Investment Advisors Castle Rock – Why Consider a Fee-Only Financial Planner

Investment Advisors in Castle Rock play an important role in helping individuals and businesses in the area achieve their financial goals. A good investment advisor can help create investment portfolios that maximize returns while minimizing risks. However, not all investment advisors are created equal. Some advisors have conflicts of interest that may compromise the advice they offer, leading to suboptimal investment decisions that can cost you money in the long run. It is important, therefore, to choose an investment advisor that puts your best interests first. In this blog post, we explore the benefits of working with fee-only financial planners and why you should consider them in Castle Rock.

What is a Fee-Only Financial Planner?

Fee-only financial planners are investment advisors who receive compensation only from their clients and do not receive commissions or any other form of payment from investment firms or other financial institutions. This means that fee-only financial planners have a fiduciary duty to put their clients’ interests ahead of their own and offer investment advice that is not influenced by financial incentives or conflicts of interest. Benefits of Working with a Fee-Only Financial Planner

One of the main benefits of working with a fee-only financial planner is that you can be confident that the investment advice you receive is unbiased and independent. Because fee-only financial planners do not receive commissions or other payments from investment firms, they are not tempted to recommend investment products that may be unsuitable or otherwise not in your best interests. Fee-only financial planners also tend to have a long-term perspective and focus on creating investment portfolios that align with your financial goals and risk tolerance.

Another benefit of working with a fee-only financial planner is that you can be assured of transparency and clarity in fee structures. Because fee-only financial planners do not receive commissions, their fees are typically straightforward and easy to understand. This makes it easier for clients to evaluate and compare the costs of different fee-only financial planners and ensures that clients are not surprised by hidden fees or charges.

What to Look for in a Fee-Only Financial Planner

When looking for a fee-only financial planner in Castle Rock, there are several factors to consider. First, you should look for a financial planner who has relevant experience and credentials. You should also look for a planner who has a process for creating investment portfolios tailored to your specific needs, goals, and risk tolerance. Finally, you should consider the planner’s communication style and their ability to educate you about investment strategies and risks.

How to Evaluate the Performance of a Fee-Only Financial Planner

While past performance is not a guarantee of future results, it is a useful indicator of an investment advisor’s skill and expertise. When evaluating the performance of a fee-only financial planner, you should look at their track record over several years and compare it to benchmark indices. You should also ask the advisor for references and conduct independent research to verify their credentials and track record.

Investing can be a complex and daunting task, and having the guidance of a qualified investment advisor can make all the difference. By working with a fee-only financial planner, you can ensure that the investment advice you receive is unbiased and independent, and that your advisor’s interests are aligned with yours. When choosing a fee-only financial planner in Castle Rock, look for experience, credentials, transparency in fee structures, and effective communication. With the right investment advisor on your side, you can achieve your financial goals and build a brighter financial future.

What are the Advantages of a 30-year Mortgage?

If you want to buy a house, but you realize that no matter how much you try to calculate and save money in the short term, you cannot get enough to be able to purchase the home that you want and need. But there is a solution for this situation: getting a loan, which is a financial instrument invented since the ancient times. From the first banks in Assyria and Babylon that granted grain loans to farmers, we have today multiple financial instruments, some of them extremely complex, their role being to make our lives easier – and also make profit for bankers, that`s true.

Colorado mortgages

If you consider a mortgage, you can take it for long term (30-year mortgage) or short term (15-year mortgage).

There are many advantages of 30-year Colorado mortgages. Besides being one of the only loan solutions through which some people can actually afford a home, the mortgage comes with a number of other benefits.

First, it allows you to buy a house without having to save tens of thousands of dollars. You will only pay an affordable monthly interest, during the duration of the contract. The longer the repayment period, the lower the monthly payment. You will pay more in the long run, but the money you will have to take out from your pocket each month will not be a burden, and besides, you can also get a higher amount of money, which means that you can buy a bigger or more sophisticated home.

With a mortgage, you pay the installment for your own house, which is better than paying a monthly rent for a house that is not yours.

So, if you find yourself in a situation where you have to pay rent in order to have a home, you might want to consider a Colorado mortgage instead. The monthly rent can become the monthly interest for your own home. Thus, in maximum 30 years, you can be the owner of a house, instead of paying a rent for a home that does not guarantee you a permanent stay.

