As a business owner we understand that you are tasked with numerous responsibilities to keep your business running. Our team can help take some of those tasks off your plate. Whether it’s exploring options for retirement plans, business planning, succession & sale planning, or insurance options and HSAs, TrinityPoint Wealth is ready to assist. Our goal is to enable you to concentrate on what you need to do to make your business successful.
Wealth Management & Financial Planning
As a business owner or entrepreneur, are you doing all you can to grow and protect what you’ve worked so hard to build? Have you thought about an exit strategy?
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When your business is your primary source of income, your personal and professional financial goals become entangled. Whether you’re looking to scale your business or getting ready to sell it and retire, our role is to help you and your family navigate the complex financial and emotional issues owning your own business creates. From managing your finances and investments and developing a wealth transfer strategy to optimizing your company’s retirement plan and mapping out a succession plan — we can guide you in taking the steps you need to achieve your long-term objectives, while you keep your focus on your business.
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Investment Advisory Solutions
Are you on track to achieving your objectives? Could your investments be doing better? Would a more customized and tax-efficient approach make a difference?
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At TrinityPoint Wealth, your personal and financial well-being are paramount to us. So we listen. We want to know what matters most to you, what keeps you up at night, what goals you have set for yourself and your family. We talk about your risk tolerance and time horizon, look at your tax situation, investment history and liquidity needs. Once we have a complete picture, we put our decades of experience to work, customizing an investment strategy with solutions tailored specifically for you.
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Central to our investment approach is a broad diversification across a range of asset classes where we employ extensive research and due diligence to uncover investment opportunities.
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These may include:
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Domestic and international equities
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Taxable and non-taxable fixed income
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Mutual funds and exchange traded funds (“ETFs”)
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Real Estate Investments
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ESG
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Private Equity
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Alternative Investments​
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After determining an appropriate asset allocation, we carefully construct a custom portfolio that aligns with your goals and risk profile. We will monitor your portfolio’s performance closely and check in with you regularly, rebalancing when changing market conditions or your circumstances warrant it.
Retirement Planning
When you think about your retirement, what does it look like? Are you doing all you can now to make that dream possible? While the sooner you begin, the better, it’s never too late to put a retirement planning strategy in place.
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We start by talking about your goals and priorities to determine how much income you’ll need. Then we do a thorough evaluation of your assets, including pensions, 401(k), savings and investments, along with a Social Security analysis. This information helps us define an optimal timeline for your retirement, as well as the steps you’ll need to take. Finally, we put a retirement income strategy in place, which we will review with you on an ongoing basis and adjust whenever necessary. Working together we will help keep you on track, so that today’s dream can become tomorrow’s reality.
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Estate & Tax Planning
How do you wish to transfer your wealth? What kind of legacy are you hoping to leave?
Once we have a clear understanding of your objectives, we do a comprehensive review of all your estate documents and identify any tax consequences. We then coordinate with your outside estate and tax planning advisors to ensure that your plan will enable you to pass on your wealth to the loved ones, organizations and institutions you care about in a smooth, tax efficient manner that clearly addresses your values and intentions.
Having a pre-established, comprehensive estate plan is key to a smooth transition. Soon after one’s passing, the tedious and sometimes confusing process begins to settle one’s financial affairs. Prioritization of tasks and issues regarding probate court will need to be addressed. Without proper planning, this process can be quite burdensome and overwhelming especially when you are simultaneously mourning the loss of a loved one. However, there are ways to mitigate or avoid the possibility of having your loved ones’ legacy “stuck in probate” and ease the burden of settling an estate.
We will work with you and your attorney to help you settle the estate, including sorting through and reviewing financial and estate documents, assessing the deceased’s pensions and benefits, re-titling assets and identifying any debt. We will continue to assist in managing your estate for the years to come according to your wishes or any changes in your circumstances.
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Charitable Giving Strategies
Are there charities and causes that you and your family are passionate about supporting?
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We will work with you to determine optimal gifting strategies to maximize your contribution, as well as your tax savings. Donor advised funds or a qualified charitable deduction (QCD) from an IRA are just some of the ways to accomplish your charitable giving goals. We can explore these ideas and other gifting strategies with you. Whatever the solution, we will make certain that it aligns with your goals and intentions.
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Develop A Specialized Charitable Giving Strategy With Us
No matter how you want to give, we can help you determine the best way to go about it for your goals. Give us a call or send us an email to receive more information about our giving strategies.
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Retirement Plans (401(k)s & More)
Plan Design Consulting
TrinityPoint Wealth has numerous years of experience in providing retirement plan consulting services to businesses and institutions. Whether it be assistance with 401(k) plans or more complex issues, we understand that designing and managing the optimum retirement plan benefit is important to your organization and paramount to your participants’ ability to properly prepare for retirement.
