Full-Service Wealth Management in Connecticut
What If You Want Someone to Manage the Investments—and Help With Everything Around Them?
Managing your investments is only one part of preparing for retirement.
You also need to make decisions about taxes, retirement income, Social Security, insurance, estate planning, and how much you can afford to spend.
Full-Service Wealth Management brings those pieces together.
At In The Money Retirement Planning, we combine financial planning and investment management to help you make informed decisions throughout your working years and retirement.
Our goal is simple:
Help you make work optional as early as possible—and create a plan for what comes next.
One Team. One Plan. Your Whole Financial Picture.
When your investments, retirement income, taxes, insurance, and estate plan are considered separately, important decisions can fall through the cracks.
Our full-service relationship is designed to coordinate those decisions.
We help you answer questions like:
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Am I on track to retire when I want?
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How much can I safely spend in retirement?
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How should my portfolio be invested as retirement approaches?
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When should I claim Social Security?
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Should I consider Roth conversions?
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How can I reduce my lifetime tax bill?
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Which accounts should I withdraw from first?
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Am I carrying the right amount of insurance?
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Are my estate documents up to date?
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Can I afford to help my children or grandchildren financially?
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What should I do when markets become volatile?
Instead of making each decision independently, we look at how they affect the rest of your financial plan.
What Is Full-Service Wealth Management?
Full-service wealth management combines ongoing financial planning with professional investment management.
We manage your investment portfolio while continuing to work with you on the financial decisions that surround it.
Your plan isn't something we create once and put on a shelf.
It evolves as your:
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Income changes
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Investments change
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Tax situation changes
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Family changes
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Business changes
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Retirement date gets closer
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Spending needs change
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Goals change
The investment portfolio is important—but it is only one piece of the larger plan.
What Your Full-Service Relationship Includes
Retirement Planning
We help you determine when you can realistically retire and how your investments and other income sources can support your lifestyle.
Planning can include:
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Retirement income projections
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Retirement readiness analysis
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Cash-flow planning
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Withdrawal strategies
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Pension decisions
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401(k) and IRA planning
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Required Minimum Distribution planning
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Roth conversion analysis
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Sequence-of-returns risk
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Long-term spending projections
The goal isn't simply to accumulate a large portfolio.
It's to understand how that portfolio can support the life you want.
Professional Investment Management
We manage your investment portfolio based on your financial plan, goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon.
Investment management may include:
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Portfolio construction
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Asset allocation
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Diversification
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Rebalancing
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Tax-aware investment decisions
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Risk management
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Ongoing portfolio monitoring
We don't view your investment portfolio in isolation.
Your investment strategy should support the rest of your financial plan.
Proactive Tax Planning
Taxes can have a significant impact on how much of your money you ultimately get to keep.
We look beyond simply preparing a tax return.
Depending on your situation, planning may include:
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Roth conversion analysis
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Required Minimum Distribution planning
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Tax-efficient withdrawals
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Capital-gain planning
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Charitable giving strategies
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Tax diversification
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Coordination with your CPA
Our goal is to help you make tax decisions before they become tax problems.
If you already have a CPA you trust, you can continue working with them. We coordinate with your existing professionals rather than requiring you to replace them.
Social Security Planning
When you claim Social Security can affect your retirement income for years.
We help evaluate your options based on your broader financial plan.
This can include:
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When to claim benefits
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Coordinating Social Security with other income
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Spousal considerations
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Tax implications
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Creating a retirement income strategy around your benefits
Social Security is one part of your retirement income plan—not the entire plan.
Retirement Income Planning
Accumulating money for retirement is different from knowing how to spend it.
We help create a strategy for turning your savings into sustainable retirement income.
That may include coordinating:
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Social Security
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Pensions
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401(k)s
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IRAs
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Taxable investments
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Roth accounts
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Cash reserves
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Other sources of income
The objective is to create a retirement income strategy that considers both your lifestyle today and your financial security later.
Estate Planning Coordination
Your financial plan doesn't stop at retirement.
We help coordinate your financial accounts with your estate planning goals.
This can include reviewing:
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Beneficiary designations
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Wills
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Trusts
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Powers of attorney
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Healthcare directives
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Asset titling
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Estate documents
We can also connect you with estate-planning professionals when legal advice or more complex estate planning is needed.
Insurance Review
Insurance is an important part of protecting the financial plan you've spent years building.
We can help review your:
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Homeowners insurance
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Auto insurance
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Umbrella liability coverage
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Life insurance
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Other relevant coverage
When appropriate, we can connect you with insurance professionals who can help evaluate and obtain coverage.
What Makes Full-Service Different From Advice-Only Planning?
The biggest difference is who manages the investments.
With Advice-Only Planning:
You manage your investments. We provide the planning and advice.
With Full-Service Wealth Management:
We provide the planning and manage the investments for you.
