We offer a concierge service for our clients who are already financially independent or who are on track to be in a position where work is an option for them. We find those in this position have unique desires, needs and circumstances.

Financially Independent means having enough sustainable income (which could be from various sources such as investments, rental properties, passive businesses, social security, etc.) that will cover normal living expenses without the need to engage in regular employment. You are independent and can rely on your own financial resources indefinitely.

This question is asked a lot! It can be scary to give up a regular paycheck and not know for sure if you have enough income to last. We can help you with those calculations and projections. We find people sometimes are already financially independent and ready for a “work-optional” lifestyle, but they don’t realize it.

Simply put, not everyone wants to retire once they are financially independent. Some people prefer to have the option to work or not. Instead of retiring completely, people may choose to pursue a different career or job that may be more enjoyable or less stressful once they are financially independent. Others may choose to work part-time or just a few months out of the year. The key is knowing you have options to do what makes you happy.

Our goal is to meet you where you’re at, and that includes working remotely. All of our resources are available to you wherever you may be. Our virtual interfacing technology provides access that is secure and convenient.

Long-term relationships with our clients are important to us, so you know we will always be there for you no matter what stage in life you are in. V.I.P. would be a good fit for you if:

• You want a long-term trusted partnership where your best interests are always a priority
• You want to protect the lifestyle you’ve worked hard to achieve and free up more of your time so you can enjoy your freedom
• You value the advice of an experienced, highly credentialed team
• You are looking for a concierge-style service driven by your unique wants and needs

No, it’s really important to ensure we take the time to get to know each other. The first meeting is usually a Zoom video or phone call. We want to know what led you to contacting us and learn as much about your current situation and future lifestyle plans. From there, we will be able to provide feedback and determine together if we would be a good long-term partnership.

Our ongoing process is comprehensive, complex, and strategic, and as such is time-intensive for us. Therefore, our clients usually have at least $1M of investable assets and more complex scenarios.

For certain scenarios we may also offer an hourly charge instead. Another option is www.letsmakeaplan.org to find another CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional who may be able to offer a more simple financial checkup option for you.

We treat all our clients individually, as we know a cookie cutter approach doesn’t usually work. Some of the complexities we help clients with may include: re-location to a different state/country, concentrated stock positions, tax discussions, legacy planning, understanding the complexities of social security and how to incorporate it into their plan, making suitable provisions for potential health events, etc.

We partner with Raymond James, one of the largest independent Broker Dealers in the U.S. We chose them for a multitude of reasons. They are a publicly traded company, have over 50 years of experience and put clients first just as we do. All client accounts are held directly with Raymond James; they produce all your documents, including your tax forms each year. They have always been a conservative company and have expert dedicated cyber security and technology support that we utilize in addition to having access to all their extensive compliance and investment analyst teams. We are able to benefit from their excellent resources while still maintaining our individual client-centered concierge-style service as an independent organization. By virtue of V.I.P. being independent we are free to partner with any other carefully vetted industry professionals if they are more suitable for our clients various scenarios.

Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP^®) is a professional designation for financial advisors. Having the RICP^® designation means the advisor has a specialized education in retirement income and is committed to professional and ethical best practices.

If you are already retired, preparing to retire, or plan to retire in the future, you may want to select a well-trained, educated, and qualified financial professional to help develop a retirement income plan that will meet your needs. When you find an RICP^®, you know that he or she has the specific education and knowledge that can help you think through all the complexities of making your resources last throughout retirement.

CFP^® stands for CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. Most people think all financial planners are “certified,” but this is not true. You do not need a CFP designation to use the title Financial Planner. Only those who have fulfilled the certification and ongoing extensive renewal requirements of the CFP Board can display the CFP^® certification trademarks which represent a high level of competency, ethics, and professionalism. And because they are held to a fiduciary standard of care when providing financial planning services, a CFP^® professional is required to act in your best interest.

At all times when providing financial advice to a client, a CFP^® professional must act as a fiduciary, and therefore, act in the best interests of the client. By choosing a CFP^® professional, you know he or she is bound by this fiduciary obligation as described in the CFP Board's Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct. https://www.cfp.net/ethics/compliance-resources/2018/12/the-fiduciary-obligation

Independent advisors are just that, Independent. We work with Raymond James as our Broker dealer and Custodian, but we are free to utilize all the tools the entire market has to offer in order to best serve our clients.

It is important to us to be upfront when it comes to fees, as we have seen too many firms bury them in multi-page reports, or add on additional fees for Financial Planning services. Fees are deducted quarterly and are based on the assets we manage for you; this is often referred to as a Fee-Based Model. They are usually 1-2% of the total. We feel this gives the best value to our clients.

You most definitely can manage your own finances. Our clients, however, entrust us to maintain their financial independence due to our extensive knowledge, years of experience, and vast resources we have available. We look at their individual situation and take into account many factors such as re-location plans to a different state/country, concentrated stock positions, wealth preservation and suitable investment strategies, tax discussions, legacy planning, understanding the complexities of social security and how to incorporate it into their plan, making suitable provisions for potential health events, etc.

We help our clients have confidence so they can spend their valuable time enjoying themselves.

Use the ‘Contact Us’ link, give us a call at 408-713-2020, or send an email to Mark Vivian (mark@vip-rj.com). We will set up an initial call so we can learn more about your current financial scenario, your visions of the future, answer any questions about our process, and see if we’re a good fit.

From there we will gather more detailed information from you about your goals and dreams, help you determine if you’re already there yet, and we will educate you about options you have available. We’ll develop a plan that has the flexibility to change as your scenario changes throughout the different life stages.

We do all the heavy lifting while you take the time to relax, sleep well and enjoy yourself— wherever and however that may be.