Our Strategy
Our industry affiliations allow us to offer clients industry-leading products, backed by some of the largest companies in the country. However, the most important tool we bring to our clients is a planning process that allows us to help clients completely understand their financial situation and develop an effective approach designed to help improve their financial potential.
Using the Lifetime Economic Acceleration ProcessTM, we have helped clients understand how they may be able to meet their financial goals. A personal program is developed to help address all aspects of a clients' financial situation. We provide an integrated and coordinated financial program to help clients reach their financial potential through education, analysis, and strategy evaluations.
| What LEAP Means | Objectives Of LEAP | Why Do You Need LEAP? |
| Strategies & Products | The LEAP PS&G Model® | Cost of LEAP Evaluation |
© 2003 LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc.
What LEAP® Means
Lifetime Economic Acceleration ProcessTM
| Lifetime: | LEAP views your financial process as an ongoing lifetime experience. LEAP uses a comprehensive or holistic approach. | |
| Economic: | LEAP seeks to make your money productive and efficient which may increase its performance over time. | |
| Acceleration: | LEAP allows your money to have the potential to achieve an accelerated rate of return by using a unique financial process. | |
| Process: | LEAP organizes and coordinates your money decisions into a financial model that is easy to follow and understand. |
© 2003 LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. No part of this page may be reproduced, abstracted, excerpted, transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, or photographic, or stored in information systems, except as set forth in writing under a license from LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. Any other use is prohibited.
Objectives of LEAP®
- To increase the amount of money you will have over your lifetime
- To reduce your income taxes
- To give you better accessibility over your money
- To lower your financial costs
- To provide total needs based and value based insurance protection
- To lower your financial risk
- To give you a better understanding of how your money is working for you
- To provide organization of your financial documents and plans
- To provide a verifiable financial process
We employ the Lifetime Economic Acceleration ProcessTM (LEAP®) to assist clients in analyzing the efficient use of their cash flows as part of our insurance planning practice. The LEAP process can help clients better understand their protection, savings and growth objectives and identify existing resources to fund the products that can help them meet those objectives.
It is important to note that the LEAP process is not intended to and will not provide clients with a comprehensive financial plan, nor does it make recommendations regarding the purchase, sale or holding of variable products, mutual funds or other securities.
© 2003 LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. No part of this page may be reproduced, abstracted, excerpted, transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, or photographic, or stored in information systems, except as set forth in writing under a license from LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. Any other use is prohibited.
Why Do You Need LEAP®?
| We live in a world of complexity and rapid change Keeping up in a changing world is difficult. Of the many money decisions that you must make, knowing which are appropriate is not easy. Information overload can lead to financial paralysis. You probably lack the time to properly research all aspects of your money decisions. How it helps: The LEAP SYSTEM® helps you cope with these changes by providing easy to understand and easy to follow financial models. |
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| Government is constantly changing the tax laws Changing tax laws make it difficult for the consumer to plan easily and successfully. The tax laws have become more and more complicated. How it helps: The LEAP SYSTEM may be able to help you reduce your income taxes over your lifetime by providing tax strategies designed to simplify your financial life. |
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| Stock Market Fluctuations and Risk The stock market fluctuates up and down. It moves in cycles. A problem can exist when you need your money in a down cycle and your stocks have declined in value. Timing is important, but it cannot be controlled. How it helps: The LEAP SYSTEM seeks to help you achieve "High Reward with Low Risk" through its unique "flow of money" concept. |
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| Misinformation Contained within the Media Misleading information regarding insurance and financial products and strategies is prevalent on the Internet and in financial magazines, financial "How To" books and sales literature. How it helps: The LEAP SYSTEM explains how many money strategies and products being advertised and promoted today may become hazardous to your wealth and protection goals. We will help you select the appropriate products and strategies tailored to help meet your individual needs, wants, and desires. |
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© 2003 LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. No part of this page may be reproduced, abstracted, excerpted, transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, or photographic, or stored in information systems, except as set forth in writing under a license from LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. Any other use is prohibited.
