From retirement to property purchases and from legacy planning to life insurance, we build a picture of where you’d like to be, assess where you are, and plan a way to bridge the gap. We’ll share with you the feasibility of achieving your goals on your timeline and offer personalized strategies to get you where you want to go, including how to manage your taxes and which accounts to use.
At RIS, we take a comprehensive approach to financial planning. That means that we not only manage and coordinate your investments, but that we also address your overall financial wellbeing. Our Financial Advisors offer wealth management and proactive investment of your specific investment accounts and assets, but that’s just one piece of how we approach your financial goals.
We start with understanding your objectives.
You might be used to working with TIAA employees on your TIAA account. Or Fidelity employees on your Fidelity account. But when financial advisors work in a vacuum, they can miss opportunities to get you closer to your goals.
At RIS, our advisors can manage all of your assets. Whether you have University of Michigan-affiliated accounts, employer-sponsored 401ks, IRAs, or other types of retirement, savings, or tax-deferred accounts, we’ll build a financial plan that includes all of them and we’ll manage them holistically. If you’re working with one of our financial advisors, they’ll be your one-stop-shop for getting regular updates on your portfolio’s performance and answering any questions you have about your financial picture.
Based on your specific objectives, we’ll select funds to use in your plan.
As fee-only advisors and fiduciaries, we’ll choose what we believe to be the best available options and never receive a commission for picking certain products. Because we have visibility across your financial life, we can show you how decisions made in one area impact goals in another. For example, your financial advisor can advise you whether it’d be more advantageous to invest extra money in your retirement account or put it in a 529 plan for your children’s education or use it to pay off debt.
Each quarter, we’ll send you a customized report that summarizes the balances across your investments and custodians as well as your portfolio’s performance over time.
Periodically, we’ll reevaluate the funds in your plan and make changes as needed. Several times per year, we’ll deliver market commentary summarizing our perspective on risks and opportunities and what they mean for our clients’ portfolios. And we’re always available to answer questions if you drop into our Ann Arbor office, set up a phone or video call, or email your financial advisor.
Quarterbacking your family’s financial picture
When one of our clients called us the “quarterback” of their family’s affairs, we realized that was exactly how our firm approaches financial planning for our clients.
Building a comprehensive financial plan requires working across disciplines, addressing a range of financial services including retirement, college planning, debt structuring, estate planning, tax management, insurance coverage, and long term care. It’s a lot of moving parts, and we work with the other professionals on your team to coordinate a plan that addresses all of them. We’re happy to refer our clients to attorneys and accountants, among other professionals, and to communicate closely with them to make sure we are giving comprehensive advice. Consider us your one resource that can help with it all.
Key parts of our comprehensive approach
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Goal setting & life planning
Goal setting & life planning is the most important step — it’s how we learn what matters most to you, where you want your finances to take you, and how we can build a financial plan that can get you there.
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Retirement planning
Retirement planning is often the first thing on many clients’ minds. Will you be able to retire when you want to? How much money do you need to have saved by then? What will you do if you’re forced to retire early? This part of our process answers all of those questions and makes sure that your investments are set up to protect and grow your wealth to fund your retirement.
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Estate planning
Estate planning involves deciding what will happen after you pass away and identifying the strategies and tools that can help protect your legacy. At RIS, we work with clients in Ann Arbor, as well as Grand Rapids, Lansing, Detroit, Bloomfield Hills, and other areas around Michigan and in over 30 other states. If you can't make it into our office, you can set up a virtual appointment or call us at (734) 769-7727 to learn more.
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Income planning
Income planning includes looking at how you’ll manage your money once you stop working. We’ll put together a picture of your Social Security payments, pension distributions, annuities, dividends, and other investments to get a sense of what your cashflow will look like so that you can live the life you want to live in retirement.
Schedule a free consultation today
One of our financial advisors will meet with you to talk about your financial needs, assess your current situation, and show you how we can help.
Case Studies
Read examples of how RIS helps families like yours plan for their future.
Meet The Team
Get to know the experienced, dedicated staff ready to support your goals.