Author: Staff
IHT Wealth Management and US Wealth Management Announce Partnership and Strategic Transition Plan to Combine Firms
Phased Process to Position Combined Firm for Continued Growth through Enhanced Scale, Resources and Expertise
CHICAGO and BRAINTREE, Mass., Dec. 21, 2016 — IHT Wealth Management (or “IHT”), the Chicago-based super-OSJ focused on developing goals-based financial strategies for clients, and US Wealth Management, a network of experienced wealth managers providing holistic financial advice and wealth planning strategies, today announced that they have entered into a partnership and phased strategic plan to combine the two firms. The plan is expected to position the combined entity for continued growth and success by enabling it to offer advisors and their clients expanded resources, broader scale and an enhanced range of holistic financial planning capabilities, while providing a seamless succession roadmap for US Wealth Management Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Napolitano. The two firms currently manage approximately $2 billion in combined brokerage and advisory assets.
As the initial step in the transitional plan, the partnership between the two firms will enable them to benefit right away from the respective strengths and insights that each brings to the table. Effective immediately, IHT Founder and President Steven Dudash has joined the US Wealth Management leadership team as Executive Vice President, Recruiting and Strategic Development. In this role, Mr. Dudash will share best practices on advisor recruiting and practice acquisitions, and will focus on solutions tailored to help advisory firms build strong succession strategies. IHT expects to benefit from access to US Wealth Management’s extensive business development and practice management platform, along with subject matter expertise in financial planning, estate planning and tax matters, among other areas.
Over the course of the process, IHT Wealth Management will purchase the equity of US Wealth Management in stages, allowing both firms’ advisors and their clients to smoothly and seamlessly transition to the combined company structure. IHT currently has 28 advisors in its network, while the US Wealth Management network consists of 30 advisors. No other changes were announced regarding the management teams of the respective firms, their headquarters locations or other operational issues.
IHT Wealth Management Founder and President Steven Dudash said, “The next several years will be a time of profound change for independent financial advisors. Evolving client expectations, industry consolidation and regulatory shifts such as the Department of Labor’s new fiduciary rule – among other factors – are expected to converge to create a difficult environment for firms that lack a critical mass of resources or the broad capabilities to serve the full range of clients’ needs. By combining our scale and expertise in helping advisors achieve their business and succession goals, our combined firm will offer the resources, flexibility and management insight to meet the challenges that lie ahead for independent advisors and their clients.”
US Wealth Management Chairman and CEO John Napolitano said, “While our firms currently manage over $2 billion in client assets, we are very much aware that the key factor that will differentiate firms in the years ahead will not be assets, but the ability to provide customized, thoughtful and comprehensive advice to meet the full spectrum of clients’ needs. The partnership and transitional plan we have announced today is evidence that we practice what we preach. This combination puts a stake in the ground stating that the USWM / IHT partnership is poised to help advisors elevate the service they provide to clients, and to offer business development and succession strategies that work.”
Mr. Napolitano continued, “Looking further down the road, I could not have found a better successor to take the reins at US Wealth Management when the time comes than Steven Dudash. Steve is 20 years younger than I am, and has built a team that demonstrates a unique gift for understanding the specific needs of each advisor and developing solutions to help them thrive. The IHT W-2 model – sometimes referred to as a ‘wirehouse lite’ model – is very appealing to advisors looking for more of an employment situation with benefits, and who don’t want the aggravation of opening their own office in order to be completely independent. We intend to implement that model immediately in selected US Wealth Management locations. I am very excited for the future of our two combined firms.”
Mr. Dudash concluded, “I am honored to have entered into this partnership with US Wealth Management, and to be entrusted with a key role in the future of both of these exceptional firms. We are confident that the decades of management experience that John’s team brings, in addition to USWM’s robust resources, will enable us to offer the scale and broad combined capabilities that any firm needs to grow and prosper in this new age of wealth management.”
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About IHT Wealth Management
IHT Wealth Management is an independent wealth management firm and Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction (OSJ) specializing in financial planning, legacy and retirement planning, investment management and insurance and risk management. The firm seeks to provide both advisors and investors with the freedom to pursue their goals, while always adhering to uncompromising standards of integrity, honesty and trust. For more information please visit www.ihtwealthmanagement.com.
