PLANNING IS EVERYTHING

At The Nelson Hallam Group, we find that wisdom is our reward for a lifetime of listening, rather than talking. In fact, as seasoned advisors, we are often surprised by the expectations of new clients. Most have only an inkling of the capabilities we bring to the table.

Put simply, we listen to clients like a friend, and care for them like family. A hallmark of our approach has always been the comprehensive planning process that initiates each client relationship and continues over time. To learn, we ask questions – some expected, some not:

“Why are you here? Who are you, as a person? Why did you accumulate this money? Who should benefit from your wealth? Who are you responsible for – an elderly parent, a child, your employees? What’s missing in your financial picture? How can we help you? What do you want your retirement lifestyle to look like?” Helping clients articulate their definitions of a fulfilling life helps us work more effectively.

As active facilitators, we “sit next to clients,” not across from them. Put another way, we look at matters from each client’s perspective rather than our own. This reminds us to focus on results that hold meaning for clients and minimize their effort in achieving them.

Whether a client is at a “sweet spot” in their career and building wealth (and their family), nearing retirement, or pondering a new venture, we first help them visualize their full financial picture – from investments and liabilities, to tax situations, insurance coverage and philanthropic activities. Sometimes, we show that expected savings may fall short of a stated goal. In those cases, we may suggest a change in budgeting or working a bit longer.

From these analyses and conversations, a multi-pronged strategy evolves that embraces a client’s financial realities and personal preferences. Like those we serve, we are highly motivated. It is incumbent upon us to deliver tangible benefits and consistent value.

We also serve as a resource for clients. With little time to stay updated on market dynamics, tax regulations and their investments – let alone, where to find a good restaurant – most clients rely on us to manage their wealth and provide “neighborly input.” We’ve lived in Springfield for decades. It is common for us to recommend good mechanics, schools, and places to explore. During the pandemic, we proactively contacted clients, to ask about their physical and mental health – and offer financial reassurance.

WHAT CLIENTS CAN EXPECT

At The Nelson Hallam Group, it’s natural for us to view financial matters from a family perspective. Given our heritage serving multiple generations, we don’t refer to clients as such. Rather, we think of them as “families” or “households” because that better reflects our approach.

When asked, we characterize our offering as a rich repository of knowledge and best practices. Privacy is a pillar of our offering. Still, when it can prove beneficial, we may share what others in a client’s peer group are doing. This not only leads to proven ideas for meeting an array of challenges, but ongoing education that can help family members learn and prosper.

As our client, you can expect that we will:

• Put our heads together to scrutinize your overall wealth and its components. We will perform an in-depth analysis of your investment allocation with regard to diversification, risk, cash flow, and time horizon – to help us identify redundancies and exposures, and evaluate tax efficiencies.
• Put your needs first, always. To us, that means serving as responsible stewards of your wealth, prioritizing your objectives and examining areas of your financial picture that may have been ignored previously. In short, we look at “goals and holes” in your financial life.
• Strive to help you make informed decisions, not emotional ones. Our proactive efforts are meant to help you plan and prepare ahead of circumstances you can foresee and those you don’t.
• Do our best work when your needs grow in complexity. We enjoy meeting challenges and helping you focus on the people and passions in your life. The more you ask us to do, the more value we can deliver.
• Explain what actual outcomes look like – in simple terms, without needless financial jargon. Going beyond spreadsheets and simulations, we will illustrate and discuss real-world scenarios with you. 
• Encourage you to share our long-term perspective on capital preservation with reasonable growth – in relationship to the risk you are willing to take. Your portfolio will reflect overall strategic input from our firm’s Chief Investment Office and model portfolios from managers we’ve known for years who are also carefully vetted by Merrill. Your customized portfolio may include equities, bonds, ETFs, and in some cases, alternative investments*.
• Remind you to contact us with any and all financially related questions, or if you need our opinion on a financial or life circumstance. By doing our jobs well, we can bring you the perspective and time you need – to make informed decisions that are wise and unhurried. We see ourselves as “life advisors” as much as “financial advisors.”
• To help optimize both sides of your balance sheet – assets and liabilities – we offer cash management and credit strategies, and access to specialists at Bank of America, N.A. for residential and securities-based lending solutions.
• Align our tax minimization and estate planning strategies with those of your CPA and attorney, or a professional we can recommend. When beneficial, we can also call upon our firm’s trust professionals to offer assistance.

Finally, we rarely see situations we haven’t encountered. We feel fortunate to have long memories and relationships. It is our intention to help you benefit from others we’ve assisted in similar positions.



*The Chief Investment Office (CIO) provides thought leadership on wealth management, investment strategy and global markets; portfolio management solutions; due diligence; and solutions oversight and data analytics. CIO viewpoints are developed for Bank of America Private Bank, a division of Bank of America, N.A., (“Bank of America”) and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“MLPF&S” or “Merrill”), a registered broker-dealer, registered investment adviser and a wholly owned subsidiary of BofA Corp. This information should not be construed as investment advice and is subject to change. It is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to be either a specific offer by Bank of America, Merrill or any affiliate to sell or provide, or a specific invitation for a consumer to apply for, any particular retail financial product or service that may be available.

*Some or all alternative investment programs may not be in the best interest of certain investors. No assurance can be given that any alternative investment’s investment objectives will be achieved.