Engaging all generations

Helping families navigate the complexities of financial planning is the ultimate goal for Ransom H. Adams, CFP^®, a partner at Legacy One Financial Advisors. Not only does Adams educate his clients on how to prepare for their future, he helps educate their children and grandchildren as well.

"I’m the family financial guy,” says Adams. “I think financial literacy in teenagers and adults is extremely important, and it’s usually not taught in any curriculum in high school, preparatory schools or practically anywhere else. You have to learn on your own and if you don’t have parents that are engaged in it then the children aren’t either.”

To help the younger generations, Adams suggests to his clients that they open investment accounts for their kids and grandkids to get them familiar with investing and saving.

“We open up an account just for the children and put a little money in it. We direct the kids to invest in things they know. If they are a gamer and like Xbox, we buy Microsoft,” says Adams. “That leads to them logging in and checking their stocks. If they are down, they want to know why? If they are up, they are curious why?” The goal is to try to get children involved early.

With offices in Austin and Georgetown, Texas, Legacy One Financial Advisors is an independent, SEC registered investment advisor with the motto “your family, your plan.” The firm’s approach is to provide a customized plan for each family. Adams says all of his clients are unique and he likes to treat them this way.

“How I differentiate is really by sitting down and getting to understand the financial concerns and expectations of clients,” he said. “By spending the time to get to know clients and understanding what they want to do and how they want to spend their days – that’s the tailored approach.”

In order to reach a client’s financial goals, Adams says it is important to break them down into three main categories – needs, wants and wishes. Needs are things like retirement expenses and healthcare. Wants are trips and cars or taking care of an aging parent. And, wishes are goals like “I wish I could restore a 1969 Mustang.”

Besides preparing for retirement, Adams says it is also important to help his clients prepare for estate planning. One of the ways he goes about doing this is titling assets with clients. “I make sure my clients are protected,” he says. “We talk about risks and what they mean to us. We do address them and we have a plan for them.”

Adams adds he will even go with his clients to their attorney when planning their estate to make sure his clients are doing what is necessary to help meet their financial goals. For instance, a client may want to open up a separate account just for after-life care.

“This might involve taking some money and putting it in an account with the daughter as the beneficiary, so she has money to pay for the funeral costs right then and there. Having money on hand and titled correctly is beneficial,” says Adams. “It’s little things like that we do to help a family out. It’s unique and thoughtful and we have been doing this for a long time. It’s about taking care of people,” he adds.

Adams describes his approach as “being there” for his clients and helping them understand all aspects of financial planning. For example, he discusses how the economy has been on the upswing for the past few years. When markets are up, it is human nature to want to invest more and take more risk. "I try to steer my clients away from the herd mentality,” he says. “If my clients are investing in what they need to achieve their goals, we do not need to reach for more return. Sometimes I have to help explain to them that higher return means higher risk.”

Despite the booming economy, Adams says he really tries to help his clients understand the goal is to think long-term not short-term, because "a storm is likely coming in the next few years given where we are in the economic cycle," and it is important for his clients to build that shelter to help them weather the storm when it does come.

“At the end of the day, it is my clients’ money and they are free to do what they want with it. It is my job to help them make more informed decisions,” he said.

For more information about Ransom H. Adams and Legacy One Financial Advisors please visit: legacy1fa.com