Strategies and Products
How many of the strategies or products listed below do you currently have as part of your financial life? If you are like most people, you may have several. There are many advantages and disadvantages of each strategy or product listed below. You deserve a complete and comprehensive evaluation of these strategies and products in order to assess their value to you and your family. What you may not be aware of is that you could be unnecessarily losing a significant amount of money and protection over your lifetime if the strategies and products listed below are not properly coordinated and integrated to enhance the advantages and minimize the disadvantages.
Through a comprehensive LEAP® evaluation these financial strategies and products will be shown either to be appropriate or inappropriate in your own financial situation.
Click here to see how one of the products listed above may be problematic for your wealth building process.
© 2003 LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. No part of this page may be reproduced, abstracted, excerpted, transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, or photographic, or stored in information systems, except as set forth in writing under a license from LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. Any other use is prohibited.
Dollar Cost Averaging
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Dollar cost averaging is a popular way for people to average out the cost of their investments over time. When prices are high, they buy fewer shares. When prices are lower, they buy more shares. However, one must recognize that a "dollar-cost-averaging" strategy does not, by itself, provide for risk management of the assets against market risk, death, disability or creditor protection. Therefore, one may need to protect the "dollar cost averaging" assets from these potential eroding factors. By using the cash flow money concepts and strategies utilized in the LEAP SYSTEM®, one may build in these most important protection elements.
© 2003 LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. No part of this page may be reproduced, abstracted, excerpted, transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, or photographic, or stored in information systems, except as set forth in writing under a license from LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. Any other use is prohibited.
Dividend/Capital Gain Reinvesting
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Dividend and Capital Gain reinvesting is a popular method used by many consumers to build wealth overtime. However, dividend and capital gain reinvestment plans may experience income taxes, lost opportunity cost on those taxes, inflation, estate taxes, and management expenses. When having dividends and capital gains reinvested, consumers should look at strategies to protect those assets from these potential financial erosionary factors. This may be accomplished with little or no-additional-out-of-pocket outlay when using the LEAP SYSTEM® strategies.
© 2003 LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. No part of this page may be reproduced, abstracted, excerpted, transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, or photographic, or stored in information systems, except as set forth in writing under a license from LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. Any other use is prohibited.
Prepaying a Mortgage
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It is true that prepaying a mortgage can save loan interest costs over time. What is not widely understood is that this savings may come at the expense of paying more income taxes and experiencing lost opportunity costs on the extra payments which may result in costs greater than the loan interest savings. The estimated total cost to the consumer is rarely explained or calculated by many financial institutions while the interest saved is always shown. Consumers should be careful to obtain a complete and proper analysis before spending their hard earned money on paying down their mortgage faster. The LEAP® process provides helpful information for you to review with your mortgage broker.
© 2003 LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. No part of this page may be reproduced, abstracted, excerpted, transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, or photographic, or stored in information systems, except as set forth in writing under a license from LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. Any other use is prohibited.
Low Deductible on Insurance
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For auto, home, health and liability insurance, it is generally recognized as the best strategy in the long-run not to have low deductibles. Since premiums are generally higher for the low deductible coverage, this increased premium cost may result in funding your own insurance coverage in the long run, especially if you do not experience many claims. You should check with your properly licensed casuality broker or insurance carrier to assess the appropriate premium rates for various deductibles on your insurance policies.
© 2003 LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. No part of this page may be reproduced, abstracted, excerpted, transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, or photographic, or stored in information systems, except as set forth in writing under a license from LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. Any other use is prohibited.
Gifts to Minors
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LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. has found that special gifting accounts for minors may not be the best overall strategy for funding college education capital. For the few dollars it may save in income taxes, the restrictions and lost opportunity costs can potentially be significant. Restrictions on the availability of money and the loss of protection against death, disability and future income taxes make this strategy a weaker choice for most consumers than other more productive choices. A program that pays little or no income taxes, maintains control over the assets, potentially keeps the assets out of the hands of creditors, and completes the plan in the event of death or disability would be superior. Consumers should consider all of the alternatives for funding college tuition and other costs before selecting special gifting accounts for minors.
