Retirees
As a retiree, you may be entering or in a stage where managing and distributing your assets becomes increasingly important. This is what we call the asset designation state - a time to thoughtfully consider how your resources may support your lifestyle, legacy goals, and ongoing financial needs.
Working Professionals
For working professionals, this is a phase of building and allocating financial resources. Thoughtful planning now can help position your assets for long-term goals and eventual retirement.
Small Business Owners & Leaders
Every business owner's financial situation is unique, and your business structure, income, employees, and retirement timeline all influence which strategies may be appropriate. At Cornerstone Financial Group, we help coordinate retirement, tax-efficient, employee benefit, and exist strategies designed to support your business goals and personal financial independence.
Employer Groups
We work with individuals and families across a variety of professions and are familiar with the benefits and retirement plans available to several established companies throughout California. Our role is to provide thoughtful, independent guidance to help you understand your benefits and how they may fit into your broader financial and retirement plan.
What Financial Planning Involves
Financial planning is not a single product or a one-time event. It is an ongoing, dynamic process that may address many areas of your financial life, including:
- Retirement income planning and asset coordination
- Social Security timing and benefit strategies
- Medicare planning and coverage review
- Tax-efficient portfolio structuring
- Life insurance and long-term care considerations
- Legacy planning
- Cash flow and budget management
- Risk assessment and management
Because no two clients are alike, a financial plan is most useful when it is tailored to your specific circumstances, adjusted over time, and reviewed regularly as your life and needs evolve.
Strategic Financial Planning — Looking Beyond the Present
Strategic financial planning is about helping you look beyond today and consider the "what ifs" that can arise throughout life:
- What if you live to be 105?
- What if you find yourself in a new tax bracket?
- What if the market experiences a major correction or recession?
- How do I make the most of my money?
Thinking through these questions as part of a broader plan — rather than reacting to them as they arise — is at the heart of what we do.
Understanding Income Distribution & Wealth Management
Do you remember the first time you purchased a house? That sense of pride — inviting people over, showing it off — regardless of how big or fancy it was. It was yours.
As a financial planning firm, we want to be straightforward with you: you will probably not feel that same sense of pride purchasing a life insurance policy or a long-term care insurance policy — even though addressing those things is just as important. It's not always the most exciting conversation, but we believe you should feel just as good about taking care of those decisions as you did when you bought that first home. It's an important part of wealth management and the income distribution process, and we're not hesitant to have that conversation. In fact, we're the first ones to acknowledge you for taking care of business.
The Role of a Financial Paraplanner
A financial paraplanner is a trained member of the financial planning team who works alongside the advisor to support the planning process and help ensure clients receive thorough, coordinated service.
Danielle is our paraplanner, holding the Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional (FPQP®) designation and bringing more depth and experience to the financial planning support we offer. Her role exists so you can benefit from a team approach — Craig focuses on the advisory relationship while Danielle supports the planning work that happens behind the scenes.
What a Paraplanner Does
A paraplanner's responsibilities may include a wide range of planning support and client service tasks:
- Assisting with Social Security and Medicare strategies
- Supporting income distribution planning and cash management
- Coordinating life insurance and long-term care insurance documentation
- Gathering and organizing client retirement statements and account information
- Handling paperwork for new accounts, transfers, and rollovers
- Retrieving tax documents and providing proof of income for client needs such as refinancing
- Maintaining organized, accurate client records
- Writing financial reports and summaries to support the planning process
- Preparing materials for client meetings
Thinking through these questions as part of a broader plan — rather than reacting to them as they arise — is at the heart of what we do.