We primarily use Dimensional Funds (DFA) which gives clients the following advantages:

1. Exclusive access to the Nobel prize-winning research strategies of DFA.  DFA funds are available exclusively only through Financial Advisors, like Rio, who have been approved by DFA after attending DFA’s intensive two –day training seminar.
2. A passive, index, long-term strategy with active management characteristics to maximize efficiency and maintain low-expense ratios.
3. The privilege to invest side-by-side with us.  Our personal money is invested just like yours, with DFA.  As of September 30, 2007, DFA had $152 BILLION in assets under management. 

Contact Rio to learn more about DFA and how you too can prosper with DFA.

Many people, including the media, mistakenly refer to people who give investment advice as Financial Advisors when they are really talking about Brokers or Registered Representatives. 

A Financial Advisor 1) is required to register with the state in which he/she resides as a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) or with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) if he/she has over $25 million in assets under management and, therefore, IS NOT REQUIRED to hold a securities license to buy and sell stocks or mutual funds; 2) is a fiduciary, meaning he/she must act in the best interests of the clients; and 3) is probably a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) or CPA or Certified Financial Analyst (CFA) who advises clients on a broad range of financial matters including investments, insurance, estate planning, taxes, employee benefits, retirement vehicles, real estate, etc.
 
How many times have you heard on TV or radio programs, “My Financial Advisor told me to take out a loan and invest in the stock market”? “My Financial Advisor tried to sell me an annuity.” “My Financial Advisor is doing a lot of buying and selling in my account”.  These are brokers or registered representatives who work for major brokerage firms, wire houses or insurance companies and 1) are required to have a securities or insurance license and their primary focus is being an intermediary between a buyer and a seller in securities transactions.  The sum of those transactions, which earn them commissions, is called production, i.e. selling you a product that generates a commission for them; 2) are NOT fiduciaries (unless brokers are CFPs, who, as of July 1, 2008, are subject to new ethical standards to act as fiduciaries), and therefore, are not required to act in the clients’ best interests; and 3) probably have expertise in only one aspect of financial planning, e.g. investments or insurance.

You’ve heard the expression “Time is money.”  It’s true for any service.  Do you want to spend the time to do your own taxes and maybe miss deductions or tax breaks a CPA might be aware of that you aren’t?  Do you want to put a new roof on your house yourself and find out it leaks in the first rainstorm?  Do you have time to do “homework” to research stocks yourself and find out you aren’t able to do any better or worse than the market anyway?  Do you have better things to do with your time, such as spending it with your children or spouse or traveling or enjoying life?

Imagine your best friend.  He’s very smart.  He has an interest in flying, but he’s never flown a plane.  He has all the manuals on how to fly.  He’s read them.  He’s studied them.  He’s researched how to fly on the internet.  He’s talked to experienced pilots and gotten tips from them.  One day, manual in hand, he says he’s going to take his first flight.  He wants you and your family to fly along with him.  “This will be fun”, he says.   If you and your family go up with him that day, good luck, you don’t need a financial advisor.  If you don’t go flying with him, you need a financial advisor.  You want a professional as your pilot instead of someone who’s done all the “book” research himself, but has no real experience.  You don’t want to risk your financial life or a comfortable retirement on one speculative “adventure”.    You don’t have the expertise yourself and you don’t have the time to learn it.  You don’t want to reinvent the wheel.  You want access to Nobel prize winning research from DFA, professional help from a CFP for your other important, non-stock market investing financial decisions, and you’re willing to pay for these services.

No.  If you fall into any of the following categories, Rio is not for you:

1. You are a trader.  You want your broker (not Financial Advisor) to buy you the hottest stocks, the hottest sectors, to move in and out of the market.  You don’t care about the tax consequences of purchases and sales.
2. You like individual stocks as opposed to mutual funds.  You believe that you’re better off owning a handful of good stocks and that your broker (not Financial Advisor) should be finding you stocks that will make you rich.
3. Your focus is on investment performance and beating the market, instead of a focus on increasing your net worth.  You expect your broker (not Financial Advisor) to beat the market every year.
4. You like hedge funds and you like the high risk and accompanying high management fees of hedge funds.  You believe the extra risk is worth it even if you were to lose all of your investment.
5. Your expected annual rate of return is much greater than the historical market returns for asset classes.
6. Your primary thought is “How much is this going to cost me?”  You don’t recognize the benefits and value, financial and intangible, of having a long-term relationship with a Financial Advisor you can trust to assist you with important financial and life decisions.
   
