of these programs .  But Dennis Bays of Americore has spent years learning how to help businesses use these programs.

What Programs Are We Talking About?

We really should have a conversation about this.  We spend years intimately learning beneficial programs, and while they do change over time, we know their language.  With that said, many businesses don’t know how to complete the forms.  They ultimately get denied program access due to a technicality or misstatement.  Since we understand the programs, we understand the application questions and can walk you through the entire process.   

We’re Talking About Dennis Bays Personal Commitment.

For years, I’ve grown and helped sell businesses, worked with banks, CPA’s and attorneys.  I’ve funded over 150 businesses over the years, helped with exit and sell situations and with structuring sales to avoid or mitigate capital gain taxes. 

After working with businesses for decades, I have learned similar patterns and wisdom that apply to other businesses. That wisdom is probably the most valuable asset I have gained and it can benefit my clients.  I constantly discover great programs to help business owners earn more, while paying less in taxes, legitimately. My goal is to help more, because they work so hard to protect their employees, and their family, we want them to keep as much of the money they earn as legally permitted. And those funds are more than business owners realize. 

Contact us for your no obligation or cost analysis of your financial position to learn what advantages are available for your benefit. Don’t put this off.  Saving those dollars today means growth in your retirement account.

Everyone needs money to operate, whether on a personal, corporate, or government level.  Perhaps that is why finance is divided into these three subcategories.  This Finance 101 article covers the basics of personal finance.  Our next article will follow up on Corporate finance.

Personal Finance

The term personal finance refers to managing your own money, including earning, investing and saving it.  In our personal finance 101 money management, we’ll cover general budgeting, banking, mortgages, investments, tax planning and  retirement planning.

Budgeting

Maybe you are comfortable with your cash flow.  Maybe you are using the same budget you set up years ago.  It is just possible, that with a closer look you could find ways your money could work smarter for you.  Regardless of your income level and whether you love or hate budgets, they are beneficial.  Budgets reveal the true picture of where you stand…and where you could be.  You need this knowledge to set goals to get to that place.  If you are new to budgeting, using a worksheet simplifies the math.  Microsoft office offers its subscribers a customizable free budget worksheet or you can search for an app to help you plan your money.   

Once you see where your funds are going, figure out your financial goals.  Decide how much you can put into savings, or investments or retirement planning to reach those goals. This is a good opportunity to re-evaluate how you use the money you have.  When you are unsure of how to make money decisions, it’s time to speak with a financial advisor.  Americore professionals know money and can provide tools for better decision making. 

Personal Banking

Once, banks were a good way to protect the money you were saving.  Today, banks handle a lot of different types of transactions.  That is good, since transactions are becoming more electronic in nature.  It the simplest of banking transactions, money needs to be moved into a bank account for you to make electronic payments out of that account.  After you made your budget, you can look it over to see how most of your money is placed.  Compare bank services and pricing to figure out which bank offers the best bang for your buck.  ( Note: Make sure those fees are in your budget.)

 Mortgages

Interest paid on a mortgage is low compared to the interest rate on other credit.  Not only is the cost of funds low, but it is also tax deductible.  It makes sense to buy a residence instead of renting it, so you can enjoy those potential savings.  With that said, mortgages have gotten some homeowners into financial difficulty. 

 Here are some thoughts to keep in mind.  Budget your entire PITIA mortgage payments, (principal, interest, taxes, hazard & mortgage Insurance, and association dues)  based on your lowest expected gross monthly income.  Even if your taxes and insurance are not escrowed, budget for it.  You have to pay it anyway, so bank it until it is due. 

 If you qualify for a mortgage based on overtime income, you might be in a tight position without that overtime.  Review your budget. Generally, mortgage underwriters prefer monthly housing payments that don’t go over 38% of your gross monthly income.  If more of your money is committed elsewhere, you may want to reduce your budgeted monthly housing payment even more. 

Personal Investments

Commonly held principle:  The value of non-invested money erodes over time.  While others are earning different returns on their money, your money socked away in your mattress is losing the value it could have accumulated.  It will also have less buying power when you retrieve it due to inflation.  This is so fundamental that there is a formula for the value of money over time.   If PV is present value, FV is future value and r is rate of interest, the formula is as follows:

 If you are interested in making more investments on your own but not sure how you want to proceed, get investment advice here.

