As the year draws to a close, it’s the ideal time to review your financial picture and ensure you’re well-positioned heading into the new year. Proactive year-end planning may help align your wealth strategy with your goals, manage potential tax exposures, and create clarity around upcoming financial decisions.
While every individual’s situation is unique, the following checklist can help you frame meaningful conversations with your advisory team before the end of the year.
1. Review Income and Cash Flow
Understanding how this year’s income compares to expectations may help inform planning discussions and decisions. Now is the time to meet with your financial and tax advisors to review realized income, investment distributions, and any large inflows or liquidity events that may influence your overall strategy and impact on your tax liabilities. Reviewing these items now may help to optimize your overall tax situation while avoiding surprises at tax filing time.
2. Revisit Investment Portfolios
A year-end portfolio review may help ensure your investments remain aligned with your long-term objectives and risk tolerance. Discuss with your advisory team how this year’s market performance, interest rate environment, and your personal liquidity needs may affect your broader asset allocation strategy.
3. Evaluate Charitable Giving Plans
Philanthropy can be a vital component of both your legacy and overall wealth plan. Consider consulting with your advisors to confirm that your giving strategy, whether through direct donations, donor-advised funds, family foundations, and/or qualified charitable distributions from IRA accounts, remains aligned with your values and financial objectives.
4. Reassess Estate and Wealth Transfer Strategies
Significant changes in asset values or family circumstances may warrant a review of your estate plans. Collaborate with your legal and financial teams to review trust structures, beneficiary designations, gifting plans, and explore opportunities to optimize multigenerational wealth transfer strategies.
5. Review Business Interests
If you own a business, year-end is an opportunity to revisit key decisions around compensation, distributions, capital expenditures, tax elections, and succession planning. Partner with your advisory team to ensure your business strategy remains integrated with your personal financial goals.
6. Examine Retirement and Deferred Compensation Plans
Discuss with your advisors how current contribution levels, plan performance, and distribution strategies fit into your overall wealth plan. This review may help you and your team determine if any adjustments are needed before year-end.
7. Confirm Insurance and Risk Management Coverage
Changing life circumstances, such as acquiring new assets, adding family members, or starting a new business venture, may necessitate a review of your insurance coverage. Connect with your team to ensure your coverage remains aligned with your financial priorities.
8. Plan for Next Year
Year-end planning is as much about the future as it is about closing out the current year. Schedule a time with your Sequoia Financial Group team to discuss priorities for the year ahead, including liquidity management, business transitions, tax optimization, and legacy planning.
The Bottom Line
Thoughtful year-end planning provides clarity, confidence, and alignment across your wealth picture. Every decision should be made in partnership with your trusted advisors who understand your unique goals and circumstances.
Do you have questions or would you like to discuss your year-end priorities? Reach out to your Sequoia Financial Group advisory team to start the conversation.
Investment advisory services offered by Sequoia Financial Advisors, LLC. Registration as an investment advisor does not imply a certain level of skill or training.
This material is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for personalized investment advice or as a recommendation or solicitation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. Diversification cannot assure profit or guarantee against loss. There is no guarantee that any investment will achieve its objectives, generate positive returns, or avoid losses. Sequoia Financial Advisors, LLC makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy, reliability, or utility of information obtained from third-parties. Certain assumptions may have been made by these sources in compiling such information, and changes to assumptions may have material impact on the information presented in these materials. Sequoia Financial Advisors, LLC does not provide tax or legal advice.
The tax and estate planning information offered by the advisor is general in nature. It is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal or tax advice. Always consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation. Tax preparation is done by a 3rd party and not Sequoia Financial Group.
The views expressed represent the opinion of Sequoia Financial Group. The views are subject to change and are not intended as a forecast or guarantee of future results. This material is for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice and is not intended as an endorsement of any specific investment. Stated information is derived from proprietary and nonproprietary sources that have not been independently verified for accuracy or completeness. While Sequoia believes the information to be accurate and reliable, we do not claim or have responsibility for its completeness, accuracy, or reliability. Statements of future expectations, estimates, projections, and other forward-looking statements are based on available information and Sequoia’s view as of the time of these statements. Accordingly, such statements are inherently speculative as they are based on assumptions that may involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Investing in equity securities involves risks, including the potential loss of principal. While equities may offer the potential for greater long-term growth than most debt securities, they generally have higher volatility. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Investment advisory services offered through Sequoia Financial Advisors, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Registration as an investment advisor does not imply a certain level of skill or training.
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