   

At Rio, we lay out your options, the pros and cons, for financial decisions so that you are well informed about the alternatives.  We are not stock pickers, nor do we play one on TV, but occasionally clients will inquire about specific stocks.  Here are some examples of the work we’ve done with clients and the advice we’ve given them:

• An elderly man with health problems who needed to change his account beneficiaries from his ex-wife to his children.   Since his children lived out of state, he needed a trustworthy person to not only help him sort out his finances and pay his bills, but more.  At times, he needed companionship.  He passed away shortly after we got his financial situation in order.
  
  
• An elderly widow who had inherited ATT stock from the 1950’s and needed to know the cost basis after all the spin-offs into Baby Bells and stock splits.  We went to her house, got all the info, calculated her cost basis and put together an investment portfolio in her trust that was conservative and suitable for her and her heirs.
  
  
• A client who asked us if he should buy shares of Impac Mortgage Holdings, since it had a yield of close to 10%.  This was in the spring of 2006, well before the sub-prime crisis.  We did a little research and told him we saw some potential problems and he shouldn’t buy it.  The stock was trading at close to $10 at the time.  It now trades at 56 CENTS.
  
  
• The gentleman who had over $1 million capital gain in one stock, Pepsi, purchased and held since the 1950’s.  He wanted to know if he should sell some or all of it.  The stock was trading in the high 50’s at the time.  Knowing this was a solid company, we told him to keep it.  Pepsi is now near its all-time high of almost $78.
  
  
• The woman who had a substantial amount of her 401k holdings in her employer’s stock, Ford Motor Company.  She wanted to know what to do.  Knowing the weakness of the auto industry, we told her to sell as much Ford as she could.  The stock was at $14 at the time.  It trades today at $6.75.
  
  
• The client who works at Target.  Her % of Target stock in her 401k was too high at 25%.  We told her to reduce it to 5%.  Target was trading in the high 60’s at the time.  Today it is at $52.
  
  
• The client who, early last year, had a lot of cash in a money market in his deferred comp plan.  We put together a portfolio for him.  He said he was pleasantly surprised when his account went up almost $10,000 in the 4th quarter of 2006 alone.  This year we helped him with a decision to buy more credits to get a higher pension.
  
  
• The clients who felt they couldn’t afford a home in Southern California.  We told them to buy a rental home out of state.  After a year of thought and research, they bought a rental home in the Phoenix area.  With price appreciation and a wise 15-year loan at a great interest rate, they’ve built a good deal of equity in the home, have tax benefits from the rental, and are very pleased they followed our advice.

You can’t put a price on some of the intangibles that are a result of working with a Financial Advisor, such as companionship, trust, peace of mind, and respect.  What can we do for you?

Dynamic Financial Planning Session (DFPS) - $295 to $445*

This is a dynamic financial planning session. It is ideal for those who do not want the conflicts inherent in commission-based planning and do not want the expense of a complete written plan.  For 2-3 hours you control the agenda.  We will discuss your retirement, income property, tax or investment issues.  It will be our job to give you as much information as we can during your session.

It’s Your Time! Invest it wisely!

Here are some examples of what we can do:

• Rental property and 1031 exchange advice
• Loan refinancing
• Home sale or purchase
• Retirement Cash Flow & withdrawals
• Life Insurance Review
• Investment Asset Allocation Review
• Mutual Fund & Investing Basics
• 401k, 403b Plan reviews & rollovers
• IRA RMD (Req. Min. Distr.), inherited IRAs
• Estate planning basics, Living Trusts …
• Whatever You Want To Discuss

Obviously we cannot prepare an elaborate written financial plan during an introductory session and we can’t go into more than one or two topics.  However, this is ideal for those who have one or two financial concerns and need fast and accurate information.   When you call to make your appointment just let us know what our meeting will be about.  See p.2 on “How to Get Started”.  We will be ready to get immediately to work as soon as you arrive.  The introductory working session is exactly that -we get right down to business and arrive at workable solutions to your financial concerns.

If you feel 2-3 hours isn’t enough, or are interested in a more comprehensive financial plan, or an ongoing portfolio management relationship, then we can schedule an additional meeting.

Regardless of the level of service you need, call today for an appointment for help with your retirement, real estate, tax, and investment planning.

*$150 per hour with Robert Bubnovich, CFP®, based on a two-three hour session.

How to get started:

• Call our office or e-mail to set up an appointment. 949-306-8448. bubbrasil@yahoo.com
  
  
• One week prior to the appointment, please e-mail or fax completed questionnaire and bring the items listed below to the meeting.  Please note.  We may ask you to provide us with some of these documents prior to our meeting.