The LEAP® process provides a complete and comprehensive approach to college education funding techniques that provide a full range of benefits for consumers.
© 2003 LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. No part of this page may be reproduced, abstracted, excerpted, transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, or photographic, or stored in information systems, except as set forth in writing under a license from LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. Any other use is prohibited.
Tax Deferral Strategies
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The LEAP® process can show you why, in many cases, a tax-deferral strategy may be ineffective for wealth building and protection opportunities. Tax-deferral strategies may not avoid income taxes, but only postpone them, or actually cause a larger tax later if one's marginal tax bracket increases. One should also consider reducing or avoiding income taxes as an effective financial strategy than just postponing taxes. In addition, many consumers are never provided any information about the potential estate distribution and estate conservation problems of a tax-deferred asset strategy or program.
All of the benefits and potential disadvantages of a tax-deferral strategy or product should be evaluated before its implementation. Every consumer needs to review other alternatves with the same outlay before allocating any dollars to a tax-deferral program. It may be that a tax-deferral program makes sense and is the best alternative, but until a comparison with a fully intergated program is provided, one may not come to the conclusion that a tax-deferred program is always best.
© 2003 LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. No part of this page may be reproduced, abstracted, excerpted, transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, or photographic, or stored in information systems, except as set forth in writing under a license from LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. Any other use is prohibited.
Buy Term and Invest the Difference
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Term life insurance plays an important role in protecting individuals, businesses and families from the premature death of a breadwinner or key person. In many instances, term life insurance is chosen because of its apparent low cost. Like most things in life, if something is low cost, there usually is a reason. Contrary to the public understanding, a long-term strategy of "buy term and invest the difference" can have significant costs to the insured and the ultimate beneficiaries.
The LEAP SYSTEM® helps consumers understand that term life premiums and its lost opportunity cost can be very expensive over the life expectancy of any consumer who employs such a strategy. The potential loss of the death benefit of the term life policy may leave the invested difference account vulnerable to income taxes, estate taxes, market declines, and liquidity problems.
Although term life insurance plays an important role in many financial situations, one must consider all of the factors associated with the cost of the premiums over time, the potential loss of the earnings on those premiums, and the ultimate possible loss of the death benefit. If the term life policy has expired and the stock market is perhaps in a downward cycle at the time of the ultimate death, the effects of this strategy can be financially damaging to heirs.
For a more complete understanding of this subject, this approach educates consumers on all aspects of various forms of life insurance coverages. No particular type of policy is uniformly the best in all circumstances. Each type of insurance policy must be evaluated and selected in an appropriate evaluation process such as the LEAP SYSTEM.
© 2003 LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. No part of this page may be reproduced, abstracted, excerpted, transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, or photographic, or stored in information systems, except as set forth in writing under a license from LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. Any other use is prohibited.
Non-matched IRA or 401(k)
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Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) and 401(k)'s are used to invest for retirement. They are one of the most powerful tools in the financial arsenal for this purpose. Unfortunately, at the same time many people overlook the disadvantages and fail to protect their hard earned money.
LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. explains that for many Americans, these tax-deferred strategies may contain problems due to their inability to prevent eventual large income tax payments, estate taxes, and potential losses due to market fluctuation.
Since these accounts are usually long-term in nature, inflation, market fluctuation, and taxation can significantly reduce the purchasing value of the accounts. Americans may lose considerable amounts of their account values because they may not have been made aware of the possible economic dangers both before and after retirement or death.
In order to be most effective, these accounts need to be properly structured and coordinated and integrated with other financial strategies and products in order to protect them. Otherwise, the accounts will always be vulnerable to possible losses. One must make sure that their retirement nest egg secure since this is the money one must live on throughout the remainder of the years.