Other advantages of a 30-year mortgage include:

  • You may be allowed to rent the house even if you still have a mortgage on, which can be beneficial in some situations, allowing you to make some extra money. However, you will have to discuss this aspect with your mortgage lender. Some mortgage lenders will allow you to rent with your existing rate and terms, while others may charge an extra fee, ask you wait a few years before granting you the option to rent, or require you to refinance.
  • You have the possibility of early repayment, if you can afford it and decide that this is what you want
  • It can be an investment for a real estate business
  • You can get a mortgage refinancing in better lending conditions

Find out how much you can afford to pay monthly

Considering that failing to pay your mortgage installments entails the takeover of the house by the banking institution that granted you the loan, it is very important to make a few calculations and find out how much you can actually afford to pay each month. As a rule, the monthly rate should not exceed 30% of your monthly income. This helps you to cover your current expenses and possible unforeseen situations, without worrying that you cannot pay the installment.

For your peace of mind, you can choose a fixed-rate mortgage to avoid expenses that may arise amid rising interest rates.

Tips for Finding a Great Denver Promotional Company

promotional products Denver

Promotional companies come and go unless they are successful. Many business owners have found that they were in need of a new promotional company pretty soon after working with their old one, since the quality isn’t always the best, and even the most efficient and capable companies can lose employees, make bad business decisions and end up dissolved.

To make the most out of your plans to promote your business over time, long term stability is very essential. As a result, you need to consider working together with a local Denver promotional company that not only has the best qualities that such a company might possess, but can also provide you with familiar long term assistance to support all your future goals.

The Profile of a Good Promotional Company

The main thing to consider here is that you need to know what a reliable promotional company should have to offer. No matter what company you use, you can’t leave behind your high standards, even if the price might be a little higher than what you’d normally pay the cheapest promotional services out there.

As part of the profile of a good promotional products Denver company, you have to remember these points:

  1. They should have excellent customer support and be capable of helping you when you’re in a bind. This is an essential benefit that should apply to every company that respects itself and its ideals.
  2. The best companies will not shy away from going beyond their normal scope when it comes to helping their customers. They will go above and beyond the call of duty.
  3. As with the promo items they might provide, the best promotional companies will reward their loyal clients with occasional gifts or discounts, proving the power of the materials that they offer.
  4. You can rely on their expertise and on their ability to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions to your problems.
  5. An ideal promotional company will also be fair, transparent and professional. They won’t require a lot of money upfront, and they won’t shy away if you ask them questions about their license or any other topic that might be less frequently discussed.

Why Banta Promotions Is the Only Company You’ll Need

Banta Promotions is a Denver company that not only has all the qualities listed above, but is constantly growing and evolving to ensure their customers receive the very best promotional and giveaway items on the market. You can ask them about a specific design you’ve come up with, and they will shortly be able to provide you with outstanding results. They use many remarkable design elements to achieve that goal, and unlike other promotional companies, they have proven time and time again that they genuinely care about their clients.

If you don’t want to endlessly search for the right company, and you hope that you’ll have long term support from a provider that knows what they’re doing, there is no better choice than Banta Promotions. The friendly experts at Banta are known to be helpful as well as highly proficient, often completing even the most complex and difficult projects in record time.

Denver Business Brokers: 9 Tips for Choosing the Right One

Denver business brokers

Finding a business broker in Denver is not that hard. However, each business broker is different, and not all of them will be an appropriate choice for you. Following are 9 of the best tips for choosing the best Denver business broker out there.

  1. Credentials

One of the best things you can do in our modern era of information is check online to see if the business you’re relying on is legitimate. To make sure you’re choosing the right Denver business broker, check to see if they hold a Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) from the IBBA (International Business Brokers Association). Moreover, it could be good to go a little deeper into their track record and see if they have good references from past clients.

  1. What Is Their Strategy?

A reliable business broker will have an excellent strategy lined up to help you sell your business or buy a new one. Carefully look at their strategy and compare it to others. Also, ask them questions as to how that particular strategy might be able to help your business specifically.

  1. Hire a Specialist

When hiring Denver business brokers, you have to look for one who specializes in the type of business you own and the type of transaction you hope to get it through. Avoid generalists, and make sure your business broker will be a true professional.

  1. Ask About Experience

Just like you wouldn’t want your new fence to be installed by an inexperienced contractor, you don’t want your business to be in the hands of someone who can’t take proper care of it. Look for an experienced Denver business broker above all.

  1. Get Informed and Compare Insights

Before hiring a local business broker, get informed about the process, and ask a lot of questions about how they plan to help you out. Then compare their answers to what other experts in the industry might have to suggest on that topic.

  1. Make Sure Your Needs Are Prioritized

If you try to call your business broker several times, and you hit their voicemail or they say they’ll call you back, chances are they might be too busy to take care of your interests. You can check or inquire about their current listings to find out how many they have, and that will also give you a clearer picture as to whether they even have enough time to allocate to you as well.