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As true consultants, we work to gain a full understanding of your objectives and present detailed solutions to meet those goals. We also serve as a co-fiduciary, assuming the same responsibilities as the Plan Sponsor. Our documented fiduciary process helps mitigate the risk associated with offering this type of benefit.
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In addition, we provide participant guidance, helping them understand how the plan works, what deferral and investment options are appropriate based upon their individual circumstance, and most importantly, how their actions will translate to a meaningful retirement. By giving participants the tools and knowledge to take ownership of their retirement, we help put them in a position to achieve a successful outcome.
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We invite you to learn more about THRIVE which offers solutions allowing almost any company the financial ability to offer a meaningful student loan debt repayment solution to their employees while enhancing your company’s culture.
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3(38) Investment Manager
A 3(38) Investment Manager is an investment fiduciary on a retirement plan as defined by ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) section 3(38). The role of a 3(38) is to oversee the prudent selection, monitoring and replacement of the investment choices within a Defined Contribution plan such as a 401(k). Our services include authoring an Investment Policy statement, regular meetings with the plan sponsor to review the investment performance and documenting all relevant data. As a 3(38) we mitigate the risk of the plan sponsor by assuming responsibility for the investment menu.
3(21) Fiduciary
Similar to a 3(38), a 3(21) Fiduciary assists the plan sponsor with a variety of functions including the selection and monitoring of the investment menu. The main difference is that the ultimate decisions and liability still rest with the plan sponsor.
Participant Education Programs
TrinityPoint Wealth works with plan sponsors to help employees understand and utilize their retirement plan. We can implement strategies for driving participation and savings rates, as well as meeting with individual participants to discuss retirement readiness using gap analysis tools.
Benchmarking of Plan Fees
As part of any documented fiduciary process, Defined Contribution plan sponsors are required to confirm that plan fees are reasonable. TrinityPoint Wealth can assist plan sponsors with periodic benchmarking of plan fees.
Pooled Employer Plan (PEP)
Established under the SECURE Act of 2019, a Pooled Employer Plan (PEP) allows groups of employers to pool their assets into a single 401(k) plan. A PEP can offer distinct advantages to employers such as significantly reduced plan administration, lower costs and reduced fiduciary risk and liability.
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401(k) Plans
Is your 401(k) plan meeting ERISA’s (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) standards in terms of your documented process, the performance of investments and the reasonableness of your fees? Would you benefit from some additional perspective on your plan?
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The most typical option for corporate retirement plans, 401(k) plans involve very specific rules and responsibilities under ERISA. At TrinityPoint Wealth, we help mitigate the risk by partnering with you as a co-fiduciary. We also help you realize the importance and value of an effective retirement plan in the recruitment and retention of your employees. And we assist in making sure that your plan meets the needs of your workforce.
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These plans offer a variety of design features to accommodate your specific requirements and goals. Our team will help you understand your plan options for participant eligibility, vesting, employer contribution or match (Safe Harbor), pre-tax versus Roth deferrals and profit sharing. An appropriate plan design based upon your goals and company demographics is key to an effective plan.
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Despite the best intentions of plan sponsors, many employees do not fully understand or properly utilize their 401(k) plan. We assist employers in driving participation and deferral rates through innovative plan design (auto-enrollment, auto deferral increases, etc.) and regularly scheduled participant education. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that employees understand the implications of their participation and take ownership of their retirement.
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Profit Sharing
A profit sharing plan feature is typically included with 401k plans. This allows the employer to decide on a discretionary basis (within limits and subject to ERISA rules) whether to contribute to participants. Employer contributions to the plan can be subject to a vesting schedule. Annual testing is typically required to ensure that contributions for rank-and-file employees are proportional to contributions for owners and highly compensated employees.
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Safe Harbor
A Safe Harbor 401(k) plan allows a plan sponsor to automatically pass certain annual compliance with IRS regulations as long as specific contributions and participant notifications are met. This plan permits a high level of salary deferrals with an Employer matching contribution.
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Roth
The Roth 401(k) is another option that can be added to a traditional 401(k) plan. Whereas the traditional 401(k) provides salary deferral on a pre-tax basis, the Roth feature allows participants to defer compensation on an after-tax basis. So although these deferrals do not reduce your taxable income, the contributions and earnings on those contributions will be tax-free when withdrawn in retirement.
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Owner-Only
The Owner-Only 401(k), sometimes referred to as a Solo 401(k) or Uni-k, is available to business owners with no other employees, other than a spouse or 5% (or greater) owner. This plan allows the owner to maximize his or her contributions by allowing both employer contributions and employee salary deferrals. Other benefits include contribution flexibility, lower costs than traditional 401(k)s and less administrative duties, as well as a wide range of investment options.