The LEAP SYSTEM® provides consumers with 401(k) plans a way in which to protect the assets from many different types of erosion, while at the same time providing a balanced retirement outlook.
© 2003 LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. No part of this page may be reproduced, abstracted, excerpted, transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, or photographic, or stored in information systems, except as set forth in writing under a license from LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. Any other use is prohibited.
15-Year Mortgages
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Why do banks usually charge less interest for a 15-year mortgage than for a 30-year mortgage? Is one mortgage cheaper than another? Actually, they may be identical in cost. In order to get the cheaper loan interest rate, you have to pay a higher premium for the monthly payment. If one took the difference in the payment and invested it into an IRA, Roth IRA, paid off credit cards, or put it into a guaranteed annuity; there is a good chance that they would have more money at the end of the 15-year period. No guarantees of course, but one needs to consider the alternatives.
For a large percentage of American consumers, the net cost of a 15-year mortgage is greater than a 30-year mortgage given similar or even lower interest rates. Although one can save actual interest costs with a 15-year mortgage, after considering the income taxes paid and the lost opportunity costs on the invested difference in monthly payments, a 30-year mortgage may actually be cheaper in the long run.
A 30-year mortgage may still be paid off in 15-years, and potentially still have more money left over compared to a 15-year mortgage, if the difference in monthly payments had actually been faithfully saved in a conservative alternative. In addition, the lower monthly payments of a 30-year mortgage versus the higher monthly payments of a 15-year mortgage may provide the consumer with more safety in the event of loss of job, a declining real estate market, or for any other unforeseen expenses that may come along that need to be made.
The LEAP SYSTEM® provides consumers with information that can be helpful to make intelligent decisions when talking to their banker or mortgage broker.
© 2003 LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. No part of this page may be reproduced, abstracted, excerpted, transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, or photographic, or stored in information systems, except as set forth in writing under a license from LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. Any other use is prohibited.
Credit Card Debt
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High non-deductible interest costs makes using credit cards for loans a serious wealth eroder. There is no doubt that in our fast paced society, credit cards are a convenience to use, but you may wish to consider avoiding them for borrowing large sums of money over a long periods of time whenever possible.
Before using your credit card for major loan purposes, consider using other sources of loans such as a home equity loan, a life insurance policy loan, or a personal family loan. These sources may be superior to credit card debt. When using credit cards for loans, you are also paying for people who don't pay since it is built into the loan interest rate.
The LEAP SYSTEM® has a cash flow management system that can assist consumers to save and lower expenses if needed at all.
© 2003 LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. No part of this page may be reproduced, abstracted, excerpted, transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, or photographic, or stored in information systems, except as set forth in writing under a license from LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. Any other use is prohibited.
10-Year or 20-Year Term Life Policies
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These specific term life policies are designed to provide insurance coverage for a period of 10 or 20 years. In many cases, they serve as the best protection for beneficiaries in the event of a premature death to the insured. Although term life insurance policies have a low premium in the early years, at older ages the premiums increase and can become very expensive and in some cases prohibitive.
When term life insurance policies expire or are cancelled, their overall cost to the insured and beneficiaries is made up of the following factors:
- total premiums paid
- plus the potential earnings lost on the premium payments
- plus the loss of the death benefit
- and any estate assets lost to taxes or other eroding factors brought about by one's death
The LEAP® process provides fair and balanced comparisons as to the actual overall costs of term life insurance policies. Make sure you completely understand the total costs associated with term life insurance policies, especially in the long run before making any long-term decisions in your insurance portfolio. See our complete explanation below.
© 2003 LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. No part of this page may be reproduced, abstracted, excerpted, transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, or photographic, or stored in information systems, except as set forth in writing under a license from LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. Any other use is prohibited.
Survivorship Life Insurance
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Survivorship life insurance is a product used mostly for estate tax planning purposes. Where estates are large but illiquid, this financial tool can be effective for raising necessary funds to conserve the estate from taxation. Many attorneys and CPA's recommend this type product for the estate tax purpose and usually recommend that it be placed into an irrevocable life insurance trust. Survivorship life works best for ages 65 and over.
