As a fiduciary financial advisor in Coral Springs, Holland Capital helps you find out whether your 401(k)s, IRAs and brokerage account are invested for what they actually have to pay for, from college bills to the year work becomes optional. We build the plan first, then manage the investments to it.
The kids are still at home. The mortgage still matters. Two paychecks carry the family, and part of each one goes into a 401(k).
There may also be a brokerage account, an IRA from an old job and money set aside for college. You are saving in several places at once.
The statements tell you what each account is worth. They do not tell you whether the money is invested for when your family will actually need it.
That is the question we start with.
You may be looking for someone to manage the investments. We start one step earlier. We put the family’s goals on a timeline, decide what each pool of money needs to do and then build the investments around that plan.
Your Money Has More Than One Job
Some of it may help pay for college. Some may not be touched until work becomes optional.
Those are very different jobs. A college account that will be spent in a few years and a 401(k) that has to last through retirement should not be judged by the same yardstick. The question is whether each account is taking the amount of risk its job allows.
We put those needs on one page.
When does each child start college, and how much do you plan to pay? When would each of you like work to become optional? What does the mortgage look like by then? How much are you saving now, and where is it going?
Our retirement planning work turns those answers into a plan you can check as the years pass.
The 401(k) Is Only One Piece
A 401(k) can become the largest account in the family simply because money goes into it every paycheck.
But it does not stand alone.
Your spouse may have another 401(k). There may be an IRA from an old job. The brokerage account may hold investments chosen years ago. College money has its own job.
Looking at each account separately can make it hard to see how much risk the household is taking.
We look at all of them together.
That may mean changing the investments inside a 401(k). It may mean leaving them alone and changing something elsewhere.
Every account does not need to look alike. They need to work together.
What Belongs in Each Account
Once we know what the money is for, the plan becomes a written investment policy statement for the household. It records what the savings have to fund, how much risk the plan can carry and how each account is taxed.
The investments available inside your 401(k) may be different from what is available in an IRA or brokerage account. That does not mean each account needs its own separate strategy.
We build one household portfolio and decide what role each account should play inside it. That includes deciding where different investments belong. Our asset location guide explains that part of the process.
The 401(k)s can remain with your employers. We can still include them in the household plan and recommend choices from the investments available inside each plan.
Managing the Plan as Life Changes
A plan for a family with children at home should not be put on a shelf.
Jobs change. Income changes. A child gets closer to college. The mortgage gets smaller. Retirement gets closer.
When those facts change, the investments may need to change with them.
We review the accounts against the plan instead of asking only whether the market went up or down. Are you saving enough? Is the money still taking the right amount of risk? Are the different accounts still doing the jobs they were meant to do?
Nothing needs to be sold just to start fresh. What already fits can stay.
Our investment management carries out the plan for the accounts we manage.
Working with Holland Capital
Holland Capital Management is an independent registered investment adviser and a fiduciary. M. Chad Holland, CFA, CFP® works directly with clients and is responsible for the planning and advice.
The first meeting is about your family’s numbers. A recent statement for each account, a benefits summary from each employer and last year’s tax return are enough to start.
You will hear what looks sound, what we would change and in what order. If you already work with a CPA, we share the plan so the tax return and the investments point the same way.
The first conversation is free. If there is work worth doing after that, we will define the scope and cost before you decide whether to move forward.
Our offices are in Charlotte, North Carolina and Winter Park, Florida. We work with clients in Coral Springs primarily by video or phone. When an in-person meeting makes sense, we meet by appointment at the Regus center at 11555 Heron Bay Boulevard.
For clients whose investments we manage, accounts are held directly at Charles Schwab in the client’s own name. Holland Capital manages the investments but does not take custody of client assets. If a client ever needs in-person assistance from Schwab, the closest branch is in Plantation at 1179 South University Drive.
We work with clients throughout Florida. You can see the other Florida communities we serve here.
Our what we do page explains how a planning engagement works.
RETIREMENT ENGINEERING™
The Order Matters
Five retirement decisions and why timing matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Target-Date Fund Enough for Our 401(k)?
It can work well inside one account.
The bigger question is how that fund fits with your spouse’s 401(k), your IRA, your brokerage account and the rest of the money you are saving.
We look at the household together. If the target-date fund fits the larger plan, there may be no reason to change it.
Should Both of Our 401(k)s Hold the Same Mix?
Not necessarily.
You may have different investment choices in each plan, and the two accounts are only parts of the same household portfolio. What they add up to together matters more than whether they look the same separately.
Can You Help with a 401(k) That Stays with My Employer?
Yes. The account can remain in your employer’s plan while we include it in the household investment policy.
We can recommend investments from the choices available inside the plan so that the 401(k) works with the other accounts you own.
Does a Fiduciary Financial Advisor Look at Accounts It Does Not Manage?
Yes. Holland Capital acts as a fiduciary when providing financial planning and investment advice, and our advice covers the whole household, including the 401(k)s that stay at work.
If we recommend moving an account, such as an old IRA, under our management, our fee would then apply to that money. We tell you that before you decide.
Can a Fiduciary Financial Advisor Outside Coral Springs Work with a Busy Family?
Yes. Most planning meetings are by video or phone, which fits around work, school and practice schedules better than a drive to an office.
When you would like to sit down together, we can meet by appointment at the Regus center at 11555 Heron Bay Boulevard.
Photo: Jedi94 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.