Both approaches are built around comprehensive financial planning.
The difference is whether you want to remain responsible for implementing your investment strategy or delegate that responsibility to us.
Who Is Full-Service Wealth Management For?
Full-Service Wealth Management may be a good fit if you:
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Want professional investment management
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Don't want to manage your portfolio yourself
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Are approaching retirement
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Are already retired
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Have multiple retirement and investment accounts
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Want ongoing tax and retirement planning
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Want someone to help coordinate your financial decisions
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Prefer an ongoing relationship rather than one-time financial advice
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Want a financial professional involved when markets become volatile
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Value having your investment strategy connected to your overall financial plan
You don't have to know exactly what you need before getting started.
That's part of what we're here to help you figure out.
What If Most of My Money Is in a 401(k)?
That's common.
You don't need a large taxable investment account to benefit from comprehensive financial planning.
We can help coordinate your 401(k) with your:
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IRA
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Roth IRA
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Pension
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Social Security
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Taxable investments
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Cash
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Other retirement resources
We can also help evaluate decisions such as when to retire, when to begin Social Security, how much to withdraw, and how future Required Minimum Distributions may affect your taxes.
Your 401(k) is one part of your financial plan—not the entire plan.
What If My Accounts Are at Several Financial Institutions?
That's okay.
Many people have accumulated accounts over their careers from different employers and financial institutions.
We can help you understand the entire picture and determine how the accounts work together.
You may have:
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An old 401(k)
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A current employer retirement plan
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IRAs
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Roth accounts
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Taxable brokerage accounts
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Bank accounts
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Pensions
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Social Security
Our job is to look at the whole picture and help coordinate the decisions.
You Don't Have to Figure It All Out Yourself
Retirement planning involves dozens of interconnected decisions.
A decision about investments can affect your taxes.
A decision about Social Security can affect your retirement income.
A Roth conversion can affect your future RMDs and Medicare premiums.
An estate-planning decision can affect how your assets transfer to your family.
That's why we take a planning-first approach to wealth management.
The question isn't just:
"How should your money be invested?"
It's:
"How should your entire financial life work together?"
How Full-Service Wealth Management Works
1. Get to Know You
We start by understanding your financial situation, goals, concerns, and what you want your money to accomplish.
2. Build Your Financial Plan
We bring together your investments, income, taxes, retirement goals, insurance, estate planning, and other relevant areas.
3. Develop Your Investment Strategy
Your portfolio is designed around your financial plan—not the other way around.
4. Implement the Plan
We manage your investments and help you implement the other recommendations that make sense for your situation.
5. Monitor and Adjust
Your financial plan changes as your life changes.
We continue to monitor your plan, investments, taxes, and retirement strategy and make adjustments when appropriate.
6. Provide Ongoing Decision Support
You don't have to make major financial decisions alone.
We're available for questions, meetings, and ongoing planning throughout the relationship.
How Much Does Full-Service Wealth Management Cost?
Our full-service relationship combines financial planning and investment management.
$200,000+ is our preferred minimum relationship size.
Investment management fees are based on assets under management, as disclosed in our Form ADV.
For clients who meet the minimum relationship size, financial planning is included as part of the full-service relationship.
That means you aren't simply paying us to manage a portfolio.
You're getting an ongoing relationship that combines:
Financial Planning + Investment Management + Tax Planning + Retirement Planning + Ongoing Decision Support
Full-Service Wealth Management FAQs
Do I have to move all of my investments to you?
Not necessarily. We'll discuss your existing accounts and determine what makes sense based on your situation and the services you want.
Do you manage my investments?
Yes. Full-Service Wealth Management includes professional investment management.
Do you provide financial planning too?
Yes. Financial planning is an ongoing part of the full-service relationship.
Do you help with taxes?
We provide proactive tax planning and coordinate with your tax professional. Tax preparation services may also be available through our tax-filing partner.
Can I keep my existing CPA?
Yes. If you have an existing CPA relationship that you value, you can continue working with your CPA.
Do you help with estate planning?
We help coordinate the financial side of your estate plan and can connect you with appropriate estate-planning professionals when legal advice is needed.
Do you help with Social Security?
Yes. Social Security timing and coordination with your other retirement income sources are part of the planning process.
Do you help with Medicare?
We can provide Medicare and healthcare planning guidance through our network of insurance professionals.
What happens when the stock market drops?
Market volatility is part of investing. As part of an ongoing relationship, we help you evaluate market conditions within the context of your financial plan rather than making decisions based solely on short-term market movements.
Ready for a More Coordinated Approach to Your Wealth?
You don't need another investment account.
You need a plan for how everything fits together.
If you're looking for ongoing financial planning combined with professional investment management, let's talk about whether Full-Service Wealth Management is appropriate for you.
Schedule an introductory conversation with In The Money Retirement Planning.
Let's build a plan designed to help you make work optional as early as possible.
