How Financial Planning is Different for Physicians
Doctors need financial planning that considers the unique circumstances, challenges, and financial risks that come with their profession, such as:
- High Educational Debt
- Delayed Earning Potential
- Regulatory & Insurance Challenges
- Liability Concerns
- Asset Protection
- Shorter Careers for Surgeons & Longer Retirement
Winthrop Partners knows the financial planning hurdles and opportunities for early-career, mid-career, and late-career physicians. We’ll work with you to create a customized financial plan that addresses your specific needs and goals and be your partner as you progress through your medical career.
Financial Planning Throughout a Physician’s Career
Residents and Fellows
BIGGEST FINANCIAL CONCERN: Paying down debt
The financial decisions you make in the early stages of your medical career can impact the rest of your life. Significantly increasing your income can lead to exciting life advancements such as purchasing a new car and home, getting married, and starting a family. However, accomplishing these milestones while paying down the student loan debt can be challenging.
Winthrop Partners will help with:
- Paying down student loan debt efficiently
- Organizing a sensible debt reduction strategy
- Defining your goals & values
- Implementing wealth management & saving strategies
- Designing a low-risk, diversified portfolio
- Integrating a sustainable spending plan
- Protecting you & your family with malpractice and general liability insurance
- Outlining multi-year tax planning
Late-Career Physicians
BIGGEST FINANCIAL CONCERN: Being prepared for retirement, perhaps earlier than anticipated, and protecting your assets
Physicians, particularly surgeons, tend to retire earlier than the general population, a factor that needs to be considered as you enter the final stages of your medical career. You need to be prepared for retirement much earlier than other professions. Even if you’re still practicing medicine past 55, it’s important to get your investments, tax planning, and estate planning aligned with your retirement goals as sudden regulatory or employment changes can arise (continuing education or insurance requirements may become onerous, your practice is sold, your hospital closes, health care systems merge, or might be nationalized, etc).
Winthrop Partners will help with:
- Defining your retirement plans & goals
- Modifying your wealth management & saving strategies for retirement
- Diversifying your retirement portfolio
- Explaining & optimizing your retirement benefits
- Creating a sustainable retirement income & spending plan
- Estate & legacy plans that align with your wishes
- Coordinating with your tax preparer your initial retirement
How we Help Physicians with their Financial Planning
HIGHLY REGARDED FINANCIAL PLANNING FOR PHYSICIANS
The stakes are higher for physicians and their financial planning. Contact Winthrop Partners to work with advisors who understand your situation.
Case Study: Physician Financial Planning
Our client, an early career doctor specializing in cardiothoracic surgery, wanted to address their financial concerns and develop a customized financial plan that could efficiently dial down debt while starting the wealth-building process to achieve the physician’s short and long-term financial goals.
Winthrop Partners started with a discovery meeting where we learned about the physician’s financial situation, circumstances, and goals.
The physician acknowledged that they had:
- Debt had accumulated over years of education and training.
- Had incurred more debt after recently getting married, purchasing a home, and buying a car.
- Signed a physician employment contract when he joined his practice.
We used financial models, information gathered through our discussion, and additional financial documents. We tailored a financial plan that considered when he was planning on retiring, how much he wanted to save along the way, and what his spending behavior would look like.
Throughout the portfolio design process, we worked together to:
- Do a comprehensive, top-down review of his physician employment contract. We broke down his agreement to explain certain nuances and how it would impact his life and career.
- Maximizing income deductions by increasing the 403(b) plan and non-ERISA savings plan and thus dialing back some of his taxable compensation.
- Using our state-of-the-art planning software’s interactive features, allow the physician and spouse to input “what-if” scenarios to visualize the impact on their long-term finances.
Also using the planning software to create what-if investment scenarios to illustrate the potential consequences of allocating and diversifying a portfolio.
Our comprehensive plan addressed areas of concern and eased their mind. They were able to eliminate educational debt within two years, monitor their portfolio’s nascent growth, and review his portfolio to ensure it was aligned with his changing goals and objectives.
Types of Physicians We Help
We help all types of physicians, including high-risk specialties who have high costs associated with malpractice premiums and lawsuits.
We can help:
- Heart surgeons
- Ophthalmologists
- Maxillofacial
- OB/GYNs
- Bariatric Surgeons
- Neurosurgeons
- Orthopedic Surgeons
- Plastic Surgeons
- Private Practitioners
Financial Planning for Doctors FAQ
▼ What is the minimum value of assets required to work with Winthrop Partners?
