Drake & Associates

Providing: Retirement Planning, Asset Protection, Money Management and Estate Planning

Welcome to our Web site, where you’ll find a wealth of information in the form of newsletter articles, calculators, and research reports.

As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ I hope your visit will help you understand the opportunities and potential rewards that are available when you take a proactive approach to your personal financial situation. In retirement market volatility can be scary.  We have created this Web site to help you gain a better understanding of the financial concepts behind insurance, investing, retirement, estate planning, and wealth preservation. With these tools, we take a comprehensive approach to designing your portfolio, portfolios with NO RISK, moderate or agressive and everything in between.  Most important, we hope you see the value of working with skilled professionals to pursue your financial goals.

We’re here to help educate you about the basic concepts of financial management; to help you learn more about who we are; and to give you fast, easy access to market performance data. We hope you take advantage of this resource and visit us often. Be sure to add our site to your list of "favorites" in your Internet browser. We frequently update our information, and we wouldn’t want you to miss any developments in the area of personal finance.

We would be honored to sit down with you and review your assets on a no cost, no obligation basis.
Calculators

Tax-Deferred Savings

Compare the potential future value of tax-deferred investments to that of taxable investments.

Roth IRA Conversion

This calculator can help you determine whether you should consider converting to a Roth IRA.

Estate Taxes

Use this calculator to estimate the federal estate taxes that could be due on your estate after you die.

Required Minimum Distributions

Estimate the annual required distribution from your traditional IRA or former employer's retirement plan after you turn age 70.

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Newsletters

Is Your Business Ready for a Structure Change

Periodically, business owners may want to reconsider whether their current business structure is meeting the needs of their companies. For business owners seeking to expand their operations and reduce their exposure to risk, a popular entity has been the limited liability company. This article describes some additional benefits associated with LLCs.

Finding a Good Time to Invest

When a prominent stock market index closes above an important threshold, many investors who have been sitting on the sidelines may see it as good time to invest, but they may have missed a significant part of the rally. Waiting for the "right" moment to invest could prove to be a costly and ineffective strategy.

Ways to Save More

About two out of three American workers are saving for retirement, but less than half are confident that they will save enough money to live comfortably during their retirement years. This article includes suggestions for readers to take small steps that could make a big difference when they are ready to retire.

Exchange-Traded Funds: In a Class by Themselves

In 2010, the combined assets of the nation's ETFs topped more than $800 billion. ETFs are unique investments that share some similarities with mutual funds but trade like stocks. ETFs have some appealing characteristics, including trading flexibility, potentially lower expense ratios, tax efficiency, and diversification.

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