Fusion Strategies

Financial advisors: What if you could expand your services without upping your credentials or incurring the cost of additional salaries and benefits? You know how crucial it is to help clients navigate the tax implications of their financial decisions. However, unless you have the proper designations, offering tax advice will likely land you on the wrong side of your firm’s compliance department. You’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. Have you considered outsourcing your tax-planning needs? We work with advisors, either behind the scenes or in client meetings, to provide niche tax-mitigation strategies to better serve your clients and bolster your practice. We partner with you in whichever ways provide the most benefit to your firm. Are you ready to get all of the benefits of an in-house CPA and add years of experience to the collective expertise of your team without having to increase your staff? Explore the possibilities with Fusion Strategies: https://lnkd.in/e7wb-G_8

Did you know that the cash component of your life insurance policy could be the secret weapon that has been missing from your investment strategy? Dividend-paying whole life insurance offers the unique benefit of liquidity AND uninterrupted growth–meaning you can take a loan from the cash value to build investments without sacrificing long-term gains. This provides an invaluable opportunity for investors, especially when sourcing a down payment for real estate investments. Learn more about how to optimize your real estate investments using this strategy by reading the blog 👇

The downside to borrowing against the cash value of your life insurance policy is the impact on the death benefit you leave behind. If there are outstanding loans at the time of your passing, they’ll be subtracted from what is provided for your loved ones or business partners. So does that mean you shouldn’t touch the cash component of your plan, or that dividend-paying whole life insurance policies aren’t worthwhile? 🤔Consider the alternative: If you borrow from a bank, you’ll be responsible for paying interest. Once that loan is repaid, your investment will have cost you more than what you borrowed. 👉On the other hand, if you borrow from the cash value of your policy, you’ll have: → No repayment timeline, unless you want to alleviate the impact on your plan’s death benefit → Zero interest, unless the amount borrowed plus accrued interest exceeds the cash value → If you DO need to pay interest, you’ll be paying it back to yourself instead of the bank Paying interest exists in all forms of borrowing, so why not borrow in a way that increases financial flexibility instead of incurring debt? 🔥

Is it ever better to make a policy withdrawal instead of borrowing against it? When it comes to dividend-paying whole life insurance, you have 3 options for accessing the cash value: the policyholder passes away, you make a withdrawal, or you borrow against the cash value. We don’t typically recommend withdrawing from the policy because it has a permanent, negative impact on the plan’s ability to grow. The compounding, tax-free nature of dividend-paying whole life insurance is what makes this type of asset so valuable, to begin with, so in most cases, you’d be defeating the purpose of having it. However, withdrawals may be more valuable than loans in certain scenarios. Let’s say you’ve reached a point in your retirement where you’re focused more on managing a fixed income than growing wealth. Withdrawing the cash value to cover needs may be more beneficial to your financial situation than taking indefinite loans. Retirement planning and legacy banking go hand-in-hand, and we’re here to help you discover what’s right for you.

We recently had a client contact us with a dilemma. An incredible investment property had just come onto the market. However, his liquidity was tied up enough to make the bank’s required 30% down prohibitive. Thankfully, we were able to help him find a simple solution that could just as easily work for you. Using the cash component of a life insurance policy to invest in real estate may seem like an out-of-the-box strategy, but it’s actually our preferred method for funding this type of asset! Here’s why: ✅Your policy’s cash value continues to grow and compound tax-free, even when you borrow against it. ✅Very little, if any, of your capital is tied up in the property, so you don’t have to re-grow your savings for the next investment. ✅There are no repayment terms for a life insurance loan. In short, it allows you to have your cake and eat it too. You don’t have to choose between shorter-term investment opportunities and long-term savings. It’s important to note that this type of strategy only works if you have the right type of life insurance policy, and if your advisor understands the intricacies of both real estate and legacy banking. Fusion Strategies checks all of the boxes. Interested? Learn more by visiting our website. Link below 👇

