Financial Planning
Are You Within 10 Years of Retirement and Unsure If Your Plan Is Truly on Track?
Most financial plans are built once, handed over, and never touched again. At Ville Wealth Management, we build your plan across all 11 disciplines of comprehensive financial planning — and then we implement every single recommendation. Because a financial plan unimplemented has no value.
Financial Plans Never Implemented
70%
Forbes.com
Investors Not Getting Expected Services
73%
Spectrum Group
Americans With a Written Plan
36%
Industry data
With a Plan Feel Confident
96%
Charles Schwab Survey
The Problem With Most Financial Plans
Built Once, Never Updated
The Common Method
Most advisors deliver a financial plan at the start of your engagement and revisit it once a year at best. Tax laws change. Markets shift. Your life changes. A plan that is not updated is a plan that is already wrong.
Advice Without Implementation
The Advice Gap
Many firms tell you what to do and leave the execution to you. Rollover that 401(k). Update your beneficiaries. Open the Roth. File for Social Security. It sits on a list that never gets done — and it costs you.
Investment-Only Disguised as Planning The Disguise
A surprising number of advisors manage your portfolio and call it financial planning. True financial planning covers Social Security, Medicare, taxes, estate documents, cash flow, insurance, and goals — not just your investment account.
Every Ville Wealth Management client receives a comprehensive written financial plan built across all 11 disciplines, included in your advisory fee at no extra charge. Standalone financial plans commonly cost $2,000 to $5,000. Ours is always included, and it's updated every year as your life, the markets and tax laws change.
Our 11-Discipline Financial Planning Framework
Our 11-Discipine Financial Planning Framework
1 Goals-Based Planning
Define, prioritize, and track what matters most to you and your family with a clear documented goals framework built around your life — not a generic template.
2 Retirement Planning
Detailed income projections, withdrawal sequencing, and longevity-based scenario modeling tailored to your retirement vision.
3 Social Security Planning
Optimize claiming strategies to maximize lifetime benefits for individuals and couples including spousal benefits, survivor benefits, and breakeven analysis.
4 Healthcare Planning
Medicare enrollment timing, supplement strategy, IRMAA avoidance, COBRA, marketplace plans, and long-term care scenarios.
5 Investment Planning
Evidence-based portfolio construction using low-cost passive ETFs aligned to your specific goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance — built for the retirement transition.
6 Tax Planning
Proactive strategies including strategic IRA and 401(k) withdrawals to fill lower brackets, Roth conversions, tax-loss harvesting, bracket management, and withdrawal sequencing — planned before taxes happen, not after.
7 Budget Planning
A clear picture of what you spend today, what you expect to spend in retirement, and how to bridge the two. We identify gaps, reduce waste, and build a sustainable spending framework before you retire.
8 Cash Flow Planning
Income, spending, savings rate, and surplus analysis across your career and retirement phases so you always know where you stand.
9 Risk Management
Insurance audit, coverage gap analysis, and protection recommendations for life, disability, long-term care, and property — no commissions earned on any recommendation.
10 Estate Planning
Beneficiary review, account titling, trust coordination, power of attorney, and legacy planning reviewed at every annual meeting — because outdated documents are one of the most common and costly mistakes.
11 Business Planning
Entity structure, exit strategy, succession planning, and key-person risk analysis where applicable to your situation as a business owner or professional.
Most firms take months to deliver a plan and years to implement it - if they implement it at all. At Ville Wealth Management we move from your initial conversation to a fully implemented financial plan in approximately 8 weeks. Here is exactly how the sequence works - and why each step happens in the order it does.
From First Call to Fully Implemented Plan - in Approximately 8 Weeks
Step 1 - Introductory Meeting
30 minutes
We evaluate fit, connect personally, and explain our services and costs. No pressure. No sales pitch. This is a conversation, not a presentation.
Step 2 - Client Agreement and Risk Tolerance Assessment
Completed Before Step 3
The Client Agreement formalizes our engagement. Critically, it includes your Risk Tolerance Questionnaire -- your answers drive the asset allocation for your entire investment portfolio. Without this step, we cannot responsibly invest a single dollar. This is not just paperwork. It is the foundation everything else is built on.
Step 3 - Planning Portal Setup and Account Opening
Week 1-2
We link all your accounts in one place -- including accounts we are not managing -- so we have your complete financial picture before building anything. We open your account at Altruist and set up your High-Yield Cash reserve, which begins earning yield immediately. This benefits you from day one and involves no planning risk.
Step 4 - Asset Transfers - In the Right Order
Week 1-2
Taxable brokerage accounts transfer in kind - existing positions move as-is with no selling, no reinvestment, and no taxable event. They sit at Altruist in their current form until the plan is complete. Retirement accounts such as an old 401(k) are invested immediately using your risk tolerance from Step 2 - they need to be working from day one and can be fine-tuned after discovery with no tax consequences.
Step 5 - Discovery Planning Session
90 Minutes
This is where the real financial planning work begins. We go through everything in detail -- your goals, your timeline, your concerns, your what-if scenarios. We build your retirement feasibility model, review your complete cash flow picture, and make the key decisions together. Implementation follows the plan, not the other way around.
Step 6 - Financial Plan Presentation
60 Minutes
We present your complete plan - Net Worth Overview, Budget Analysis, Cash Flow Projections, Retirement Forecast, Tax Planning Insights, Estate Overview, Investment Strategy, and Action Items. This is a working document, not a final one - you will have questions and adjustments after seeing the results.
