B6 . (NR)

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012

HOMETOWNWEEKLIESHOMETOWNLIFE.COM

CAL STONE, EDITOR

cstone@hometownlife.com(248) 437-2011, EXT. 237FACEBOOK: HOMETOWNLIFE.COM

1. Tell us about your business,including the types of services and/orproducts you feature?401K & IRA RolloversTax-free IncomeConcentrated Position

ManagementLife Insurance & Long

Term Care Insurance

2. How did you first decide to openyour business?When I was a young boy,

my grandmother gave mea mutual fund for college.It did well, and I saw muchmore potential with investingthan I did with my lemonadestands or paper routes. I keptdoing the lemonade standsand paper routes, but I usedthe money I earned to investduring middle and highschool. I decided to studyfinance in college, and evenbefore I began my studies, Iwas confident that I wantedmy career to be in thefinancial services industry.

3. Why did you choose theNorthville area?I was born and raised in

Northville, so I naturallygravitated back here.In fact, I used to deliverthe paper you are nowreading. Northville and thesurrounding area is sucha special place. There isso much opportunity here,and the people and sense ofcommunity in this region ismagnetic.

4. What makes your businessunique?The service and

expertise my group offersis exceptional. Becausethe industry is constantlyevolving, we pride ourselveson keeping current withthe latest training available

as well as offering themost comprehensivefinancial opportunities.The Knickerbocker Grouphas more than 100 yearsof combined experienceserving our clients in thismanner.Our goal is to build and

monitor conservative anddiversified portfolios.We provide a disciplined

approach of riskmanagement, whether weare in an economic boom ordownturn.

5. How has it changed since youopened?We have grown. We are

a small enough boutiqueto maintain personal andcustom service yet weleverage the resources of

Raymond James, which iscelebrating its 50th year in2012, with over $275 billionin client assets.

6. Do you have a funny tidbit orstory to share with our readers aboutyour experience so far as a smallbusiness owner?I’ve met many of my

clients and interestingpeople by knocking on theirfront door and introducingmyself. One time, agentleman answered hisdoor and after we spoke afew minutes, he was joinedby his wife. She kept lookingat me with a funny grinuntil she had an epiphany-- many years earlier shehad been my second gradeschoolteacher. I had not seenher since I was at the school,and I complimented her onher terrific memory.

7. How has the recent economyaffected your business?The recent economic

downturn has actuallystrengthened myrelationships with my clientsand provided opportunitiesfor growth. Whether thereis fear and volatility oreconomic expansion andrelative calmness, I makecommunication a prioritybecause I want to identifyany changes in my clients’situations so we can adaptaccordingly. Taking careof my clients has helpedme earn some very strongrelationships with newclients through referrals.

8. Any advice for other businessowners?Work hard at what you

love and have balance inyour life. Pray, eat well,get plenty of sleep and

exercise. Tell and show thepeople whom you are closewith that you love them.Never stop learning or getstagnant. All of these thingshave helped me reach mypersonal best and haveimproved my successfulnessas a business owner.

9. What’s in store for the future ofyour business?I’m excited to have the

opportunity to continue tohelp my clients take theright steps to achieve theirpersonal goals. The currenteconomic climate hasbeen tough since southeastMichigan continues tostruggle, but I am excitedto be a part of our region’srecovery.

JOHN HEIDER | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Ian Waldo of Northville’s Raymond James’ Knickerbocker Group.

Knickerbocker Group offers morethan 100 years of experience

Business name and address:The Knickerbocker Group ofRaymond JamesName / Title: Ian A. Waldo,financial advisor, wealth man-agement specialistHometown: NorthvilleBusiness opened when: 1989Number of Employees:sevenHours of operation: 8 a.m.-5p.m. Monday-FridayBusiness specialty: indepen-dent guidance for individuals,families and their businessesthrough long-term financialplanning.Address: 182 East Main Street,Northville, MI 48167Phone: (248) 349-3027 or toll-free (866) 522-9601Fax: (248) 349-3065Website:www.raymond-james.com/knickerbockerEmail: ian.waldo@raymond-james.com

DETAILS

By Paul E. HouseyGuest Columnist

For a vast majority of workingAmericans, life insurance should beused to replace their future earn-

ings in the event of an untimely death.Those with others (spouse, children,parents, siblings, etc.) depending ontheir income should besure they have the righttype and amount of lifeinsurance.Life insurance falls

into two broad catego-ries – term and perma-nent.• Term provides insur-

ance coverage for aperiod of time, mostcommonly 10, 20 or 30years. Typically, at the end of this timeperiod, the insurance coverage stopsand your policy has no value.• Permanent includes universal, whole

and variable and is meant to last foryour entire life. The premiums are gen-erally much higher than term insur-ance, particularly in the early years.Before you buy life insurance, ask

yourself what you are insuring. Mostoften, the answer is your future income-- from tomorrow until retirement. Mostpeople need a lot of insurance whentheir kids are young and their invest-ment portfolio is small. As your kidsmove toward adulthood and your port-folio grows, your need to replace yourincomewith life insurance will likelydecrease. For those who plan adequate-ly for their retirement, your life insur-ance needs should beminimal by thetime you retire.Therefore, in my opinion, term should

be the preferred option for most people,especially in a bad economywhenmon-ey is tight. Because insurance agentsreceive higher commissions on perma-nent products, youmight have been toldpermanent is right for you. Again, askyourself what you are insuring.Permanent policies do serve an impor-

tant purpose for a smaller number ofpeople including those caring for some-one with special needs or who needinsurance to pay estate taxes on amulti-million dollar estate. Permanent canalso be useful for those in high-incometax brackets looking for tax-advantagedsavings vehicles after they havemaxi-mized their 401(k), 403(b), IRAs, Roth’sand 529’s.

Where should youget your insurance?

Many people have a majority of theirlife insurance through their employ-er. According to the Life Insurance andMarket Research Association (LIMRA)(2010) only 44 percent of U.S. house-holds have individual life insurance —a 50-year low. Simply being coveredby a plan at work does not mean thatyou have the right amount or the rightprice.Group plans are either employer- or

employee-paid.• Employer-paid coverage is a ‘free’

benefit. If the insurance amount isgreater than $50,000 the worker willhave to pay some tax for receiving thebenefit, but only a small amount com-pared to the generous benefit.• Employee-paid coverage is more

difficult to evaluate because you arepaying the costs. Normally, I ammorecomfortable with life insurance ownedoutside of the employment relation-ship. For healthy workers, term insur-ance outside of the group plan is oftenmuch less expensive over time thancoverage at work. Further, if youremployment or insurance coverageends without much notice you may loseyour coverage completely or be dis-appointed with the available options ifyou want to keep that coverage.

Here are four actionsteps you should take:

• Determine howmuch coverage youneed based on your projected futureincome.• Start with term insurance unless

you have a specific need for the moreexpensive permanent options.• Don’t expect that employer paid

coverage will always be there. Pur-chase additional insurance as if theemployer paid coverage did not exist.• Shop the price of insurance by com-

paring the estimated costs of youremployee paid group insurance (overthe period of time in which you needinsurance) to a term policy purchasedindependently.

Paul E. Housey, MBA, CPA, CFP, ispresident of the Financial Planning Groupof Snook Housey Advisors, Inc. in Troy andteaches financial planning at Walsh College.Contact him at 248-458-1100 or phousey@snookhousey.com.

Paul E. Housey

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