  1. Don’t Forget to Negotiate

It’s also important to get informed about the fees that most Denver business brokers would ask for and negotiate the cost to your advantage. It’s not a good idea to hire the cheapest broker, but don’t let them convince you that you have to spend a lot more than the average either.

  1. Avoid Committing for Too Long

Typically, it can take up to 6-8 months to get your business sold. In Denver, with the help of the best brokers out there, you can do it in less. So make sure that you don’t commit too much time and effort. If you see the broker isn’t doing their job within that time period, it’s unlikely that an extension will help.

  1. Have Faith in Your Instincts

Aim for the best broker in Denver, but don’t try to over analyze the problem. While it’s a good idea to get informed, trust your gut too, and act on your instincts regarding the business broker you choose and the offers you accept.

What Are the Advantages of Using A Credit Union?

credit unions in Littleton

Credit unions are member-based financial institutions that offer their services only to the people who share the common bond – the feature, quality or affiliation that stands at the base of the credit union, such as employment with a particular company, a particular profession, registered address in a particular geographical area or membership in an organization or association. An account held with a credit union offers many benefits over banks, payday lenders and other financial organizations – here are some.

Friendliness and Attention

The relationship between account holders and branch employees might seem cold and impersonal with banks, one of the benefits of credit unions being a much more personal relationship between union members and the union’s employees, such as branch managers. Credit unions in Littleton  provide customized consultation and educational programs about the management of personal finances – a great opportunity for people who have a poor credit history or difficulties repaying loans.

Credit unions in Littleton focus on community enrichment, offering financial education for free and other types of help to the members of their local community.

Working for the Benefit of the Members

Credit unions are not-for-profit organizations owned by their members and run by their members, which means that these organizations work with the best financial interest of their members in mind. Any profit that a credit union makes is redistributed to its members in the form of annual dividends, which means a credit union membership actually gives the member a yearly income.

Credit union members being the owners of the union as well, they get to vote on important matters that affect the union’s operations. Credit unions also organize yearly meetings in which the union’s results are presented to the members and important issues are discussed.

Lower Fees and More Attractive Rates

While profit-oriented organizations, such as banks, are interested in charging fees and interest rates that are as high as can be in order to maximize their profit, the vision of credit unions does not include profit-making, therefore they can afford to charge lower credit card fees, lower fees on transactions and they can also offer more attractive interest rates, lower on loans and higher on deposits, than banks. The minimum deposits are also lower with credit unions.

A Wide Range of Services

Credit unions usually offer the same types of services as banks, credit lines, checking accounts, savings accounts, deposits and a wide variety of loans being equally available. Like banks, most credit unions also provide internet banking through various apps and have ATM networks and branch offices as well.

Security for Deposits

Federal credit unions and some state unions are insured through the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, offering the highest level of security for personal deposits up to $250,000. However, you must know that not all credit unions provide such insurance coverage – some unions are privately insured, which also means that they are not backed up by government, so before choosing a credit union, find out about the union’s insurance and security status.

How to Find an Affordable Home in Colorado

homes for sale in Erie CO

Population growth in Colorado is a well-known reality. The state draws so many people due to the high standards of living, jobs and career opportunities it has to offer. It is a good place to live, there is no doubt about it, but life can be quite expensive here.

Some of the first things you are interested in when moving here are the housing options. Real estate market in Colorado is expensive and homes are not expected to significantly drop in price anytime soon. There are several reasons contributing to this current reality:

  • Historically low interest rates that turn more people from renting to buying their homes or make people able to afford bigger homes, even if these are more expensive options
  • The imbalance between housing demands and supply, which often creates bidding wars
  • The Coronavirus pandemic, which forced so many people to work from their homes; many of these individuals are now looking for bigger places to live that meet their new needs

However, even if the living standards in Colorado are high, there are also people who cannot afford a more expensive home, on the contrary; some of them may actually have to downsize.

In the current real estate market, it is difficult to find affordable housing options, but definitely not impossible. The easiest thing you can do is ask around; maybe someone you know is selling, or knows another home seller. If you are lucky enough to find a home this way, you will avoid going through a bidding war, as well as many other inconveniences related to the process of buying a house.

But, in most of the cases, things are not as easy as this. Sometimes, people are looking for months until they find something – and when they find it, someone else purchase it because they are willing to pay more.

The next thing you should do is to search for the most affordable places to live in Colorado. The average home value in Denver is currently about $450,000, so you should avoid the Mile High City. Almost as expensive are Arvada (median home price: about $440,000; median monthly rent: $2,200), Lakewood (median home price: about $436,000; median monthly rent: $1,700) and Longmont (median home price: about $409,000; median monthly rent: $1,950).