Step 7 - Full Implementation
Ongoing After Step 6
Every recommendation in the plan is executed together -- Roth conversion analysis sized and initiated, taxable accounts restructured and reinvested now that the plan is complete, beneficiary designations reviewed and updated, estate documents coordinated, Social Security strategy confirmed, and Medicare plan in place. Everything gets done.
Step 8 - Ongoing Review
90 Minutes
We review your goals, budget, life events, net worth, planning issues, estate documents, and investment performance. Your plan is updated every year. Markets change, tax laws change, your life changes -- your plan changes with it.
Taxable Accounts - In Kind and Wait
Why taxable accounts wait for the plan: your taxable brokerage positions transfer in kind and are not reinvested until the Discovery Session is complete. This means we implement the right strategy from scratch rather than having to undo premature decisions. No gains realized, no taxes triggered, no problem.
Retirement Accounts - Invest Immediately, Adjust Freely
Why retirement accounts invest before discovery: rebalancing inside a traditional IRA or 401(k) does not trigger a taxable event. You only pay taxes when you actually withdraw the money. If the discovery session reveals we need to adjust the allocation, we fine-tune it after discovery with complete flexibility and no tax cost.
The Sequencing Rule - Discovery Before Restructure
The bottom line on sequencing: the Risk Tolerance Questionnaire in the Client Agreement is what makes early investing safe and appropriate. Taxable accounts come over in kind and wait for the plan before being reinvested. Retirement accounts get invested immediately using your risk profile and can be adjusted after discovery with no tax consequence. Discovery drives the final strategy. Implementation follows the plan.
Everything Included — Nothing Billed Separately
Personalized Written Plan
Included
A comprehensive written financial plan built across all 11 disciplines, tailored to your goals, timeline, and family situation.
Full Implementation
Included
Every recommendation is executed by us — not handed to you as a to-do list. We open accounts, process rollovers, update beneficiaries, and coordinate with your other professionals.
Annual Plan Update
Included
Your plan is reviewed and updated every year at no extra cost. Tax law changes, life events, and market shifts are all reflected in your updated plan.
Budget and Cash Flow Analysis
Included
We build a clear picture of your current spending, your expected retirement spending, and the gap between the two — so your income plan is grounded in real numbers.
Social Security and Medicare Guidance
Included
We model every Social Security scenario and walk you through every Medicare enrollment decision — included for every client at no extra charge.
Estate Planning Review
Included
We review your beneficiary designations, account titling, and estate documents at every annual meeting — because outdated documents are one of the most common and costly mistakes.
What Competitors Charge Separately
At most competing firms these services are either not offered at all, or billed separately at $2,000 to $5,000 per year for the financial plan alone. At Ville Wealth Management everything above is included in your advisory fee — always.
Why Fee-Only Planning Matters for Pre-Retirees
The Fiduciary Difference
Fee-only fiduciary advice is the purest standard in financial planning. When your advisor earns no commissions their only incentive is giving you the best possible advice. That is the foundation every Ville Wealth client relationship is built on.
Every comprehensive financial plan we build at Ville Wealth Management addresses the 8 retirement decisions your niche cannot afford to get wrong. Each one is permanent, consequential, and connected to the others.
The 8 Retirement Decisions in Your Financial Plan
Explore Our Planning Services in Depth
Retirement Planning
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Our complete guide to retirement planning for pre-retirees aged 50-65 in Ohio — the hub that connects every planning decision.
Social Security Planning
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When and how to claim, spousal benefits, breakeven analysis, and how Social Security interacts with your taxes and Medicare premiums.
Healthcare Planning
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COBRA, marketplace plans, Medicare enrollment, IRMAA avoidance, and long-term care planning — the full healthcare journey from 55 to retirement.
Tax Planning
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Roth conversions, withdrawal sequencing, the Opportunity Valley, Ohio tax considerations, and IRMAA management — proactive, not reactive.
Investment Management
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Low-cost passive ETFs, direct indexing, behavioral coaching, and a cash reserve strategy built specifically for the retirement transition.
Our Fee Schedule
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0.88% or less on assets under management. Financial planning always included. No hidden fees. See exactly what you pay and how we compare.
What does a Ville Wealth financial plan actually include?
Your plan covers all 11 disciplines: goals, retirement income, Social Security, healthcare, investments, taxes, budget, cash flow, risk management, estate planning, and business planning where applicable. It is a written document updated every year.
Frequently Asked Questions About Financial Planning
How long does it take to build my plan?
From your first introductory call to a completed, fully implemented financial plan takes approximately 8 weeks. We move quickly because your retirement decisions cannot wait.
Is the financial plan really included at no extra charge?
Yes — always. Your advisory fee of 0.88% or less covers investment management AND comprehensive financial planning across all 11 disciplines. No separate planning fee. No hourly billing. No surprises.
How often will we meet?
After your plan is built and implemented we meet quarterly or semi-annually — your choice — plus additional meetings whenever a major life event, tax law change, or market event warrants it.
What is your minimum to work with Ville Wealth?
Our minimum is $250,000 in investable assets across all household accounts and members. This threshold ensures we can deliver the depth of service every client deserves.
Do you work with clients outside of Ohio?
Yes. We are based in Avon Lake, Ohio and serve clients primarily virtually via Google Meet. We serve clients across Ohio and are registered to serve clients in Texas. In-person meetings available by appointment.
Ready to Find Out If Your Retirement Plan Is Truly on Track?
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