Generally, Winthrop Partners is ideal for individuals and families who have a minimum of $250,000.00 in investable assets.
▼ What are Winthrop Partners’ Investment Management fees?
Generally, we charge a fixed fee of 1% of AUM for our planning and Investment Management services. This fee may be reduced for accounts with large amounts of assets under management. For Investment Planning Services, we also offer a subscription fee for accounts that do not meet our minimums.
▼ What are Winthrop Partners’ certifications?
Winthrop Partners and its individual team members are members of CFP Board, NAPFA, Fee-Only Network, Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), ChFCs, CFPs, and MD Preferred Advisors.
We are staffed with individuals who have earned the following graduate degrees MBA, CPA, and JD who provide a full-service wealth management and financial planning firm to satisfy the diverse needs of all our clients.
▼ What are the benefits of working with a fee-only advisor?
The benefits of having a fee-only advisor include transparency, no hidden charges, and no undisclosed conflicts of interest to sell a certain product line or company offering. We receive no incentive from third parties to entice us to invest in their funds. Fee-only advisors work solely on their client’s behalf.
▼ What are the benefits of working with a financial advisor to manage your investments?
There are several benefits to working with a financial advisor for your investment management. Winthrop Partners provides professional guidance, experienced advice, and reassurance to give the client peace of mind and motivation to save. All your investments are consolidated into one plan.
▼ What makes Winthrop Partners different from other advisors when it comes to investment management?
As professionals our job is to help you make informed financial decisions using the full complement of resources at our disposal. Every step involves interaction between our team, the client, and outside professionals if needed.
- Empathy: We take time to actively listen, understand, and confirm what we hear.
- Fiduciary: We put you before us. We negotiate for you, not against you.
- Experience: Over 150 years of combined experience.
- Fee-only: We receive one clearly aligned fee and accept no commissions or other third-party fees that could sway our recommendations.
- Execution: We are goal-based planners, trying to achieve your goals with the least amount of risk.
▼ How often will we meet to discuss the health of my portfolio?
We are available to meet with you as frequently as you desire! In the early stages of the relationship when a higher degree of financial planning may be involved, weekly or monthly meetings might be appropriate. When issues or changes in circumstances arise, we are here to help you assess the impact of these changes on your goals and to make any changes to your financial plan to keep you on track to achieving your goals. Once the relationship is established, most clients elect an informal quarterly telephonic update with a formal annual review, however shorter-term check-ins are always welcome.
▼ How often will you provide a report of my portfolio?
We provide annual reports of a client’s portfolio that are available anytime upon request.
▼ How can I access my reporting on my investment accounts?
Clients have online access through our custodian, Raymond James’s online portal, and can retrieve real-time investment holding reports and retirement plans at any time.
▼ Where are your offices?
We have locations in Doylestown, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; Buffalo, NY; and Miami, FL.
Our Offices
Eastern Pennsylvania
Winthrop Partners
100 Mechanics Street, 1st Fl
Doylestown, PA 18901
Western Pennsylvania
Winthrop Partners
101 E. Swissvale Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15218
Winthrop Partners
960 Penn Avenue, Suite 1001
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Western New York
Winthrop Partners
295 Main Street, Suite 840
Buffalo, NY 14203
Southern Florida
Winthrop Partners
8200 NW 41st St, STE 318
Doral, FL 33166
▼ How can I set-up a consultation?
Schedule your complimentary consultation with one of our fee-only investment advisors. We will create a custom investment plan based on your financial goals and personal desires.
Disclosures:
The views, opinions, and content presented are for informational purposes only. They are not intended to reflect a current or past recommendation; investment, legal, tax, or accounting advice of any kind; or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities or investment services. Nothing presented should be considered to be an offer to provide any product or service in any jurisdiction that would be unlawful under the securities laws of that jurisdiction. All investments involve risk, including the possible loss of some or all of the principal amount invested. Past performance of a security or financial product does not guarantee future results. Investors should consider their investment objectives, risks, and risk tolerances carefully before investing. The Firm has made every attempt to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information provided, but it cannot be guaranteed.
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Set up a free consultation to learn about our financial planning for doctors and how to take the first steps toward achieving your financial goals.