 Tax Planning

You plan to pay taxes.  Hey, that’s a great tax planning strategy, but we would like to get a little more specific here. How much taxes you pay and when can vary by an incredible amount, based on the knowledge of your advisor, your communication with them, and how well your advisement team works to strategize.  Nearly every financial decision you make has tax consequences, from buying a toy to the investments you make.  Planning ahead can save you money and sometimes make that money available much sooner than you expected.  Americore knows Blue Apple tax savings programs designed for businesses like yours.  Contact us or call today to learn how we can work with your team to enhance your savings.

 Retirement Planning

Are you ready to retire today?  If you can’t answer in the affirmative, you could benefit from a conversation with an Americore professional.  Maybe you were set until your accounts took a hit during the great recession.  Whether you prepared and had a setback, or failed to prepare enough, retirement doesn’t take care of itself.  To save enough for the retirement you want, you need to make a plan.  If you are over 40, you may already need to invest more while you are still working to fund your long term plan.  You may also need to consider ways to invest smarter. 

All of these topics are part of our personal finance 101.  The key takeaway here, is planning.  Not everyone is comfortable with charts and numbers.  Americore works with a wide range of clientele.  Some want personal financial guidance, and some look for corporate financial assistance.  Getting the help you need is as easy as opening the conversation with your Americore Financial advisor.  You’ll be glad you did.

Memorial Day is here, leading me to reflect on different types of courage of men and women.  Without belittling courage to risk life for country, I reflect on courage to follow an idea or dream.  Some entrepreneurs venture into areas of risk most business professionals spend their whole careers avoiding. In time, those entrepreneurs can turn courage and risk into business growth with a little help.

Starting your own business and risking your livelihood requires courage and conviction.  Reasons for taking that risk vary.  It may be the potential business growth possibilities.  It could be you  have a better delivery method, or are passionate about an idea or design.  Regardless of your conviction, when your business begins to grow, everything changes.  To expand product lines or delivery even successful entrepreneurs can need a little funding boost.  Americore was founded to help entrepreneurs reach new growth levels through funding and incentives.  We use Blue Apple products for both.

Resources for Business Growth.

One of the biggest challenges is the ability to make additional money pave the way for Research and development when you need it.  One great resource for Research and Development Incentives and funding are Americore Blue Apple programs.   Blue Apple offers tax incentives and credits as well as capital access.

Whether you need cash to launch a new product line or enhance technology for marketing, monitoring or filling demand, Blue Apple solutions have options for different needs.  Do you need funds to expand within existing or new market areas?  Do you have a plan in place for those funds?  Can your current business growth plan be improved or altered for a more favorable pipeline?  There are changes that can help put your business in a better position for growth.  Your Americore professional can guide you through the answers to these questions and more.

Research and Development Savings

Surprisingly, many businessowners fail to pursue the R&D tax credit because they don’t realize their project is eligible. The R&D tax credit is not just for big business.  It is not just for pharmaceutical or energy firms.   Eligibility falls to some simple guidelines.

• Your R&D should eliminate uncertainty.  It is critical that you show you made attempts to remove any doubt about the development of the product or process. 
• Your R&D must involve experimentation.  This can involve simulations, modeling or hypothesis testing.
• The R&D activities must be based on sound principles of science or engineering.
• Allowable Purposes only include improvement in performance, quality or reliability. Research might not result in product, service or process improvement, but the purpose of research must be to do so.

If your innovation is eligible, it helps to know what expenses will be covered. What follows are examples of covered expenses.  Salaries for those who work directly on the innovation and salaries of first line managers are eligible under the R&D tax credit.  Legal fees for a patent are another covered expense under the R&D tax credit.  US Based contractor fees are covered.  (United States is unwilling to pay for your contractors outside of this country.)  Supplies that are directly related to the innovation are eligible too.

About the R&D Tax Credit.

Keep in mind that the R&D tax Credit is nonrefundable.  It limits your tax liability dollar for dollar.  If you don’t have tax liability, you can’t apply the credit this year.  Keep the R&D expense records anyway.  The IRS allows you  to carry them forward.  Check specific options with your accountant.

Is your project too small to qualify?  Don’t give up.  Smaller companies can get a payroll tax offset.  That means you can get the R&D tax credit up to $250,000 of payroll even if you don’t owe taxes.  As with most payouts, the devil is in the details.  Talk to your Americore representative to find out whether your company is eligible, and for how much.

Americore Can Help You Grow

This is one of many incentive and funding programs we’d like to discuss with your advisors.  Americore doesn’t replace your team of consultants.  We empower them to facilitate the growth and wellness of your business.  Enjoy the difference that an experienced Americore business advisor offers. We’d love to talk to you about other incentives and funding options.  We should have a conversation.  You’ll be glad we did.