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SEP IRA Plans
Are you a small business owner that would like to defer your taxable income and maximize your retirement savings potential?
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A SEP (Simplified Employee Pension) IRA is a type of retirement savings plan available to self-employed individuals or small business owners. This plan allows business owners to contribute up to 25% of employee compensation (subject to certain caps and limitations) for themselves and their employees. Contributions are tax deductible for the business and are fully vested when made. In addition, contributions do not need to be made each plan year and amounts can vary from year to year.
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SIMPLE IRA Plans
The SIMPLE IRA plan (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees) is another type of tax-deferred employer-provided retirement plan available to businesses with 100 or fewer employees. Unlike the SEP, this plan allows for employee salary deferrals in addition to a mandatory employer matching contribution (not to exceed 3% of compensation). With minimal administration and associated costs, this type of plan provides a nice benefit for both the employer and the employees.
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Cash Balance Plans
A hybrid between a defined benefit plan and a defined contribution plan, a cash balance plan targets key employees, allowing them to contribute larger sums of money into the plan. If you’re a business owner, a cash balance plan gives you an opportunity to maximize your retirement savings because of the generous contribution limits that increase with age. It also reduces your taxable income.
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We can help you explore the pros and cons of offering this type of benefit, determine the most advantageous plan and execute it for your organization.
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457 Plans
457 plans are a type of qualified, tax advantaged deferred compensation plan, typically used by governmental employers. Many municipalities offer 457 plans, as well as a pension, in order to offer participants an additional means of saving for retirement. Often, however, Plan Sponsors don’t fully understand or scrutinize their plan offerings.
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As 457 plan consultants, we work with a number of municipalities and can help you deliver an optimum plan design and plan offering to your employees.
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403(b) Plans
While 403(b) plans have been the traditional vehicle for non-profit entities, you may not realize that many of these plans are now subject to ERISA regulations. You also may not be aware that you can elect to offer a 401(k) plan instead — which could provide features that better serve your organization.
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As consultants, we can help you sort through your options, determine the best solution and optimize a retirement plan for your organization. We’ll also partner with you as a co-fiduciary, instituting a documented fiduciary process to mitigate risk.
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Business Planning
When running a business, we know there are many key components to making a business successful. TrinityPoint Wealth can assist in many of these areas. We are experienced with setting up and maintaining retirement plans. We can provide you with buy-sell agreements and insurance solutions for your business and your employees. We can assist in the procurement of health care plans, bookkeeping and accounting services and human resource professionals.
Contact TrinityPoint Wealth to find out more on how we can contribute to the success of your business.
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Successions / Business Sales
We have been involved in many business transitions including family or next generation planning, internal ownership transactions, private equity and outside business sales. As you look forward to an exit strategy for your business, there are many considerations that must be evaluated in advance of these transactions to enhance the value of your organization. At TrinityPoint Wealth, we can help you uncover some of those opportunities.
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Insurance Solutions
Business owners often find that they need insurance solutions for both personal coverage needs, as well as for the needs of the business itself or their employees. At TrinityPoint Wealth, we can help you evaluate alternatives and carefully customize the insurance plan that is right for you, all while being mindful of costs, and integrating your insurance coverage with your overall personal and business plans.
If you have existing insurance, our advisors provide our clients with a complementary insurance review so that we can fully understand what you have already and learn more about your current needs and goals. If you find that you need additional coverage of any kind, we offer the following types of insurance from a wide variety of highly rated carriers:
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Key Person Coverage
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Buy/Sell Insurance Coverage
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Insurance Solutions for Estate Tax Planning
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Term Life Insurance
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Whole Life / Universal Life / Permanent Insurance
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Life Insurance with Long Term Care coverage - Hybrid Policies
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Long Term Care
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Disability Insurance (both individual and discounted group plans)
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Split-Dollar Life Insurance
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Bank Owned Life Insurance (BOLI)
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Health Savings Account (HSA)
Given the rising costs of healthcare, are Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) a solution you should be considering? HSAs allow you to set money aside on a pre-tax basis to pay for deductibles, copayments, coinsurance and other qualified expenses, which can significantly lower your overall healthcare costs. However, you must be enrolled in a high deductible health insurance plan in order to be eligible to make contributions to an HSA.
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This may be a particularly important long-term strategy to have in place for your retirement. HSAs offer a deferred and potentially tax-free way to save and invest for future health expenses, covering out-of-pocket costs and helping to fill the Medicare gap. If you are eligible to establish an HSA under your employer’s health plan, we will discuss with you the tax benefits and growth opportunities, and whether it makes sense for you to maximize this strategy. If you own a small business, we will work with you to determine if offering an HSA plan is the right strategy for your company and your employees.