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Polaris Advisors helps retiring or retired clients develop an Income Plan for their retirement years, and supports that plan with a simple, Institutional approach to money management, providing regular withdrawals, tax advice and ongoing risk assessments, as needed.

 
 
 
Polaris Advisors LLC
508-481-2299
Ric Weldon at ext. 7211
Trang Le at ext. 7125

 

 
 
 
Institutional Investment nagement
Unlike broker based Financial Advisors, we do not sell investments: 
  •  We build an “all weather” portfolio to generate our clients’ cash flow. Instead of promoting a series of short term strategies based on some prediction about why each will do well in the near future, we believe that no one can predict the future. So we begin with a conviction that such predictions are speculative and mostly inappropriate for conservative investors. An “all weather” portfolio is designed to harvest what the global economy has to deliver while buffering away as much risk as possible. 
  • We have structured our compensation to match that of consultants to institutions like Pension and Endowment funds. We receive a fee based on the assets we supervise, paid fully and exclusively by our clients. This leaves us without the usual conflicts of interest that plague commission, or fee plus commission brokers and advisors. We search for the best performance for the price, screening managers and custodial brokerage firms alike, to get the best for our clients.
  •  We are fully independent from any financial institution such as a Bank, Brokerage Firm or Insurance Company. This is necessary to eliminate the conflict of “having two masters.” Invariably, financial institutions have their own set of goals and requirements that they impose on their employees. As an independent, we have only one boss; our clients.
  •   We report our Investment Results on a quarterly basis, in a clear and concise manner, with meaningful comparisons to a benchmark or index appropriate for each client. Since we take discretion in trading the portfolio, we also report on the portfolio’s asset allocation, giving comparisons between the actual allocation and that which the client desires.
  •  Portfolios are periodically rebalanced to respond to changes in our money manager assessments and distortions in allocations brought on by constantly changing financial markets.
 
Retirement Income Planning
Retirement Income Planning has changed since our Grandfather’s day. Back then, retirement income planning meant accumulating enough stocks, bonds and real estate so one could live on the income. “Spend the income but not the principal” was the conventional wisdom. With the advent of the modern 401k plan, this view has changed somewhat. We’ve adopted the concept of an “expected long term return;” something like 7% to 10%, and the idea is to spend 5% and leave the rest as a hedge against inflation. This is typically the rule for charity endowment funds. The IRS requires that 5% of an endowment portfolio be spent annually on charity business so that tax favored endowment funds cannot indefinitely grow tax free.
 
Our Retirement Income Plans match a client’s spending needs against available sources of income, such as Pensions or Social Security. Shortfalls are made up by withdrawals from some account, typically an IRA or Investment Fund. Spending and inflation drive the need for income and withdrawals. The ultimate question is; does the client have enough assets, if managed safely and productively, to live out her life in financial security? 

A well developed plan is a benchmark that can be used throughout life to:
  • Determine the ability of a portfolio to support planned withdrawals.
  • Compare planned withdrawals against actual withdrawals, quickly identifying budgetary problems before they become severe.
  • Compare planned portfolio balances against actual balances, quickly identifying investment problems before they become severe.
  •  Illustrate the need for Life or Long Term Care Insurance.
  • Provide the basis for a well structured Estate Plan.
 
Becoming a Client
The process generally begins with the preparation of a draft Retirement Income Plan. For qualified prospective clients, we do not charge for this session, viewing it as a potential client’s opportunity to interview us. We try to make this an educational and useful exercise for all that participate.
 
A prospective client becomes a real client upon the opening of an account, generally at Fidelity Investments. This does not mean we use exclusively Fidelity managers, and using Fidelity as our custodian isn’t a hard requirement, but they are local, they do have retail offices we utilize, and they offer reasonably priced access to a very wide selection of accomplished money managers and other services. Therefore, we recommend them.
 
A client funds the account and we execute a contract covering the fees and costs and defining the Investment Policy we are to implement. All the additional services, such as withdrawal or deposit programs are set up, and we manage the account for the rest of the quarter before charging it. At anytime, if the client doesn’t like what they see, they can simply close the account and leave. 
 
In this manner, qualified prospective clients get a chance to work with us for a number of months before they are ever charged a nickel. The way we look at it, if you are considering trusting us with your retirement nest egg, we should be able to trust you with a few months of our services.
 
So, look around, and check us out.  We hope you’ll like what you see and ask us for more information.  We welcome your interest and inquiry.

                            

 
One Apple Hill Drive, Suite 316 , Natick, MA  01760 
120 Munroe Street, Lynn, MA 01901
 
Phone: 508-481-2299 Toll Free: 877-531-0984   
Natick Fax: 508-655-4066 Email: Ric@polarisadv.com
Lynn Fax: 781-592-4198 Email: tle@polarisadv.com

Important Consumer Disclosure
Polaris Advisors, LLC (“Polaris”) is a registered investment adviser located in Natick, Massachusetts.  Polaris and its representatives are in compliance with the current registration requirements imposed upon registered investment advisers by those states in which Polaris maintains clients. Polaris may only transact business in those states in which it is registered, or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration requirements. Polaris’s web site is limited to the dissemination of general information regarding its investment advisory services to United States residents residing in states where providing such information is not prohibited by applicable law. Accordingly, the publication of Polaris’s web site on the Internet should not be construed by any consumer and/or prospective client as Polaris’s solicitation to effect, or attempt to effect transactions in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, over the Internet. Furthermore, the information resulting from the use of tools or other information on this Internet site should not be construed, in any manner whatsoever, as the receipt of, or a substitute for, personalized individual advice from Polaris. Any subsequent, direct communication by Polaris with a prospective client shall be conducted by a representative that is either registered or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration in the state where the prospective client resides. For information pertaining to the registration status of Polaris, please contact the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on their web site at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov or and/or the state securities law administrators for those states in which Polaris is registered. A copy of Polaris’s current written disclosure statement discussing Polaris’s business operations, services, and fees is available from Polaris upon written request. Polaris does not make any representations as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to Polaris’s web site or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility therefore. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly. The Representatives of Polaris are also securities licensed by several states with Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, an independent broker-dealer. Member FINRA/SIPC www.finra.org.  ACCESS TO THIS WEB SITE IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS, OR RESULTS OBTAINED FROM ANY INFORMATION POSTED ON THIS WEB SITE OR ANY THIRD PARTY WEB SITE LINKED TO THIS WEB SITE.


                    
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