Your 20s and 30s are an exciting period, filled with major life events, important milestones, and new experiences. With retirement still 30 or 40 years away, it can be easy at this age to let financial planning and investing become a secondary—or even tertiary—focus.

[Read more…] about Building Wealth: A financial checklist for younger investors

For many of our clients, leaving an enduring legacy is an essential element of their long-term financial goals. But as with ensuring that today’s investments are aligned with tomorrow’s objectives, it is necessary to have a strategic plan of action with respect to giving.

[Read more…] about Strategic Philanthropy: Considerations when making giving part of your wealth management strategy

Where will your assets go when you pass on? For every family that we work with, it’s a blend of just three places: assets will flow to loved ones, charitable causes, or the government. How much of your wealth will flow to each will depend on your estate plan and the value of your taxable estate at the time of your passing.

[Read more…] about The Decision Tree for Gifting: A framework for making key estate planning decisions

January 3, 2022

CHICAGO – Relative Value Partners Group, LLC (“RVP”), a comprehensive wealth management firm based in Northbrook, Illinois, which serves wealthy families and institutional clients nationwide, is pleased to welcome industry veteran Rebecca Deaton and her six-person team as part of the firm’s strategic initiative to grow its wealth management and planning capabilities while expanding its partnership team.

[Read more…] about Team of Chicago Advisors Joins Relative Value Partners, Expanding Firm’s Wealth Management and Planning Depth

Building and preserving generational wealth is not easy. It’s a long process, one that requires a delicate handoff of responsibilities from one generation to the next. And while the process may take years or decades to play out, there are things we can do today to help our children and grandchildren prepare for the responsibilities of managing wealth.

In this article, we explore trends in financial education and share our thoughts on how to empower the next generation within your family. [Read more…] about Financial Literacy: The Foundation of Generational Wealth

The SECURE Act of 2019 made significant changes to the laws concerning IRAs—especially those relating to required minimum distributions, or RMDs—that affect both IRA owners and beneficiaries. Although the law technically went into effect last year, RMDs were suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which means 2021 will be the first year that many people will be taking RMDs under the new law.

[Read more…] about Year-End Planning: RMD & Inherited IRA Strategies

November 1, 2021

CHICAGO – Relative Value Partners Group, LLC (“RVP”), an integrated wealth management firm based in Northbrook, Illinois that serves wealthy families and institutional clients nationwide, today announced a definitive agreement under which industry veteran Rebecca Deaton will join RVP. This transaction is part of a strategic initiative to expand the depth of the firm’s planning services and partnership team.

[Read more…] about RVP Welcomes Rebecca Deaton and Team

Since the late 1980s, 529 plans have been a valuable tool to tax-efficiently fund a college education. However, it’s important to note that these plans are no longer limited to higher education costs: thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, 529 plans can now be used to finance the cost of K–12 private school costs as well.

[Read more…] about The FAQs of 529 Plans

At RVP, we believe the best investors are the most disciplined investors, and that a well-defined financial plan — often codified in a formal investment policy statement — is the foundation of a good strategic asset allocation plan. Experience has shown us that a good strategic asset allocation is the key to prudent decision-making, which can, in turn, support performance over the long run.

[Read more…] about Our Perspective on the Markets

Nobody can reliably predict how markets will perform in the next six, 12, or 24 months. However, we have a very good sense of how markets grow and function over longer periods of time, and this long-term perspective is central to our work developing portfolios on behalf of our clients. As advisors, our objective is to build portfolios that allow our clients to capture the market’s long-term trajectory while managing short-term risk.

[Read more…] about The Risks of Market Timing