With our comprehensive suite of tools, you will be able to take advantage of:
- Take legitimate deductible expenses
- Benefit from our CPA partners for strategic tax preparation
- Eliminate your mortgage to augment wealth accumulation
- Provide excellent asset protection
- Accumulate wealth in unique and powerful ways
- Protect your assets from unexpected depletion
- Maximize tax-deductible expenses via benefit plans
A more in-depth look:
Entity Structuring
Many people don’t realize it, but so much of your financial accomplishments are built upon proper entity structuring. Although many people are familiar with entity structuring in the sense of owning a business, it’s crucial for investors and those who are holding assets as well. Almost everyone could benefit from proper entity structuring.
Appropriate structuring is the foundation of any sound financial strategy. It will help manage your cash flow, save money and continue to accumulate wealth.
Both Sides of the Coin
Entity structuring can become very complex, and unfortunately, most approach entity structuring from either the tax side or the asset protection side. However, to be most beneficial to you, proper entity structuring should provide asset protection as well as tax mitigation.
With the advice of a CPA alone, the recommendation to the client may be to forego structuring. This recommendation, solely from a tax perspective, may make sense. However, from an asset protection standpoint, the CPA’s recommendation leaves the client vulnerable to liability. On the other hand, some entity structuring strategies provide excellent asset protection while absolutely ignoring the tax situation of the client. Either scenario can be financially catastrophic to the client.
Art, not a science
Many have heard presentations on asset protection, yet they leave confused due to conflicting information. Most asset protection strategies were originally formed for a different purpose.
For instance, the LLC was born to create ease of use for business owners because they are in theory, less cumbersome to operate than a corporation. They were designed to provide the liability protection found in a corporation coupled with the ease of taxation of a partnership. It was simply a byproduct that the LLC emerged as a commonly used asset protection tool, namely because of the charging order protection.
Many who present an entity structuring for asset protection model, are in the business of creating entities. Consequently, there are often recommendations that each asset reside in its own LLC. If you are a real estate or other type of investor, the idea of having one LLC per property or asset may be overwhelming from both a cost and administrative perspective.
Aegis and Entity Structuring
We approach entity structuring from the perspective that it should not become so expensive or burdensome that it detracts you from focusing on your business and accumulating wealth. We tailor fit your entity structures to your unique situation. We often use an equity stripping structure, to keep costs and administrative issues to a minimum, while at the same time providing you with excellent asset protection. We also make sure that the entities maximize your tax efficiency; so once again, you can keep the most of your hard-earned money. After all, the more you have to work with, the better chance your have of reaching your financial objectives.
Please be aware that any endeavor to provide proper entity structuring for your business, your investments, or any other valuable asset, will require some time and dedication on your part. If you are not familiar with entities and have not operated one in the past, implementing the proper structures will take work. Aegis Council offers comprehensive support for clients via an online knowledge base, individual case support and group Q&A teleconference calls and online meetings.
You will be able to protect your assets and separate yourself personally from your business. This will provided an excellent foundation for your tax planning and give you better control over your cash flow; the edge you need to accumulate more wealth.
To get started with your custom entity structuring recommendation, please complete our online contact form or phone our office at 1-775-331-0404.
Risk Management
Risk never sleeps, nor does it discriminate. In a moment, all you have earned could be gone, and all of your hard work would be for nothing. Asset protection is critical, and proper entity structuring is the cornerstone to protecting your assets. However, many times other critical components are overlooked—namely insurance. Insurance is the best and easiest way to manage the risk of premature death or disability, including long-term care needs.
Long-term care has become a key concern for many Americans. An unanticipated need can create an obstacle to your best laid wealth accumulation plans, and it’s not just an issue for older generations.
The ultra-wealthy can afford to pay for it and the poor are covered by governmental aid. It’s the middle class that is forced to “spend down” their assets until they drop to the lower income class and the government takes over. This can be prevented with proper risk management. Additionally, long-term care can often be at least partially tax deductible to business owners. Consider that most home foreclosures are a result of a disability and premature death.
Our Approach 
As a business owner, investor, entrepreneur, it can be challenging to obtain disability insurance because of the way your income is structured. We will provide you with an analysis of your insurance needs, illustrate combinations of coverage to manage the risk of disability, and help you to determine what kinds of insurance meet your needs—all in the context of your financial goals.
Many insurance agents make recommendations that are not congruent with your specific financial goals. Whole life insurance, universal life, or variable life is frequently the standard recommendation. However, those types of policies can be expensive. Generally, term insurance will meet your needs while still minimizing cost. When you are in the mode of accumulating wealth, the goal is to keep as much investable income within your control so that you can grow wealth.
Benefit Planning
Many of the largest and most valuable tax-deductible expenses you can take as a business owner are employee benefits—retirement plans in particular. The proper employee benefit plans can allow you to take large tax deductions and preserve the monies that would have otherwise been lost to taxes. Those monies can then be set aside for investing and further accumulation of wealth in a tax-advantaged arena.
Be sure not to make the mistake of failing to count your most important employee, you.
Choosing the Appropriate Plan
Often, business owners and investors implement the wrong type of plan. The key is having the appropriate employee benefits for you. Not that there really are “wrong” plans per se; there are numerous plans that can be inappropriate for a particular situation.