However, for ages 65 and over, survivorship life insurance may have some serious consequences for the insured and their heirs that sometimes get overlooked. One such risk is whereby one spouse lives to or beyond life expectancy. Since the policy doesn't pay until the second of the spouses to die, such a long time frame may reduce the advantage of the death benefit as an effective way to pay the estate tax.
A more serious consequence may occur when one spouse dies at an early age (example age 50) and the other spouse lives to an old age (example age 90). The loss of not paying a death benefit on the first spouse's death has a large lost opportunity cost to the eventual heirs. In either of the two cases just mentioned, a significant portion of the estate assets may be lost for the heirs. These losses occur because the future value of the premium payments and/or death benefits not paid out at the first death may be equal to or greater than the value of the death benefit. These costs should always be explained and clearly calculated to consumers before considering survivorship life insurance as an estate planning strategy.
The LEAP® process offers consumers many choices in the selection of a well-designed estate plan. We seek to build a plan that will work under almost any scenario, and not just a few. Only a fair and balanced analysis can provide such a complete appraisal to select the most appropriate estate-planning tool.
© 2003 LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. No part of this page may be reproduced, abstracted, excerpted, transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, or photographic, or stored in information systems, except as set forth in writing under a license from LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. Any other use is prohibited.
Low Yield Savings Account
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The combination of income taxes, lost opportunity cost on taxes, and inflation can negate or offset the interest earnings one accrues on low yield savings accounts in the long run. These accounts should primarily be used for short-term liquidity and convenience. The LEAP SYSTEM® can help you select other more appropriate savings vehicles or insurance products for your long term savings needs that can potentially lower your income taxes, avoid lost opportunity costs and combat inflation.
Note: Bank deposits are FDIC-insured, while other investment vehicles are not FDIC- insured.
© 2003 LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. No part of this page may be reproduced, abstracted, excerpted, transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, or photographic, or stored in information systems, except as set forth in writing under a license from LEAP SYSTEMS, Inc. Any other use is prohibited.
The PS&G Model®
You probably own a variety of financial products and have made many financial decisions. Each product and financial decision most likely has been made individually and without much thought of integrating them into a skillfully coordinated and efficient plan. Without a financial model to assess, evaluate or measure each financial decision, your money may become uncoordinated, inefficient and unproductive.
Get your financial life organized...
The LEAP SYSTEM® has built the PS&G Model®. It is a financial model that contains all aspects of your financial life. It provides you with a full view of your financial situation categorized into three components of Protection, Savings, and Growth, which makes it easy to understand and follow. You can participate in the evaluation process by having this unique tool available to you.
Educate yourself...
An educated consumer is always in a better position than one who is unsure and insecure about the money decisions they are forced to make in life. The PS&G Model provides you with a tool to measure and coordinate each money decision with the purpose of achieving financial independence. As a LEAP SYSTEM licensed professional, we will show you how to use this model to measure and compare financial decisions you make in order to choose the one that you feel is most appropriate.
Benefits of Using the PS&G Model®
Instead of making financial decisions one at a time in an isolated manner (micro), we advocate financial decisions based on an organized, coordinated and integrated model (macro). By using the PS&G Model, your assets and financial decisions are:
| COORDINATED: | When coordinated, your assets work together harmoniously. | |
| INTEGRATED: | When integrated, they provide for a potential increase in money supply and benefits. |
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| BASED ON FACTS: | The Model helps you evaluate and measure the results. | |
| NEEDS AND VALUE BASED: | With the Model, you may be less vulnerable to making decisions based on opinion or sales hype. Money decisions are now strictly needs and value based. | |
| IMPLEMENTED: | The Model helps provide a method for your money decisions to be easily and automatically implemented. | |
| ORGANIZED: | The Model will help you visualize how all your assets are working and at the same time provide an organized filing system. |