Have you heard that an Indexed Universal Life (IUL) policy creates a workaround for timing the market? 🤔 While it’s true that IULs offer some protection against market crashes and benefit from gains, they still expose you to market risk. Furthermore, the insurance company reserves the right to increase your premium over time. ⚠️This means your costs WILL go up, performance can vary, your policy could lapse, and it's likely that costs will drastically increase down the road, meaning you could need to use the cash value to cover premiums. IULs have their place, just not in legacy banking. If you’re interested in how legacy banking can increase your cash flow without sacrificing compounded growth, let’s talk.

📣Attention Business Owners 📣 If you’re utilizing a defined benefit plan, here are some important dates to be aware of this month. 📢Now through December 2nd: - Distribute annual plan notices to participants. 📢December 15th: - If you filed form 5500 on October 15th, this is the extended deadline to distribute the Summary Annual Report. 📢December 31st: - Process corrective distributions for failed ADP/ACP testing - Complete ongoing minimum distributions for 5% business owners and terminated participants. - Complete any amendments to change a traditional 401(k) to a safe harbor design, remove a safe harbor feature, or change discretionary modifications. - Amend plan documents to reflect any discretionary changes made throughout the year. 📢Want help navigating or getting more out of your defined benefit plan? You’re in the right place. Let’s talk!

Cash value whole life insurance plans are consistently misunderstood, and therefore, underutilized. Here are some of the most common questions we hear: ❓How does cash value build in life insurance? 👉 Your plan premiums are split between two portions. The first part, called the base portion, is invested by the insurance company to fund the death benefit. The second part of your premium goes toward your policy’s cash value. ❓What can I use the cash value for? 👉 You can take out a policy loan to pay off debt, make major purchases, fund education, get through an emergency… etc., etc., etc. You may also be able to use the cash value to pay for your policy premiums. ❓What are the tax advantages of a cash value whole life insurance plan? 👉 Your cash will grow tax-free, and in some cases, so will your dividends! Loans taken from your policy are also tax-free unless the policy expires before you repay the loan. Your policy has the potential to get you further than you thought was possible. Start exploring your options and learn more below 👇

Here’s a question we see crop up often from clients and prospects alike: "How do I reduce capital gains tax on shares?" It's a great question because as your investments grow, so does your potential tax liability. Too often, investors get caught up in growing their capital and neglect the other side of the coin: tax planning. Capital gains tax is charged on the profit when you sell an asset like shares. The trick is to understand how to minimize that tax. Here are a few strategies to consider: → Hold shares for more than a year. Long-term capital gains are usually taxed at a lower rate compared to short-term gains. → Offset losses. If you have investments that didn’t pan out, selling those shares at a loss can help offset gains elsewhere. This is called tax-loss harvesting. → Leverage tax-advantaged accounts. Defined benefit plans provide many tax-planning benefits for business owners. → Gift or donate shares. By gifting shares to family or donating to charity, you might reduce or even avoid capital gains tax altogether. Smart tax planning is just as important as smart investing. 🔥Rethinking your financial approach? Let’s chat: https://loom.ly/TP_nrN8

At Fusion Strategies, we create financial tailwinds for business owners, financial professionals, and investors. But what does that mean? You already know how to work hard. We’re here to drive your progress even further. We implement proven wealth-building strategies to provide intelligent leverage, enhanced returns, and access to liquidity for those who need advanced financial strategies. How? → For business owners, we’ll help you create a strategic plan to navigate corporate benefits without sacrificing tax efficiency or flexibility. → For financial professionals, we’ll serve as outsourced tax-mitigation professionals, providing you with creative solutions that will benefit your clients and inspire even greater confidence in your practice. → And for retirees or pre-retirees, we’ll help you increase cash flow and liquidity so you can handle all of your financial needs with confidence. Wherever you want to go, we can propel your journey. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eBNiUNmY