For instance, the wrong retirement plan can cause an increased tax obligation beyond the benefit received in funding the retirement plan itself. This does not make sense; to pay more in tax than you are able to put into your plan? Despite the obvious flaws, it does happen over and over again.
Balanced Plan Funding
Another problematic issue is the over commitment of funds to the plan. An employer will often contribute an exorbitant amount to the plan for the benefit of the employees, but at the great expense of the employer. Although providing funds for employees’ retirement is a noble gesture, the employer must be able to fund their own retirement. In order to help others, you have to help yourself first.
By carefully constructing your employee benefits plan, you will be able to maximize tax deductions, preserve your hard-earned money, invest your monies in a tax-advantaged arena, and achieve financial freedom.
*Please note, certain employee benefits, such as health insurance, have state specific issues that are beyond the scope of our practice. During your initial consultation, we may recommend to you that you seek the help of another professional in your geographic area for these issues.
Tax Mitigation
There may be one official tax code, but there are two ways to file your taxes—one way for the ignorant and one way for the educated. In the case of the tax code, ignorance is not bliss. Awareness is part of playing the educated tax game, and missing out on legitimate tax savings can be very expensive to business owners.
Strategy vs. Preparation
Many confuse tax preparation and tax strategy or they think they are one-in-the-same. However, it's important to understand that tax mitigation strategy and tax preparation are separate and distinct.
While tax preparation is documentation of what has happened throughout the year, tax mitigation is on-going and day-to-day responsibility for a business owner. In fact, tax preparation can be compared to recording history. Both the on-going strategy and the accurate documentation are required for success.
Compliance is Key
Tax mitigation does not have to go hand-in-hand with shady, aggressive tax planning. A proper tax mitigation strategy is achieved through using the tools that the tax code provides to you—spectacular tools like retirement and tax advantaged savings plans. Utilizing these types of tools in the proper manner provides you with an uncompromised advantage. In fact, your IRA or other retirement plan can become your most powerful wealth accumulation tools. There is an array of tools available to you that are well documented in tax codes and tax regulations.
Many speakers focus simply on maximum tax savings. All too often, though, they don’t share or explain the compliance side of these strategies. There are many legitimate tax advantages available to business owners, investors, and entrepreneurs; however, without the proper documentation, you could find yourself in a tough spot with the IRS. Aegis Council will not only help you to become a more educated taxpayer; we also emphasize proper documentation and compliance with the tax codes.
Tax Preparation and Education
Many CPA’s have based their practice and derive their income from generating tax returns. Time is not spent on researching and developing tax saving strategies for their clientele. Many CPA’s don’t have the background and/or experience to fully support their clients.
It's important to note that tax preparation is nothing without an effective tax mitigation strategy. Although related, there are distinctions between the annual historical record of your taxes and the ongoing strategy you implement as part of your business plan. Implementing both facets will pay dividends in your financial life.
Step Up Your Game
Many of our clients have outgrown the traditional and ordinary CPA. Our clientele has tax efficiency needs that only a team of advisors can provide.
In response to this demand, we have created a tax preparation and education program called Tax GPS. The program incorporates your tax mitigation strategy with preparation so that your strategies are documented and reported properly.
Another crucial component is ongoing tax education is in sensibly directing your business on a day-to-day basis to avoid the common year-end panic of filing your taxes.
Stay well-informed throughout the year with:
- Group on-line presentations led by a CPA
- Q&A teleconference sessions
- Quarterly review sessions with your strategist and CPA
Unsound Advice
While much of the common financial advice is theoretically right, the simplicity of theory will eventually meet the complexity of reality. At that point, the results can be less than desirable. In fact, some of the advice from the financial “gurus” is either incomplete or just plain wrong. When it is advised that you maintain the largest mortgage possible, it is also assumed that you are able to invest your moneys elsewhere, where the performance of your investments outpace the interest on your mortgage.
- As long as you have debt, you are required to service it— binding you to your debts. You will have to continue to work or invest for as long as you maintain the debt.
- Many of us do not have the investment competence to achieve returns that outpace our mortgage interest rate. Regularly, neither do the advisors.
- Even if we have the investment intelligence to outpace the interest on our mortgage, we often don’t have the discipline to invest all eligible funds. Instead, we buy consumer goods and depreciating assets—like automobiles.
Establishing a Plan
Often, clients are given a recommendation for their financial plan, but are left on their own to manage the labyrinth of financial information required to execute the plan. Unfortunately, the financial services industry, legal system, and tax code use hard to understand language and can be difficult for the average person to navigate successfully. Couple that with learning new financial concepts, and it becomes a recipe for disaster.
With Aegis, you are never alone in finding the way to financial independence. After becoming a client of Aegis, we work hand-in-hand with you to assess your current financial situation, determine financial goals, and provide recommendations to achieve those goals. As part of this recommendation, a customized financial map is included.
The map visually illustrates your financial strategy and provides you with detailed information explaining why each business entity exists in your plan, how they work together, and the steps that are required for progress. It is a visual representation of what it is you want to accomplish and is formed according to your goals and priorities. It helps you determine how you get from where you are today to where you want to be in the future. Your map is a product of a comprehensive, financial inventory that analyzes everything from hedging inflation to funding your child’s college education.
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