About US Wealth Management
US Wealth Management is an independent network of experienced wealth managers who provide holistic advice and custom-tailored strategies to manage their clients’ financial future. With ten offices located nationwide, the wealth managers of the firm have a common focus – a personal interest in meeting all their clients’ investment, estate planning, and retirement needs as they change throughout their lifetime.
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Securities Offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through US Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisor. IHT Wealth Management, US Financial Advisors and US Wealth Management are separate entities from LPL Financial.
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By JANE BENNETT CLARK, Senior Editor 
From Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, January 2017
Most people don’t know even the basic rules of Social Security. That can lead to filer’s remorse—and thousands of forgone dollars.
Not long ago, I attended an all-day seminar on Social Security, my goal being to soak up as much as I could about a devilishly complicated system. By noon, my brain had started to feel numb; by late afternoon, facts were bouncing off it like rubber darts. Considering that I already had a working knowledge of Social Security, I wondered how anyone coming at it cold could possibly master all the details.
Not very well, it turns out. A recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office concludes that most people don’t know even the basic rules of Social Security and the strategies available to them. Among the fuzzy areas: the importance of health and family longevity in the claiming decision; the availability of spousal and survivor benefits; and the impact of filing at different ages. (If you file as soon as you’re eligible, at 62, your benefit will be 25% less than if you file at full retirement age, which is now 66. For each year you delay filing after full retirement age until age 70, you get an 8% boost.)
That lack of knowledge can lead to filer’s remorse—and thousands of forgone dollars. A 2016 survey by the Nationwide Retirement Institute shows that of the women surveyed who are taking Social Security, almost 20% wish they had waited to file to get a bigger paycheck.
You’d think that a Social Security claims specialist would steer you in the right direction. In fact, claims specialists are neither trained nor authorized to give personal advice, and they have been found to provide inconsistent, misleading or inadequate information, according to the GAO report. Worse yet, sometimes their answers are flat-out wrong
How to protect yourself. Your best protection against bad or missing information? Do your homework. Start with the Social Security website, which presents a basic overview of the system’s rules and claiming strategies. Also check out our Boomer’s Guide to Social Security ($10). For a deep dive, pick up Get What’s Yours: The Revised Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security, by Laurence Kotlikoff, Philip Moeller and Paul Solman ($20). This readable book presents a soup-to-nuts guide to the available options, including recent changes to the claiming rules.
You could also seek advice from a financial planner. Look for one with a solid grounding in Social Security, such as a certified financial planner (CFP), and ask what tools he or she uses to find your best filing strategy. “Professionals who are serious will use a commercial software program,” says Theodore Sarenski, a certified public accountant and CFP in Syracuse, N.Y.
Or consider subscribing to software such as Maximize My Social Security, starting at $40, or Social Security Solutions, starting at $20. These programs run scenarios based on your circumstances and show how different filing strategies affect the total payout over the same time frame.
our last hurdle is filling out the application, which can be tricky. If you’re applying online, use the Remarks box to specify the date you want the benefits to kick in—otherwise, Social Security might start the payments earlier, potentially reducing the amount you get or precluding certain filing strategies. Also make a note in the Remarks box if you are restricting your application to spousal benefits, for which there is no separate line.
You can avoid some of this confusion by filing in person, as long as you tell the claims processor “exactly what you want to do,” says Kotlikoff. If you get information you know is wrong, ask for a supervisor. Be sure to review the application before you leave and get a dated copy of it.
Investment advisory services offered through IHT Wealth Management, LLC., a registered investment advisor.
IHT Wealth Management may only transact business in those states in which it is registered or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration requirements.
All posts and comments are personal and conversational and are not meant to be recommendations in any way. Investors should seek professional advice before making any investment. Any discussion of markets, investments and asset classes is for discussion purposes only and should not be construed as a recommendation in any way. All investments have risk and may lose value. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
© IHT Wealth Management
IHT Wealth Management may only transact business in those states in which it is registered or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration requirements.
All posts and comments are personal and conversational and are not meant to be recommendations in any way. Investors should seek professional advice before making any investment. Any discussion of markets, investments and asset classes is for discussion purposes only and should not be construed as a recommendation in any way. All investments have risk and may lose value. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
© IHT Wealth Management