On the other hand, the cheapest place to live in Colorado is Pueblo, where the median home price barely reaches $190,000, and the median monthly rent is about $1,000. Pueblo is followed by Cañon City (median home price: about $244,000; median monthly rent: $700) and Grand Junction (median home price: about $260,000; median monthly rent: $1,300).

If you prefer, you can also go for good old fashioned small towns, where you can peacefully and enjoy inexpensive Rocky Mountain fun: Fort Morgan, Sterling, Craig, Fort Lupton, Lamar, Trinidad etc. Make sure to consider looking at homes for sale in Erie CO.

In order to determine the most affordable place for you to live in Colorado, you must also ask yourself how much money do you make and how much do you need to spend to live there.

Advantages of Hiring a Safety Staffing Company

Any workplace must be safe for employees. To ensure that companies are taking measures in this respect, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) stipulates that there must be at least one person in charge with monitoring safety in each workplace. 

Their role is complex. A safety specialist must:

  • Identify risks associated with the specific workplace
  • Create a set of safety measures
  • Train all staff and display the safety measures prominently at the workplace
  • Take necessary actions required by the law in case of accidents
  • Update the safety procedures as per the changes in the OSHA.

How Do You Find Experienced Safety Specialists?

Looking at the job requirements above, you realize that you cannot risk hiring an inexperienced person, or someone who lacks proper certification. In theory, you can write a clear and concise job ad, post in online and start the selection process.

In practice, you are not sure what makes a good safety specialist. Some professionals are very good in a specific industry or field of activity, but would not perform well in your organizations. Others are simply not a good fit for the job, even though they managed to obtain the certification.

The Solution: Hire a Safety Staffing Company

The simplest and most effective solution for you is to outsource safety to a specialized temp hiring agency. These agencies have a very precise screening process for their employees. They know the latest changes to the safety and health rules, they have a list of best practices for successful employees and they pick only the best.

safety staffing

As for your company, relying on the experience of a safety staffing agency has multiple benefits:

  1. You Save Money

There are many hidden costs to hiring an employee. You need to offer them various benefits, such as health insurance or pension plan, if you want to attract top talent.

When you hire a safety staffing agency, you pay a fixed monthly fee and nothing else.

  1. You Fill In a Vacancy Quickly

You cannot afford to lose time looking for the right candidate for the job. Your company must have a safety specialist at all times. Once you signed the contract with a safety staffing agency, they will send an employee to your workplace on the agreed date.

  1. You Access Special Skills for Short Term Projects

In some cases, you may need a very skilled safety specialist to investigate an accident or provide feedback on proposed changes to the workplace equipment and processes. Such a specialist would not agree to work for you for a very short time.

But a safety staffing agency can quickly supplement the existing staff at your premises with the specialist you require for this short term activity.

  1. You Have a Clear Safety Procedure in Place

A safety staffing company will offer you assistance in creating rules and procedures that meet legal requirements. You will not have to wonder whether you are complying with the law or may risk a hefty penalty.

  1. Find the Best Fit for Your Business

When an employee is not a good fit, you have to follow a set of procedures to let them go. This costs time and money. When the specialist sent by the staffing agency does not perform to your satisfaction, they will be quickly replaced with a new one.

What Services Do Executive Placement Firms Offer?

Outsourcing the process of recruiting high-profile employees, such as CEO’s, CFO’s or experienced and highly trained candidates for other key positions, has long been the best recruitment practice in all industries. If you are ready to hire a new director or manager for your organization, here are the services that executive placement companies offer.

Initial Consultation to Identify Requirements and Opportunities

The collaboration between executive recruiters and their clients usually starts with an initial discussion of the client’s needs and requirements regarding the ideal candidate for their position. The clients will tell the recruiter about what they need, about the qualifications and the experience they require and they will also tell the recruiter about what they offer to the successful candidate. During this initial consultation, the recruiter will also outline the differences between recruiting for executive positions and recruiting for other positions, such as the fact that most top level positions are not listed on average job sites and that most top-level job seekers do not spend too long on the job market before they find their new job. The specialist will also review the job description provided by the client and might make recommendations regarding its content, such as ideas about how to finely-tune the text or how to make it more attractive.

executive placement firms

Search Services through Multiple Channels

One of the most important services provided by executive recruiters is the identification of candidates that fit the employer’s description. The process will involve searching for candidates among active job seekers as well as among executives who are currently employed, but are open for new opportunities. In the search phase, most executive placement firms use multiple resources, including their own personal network in the industry for which they are recruiting, their own data bases as well as online job boards and employment-oriented networking sites.

Candidate Screening and Background Checks

Recruiters will also approach the candidates that seem suitable for the client and will request updated resumes from them. In the next phase, your recruiter will perform a detailed evaluation of the resumes received and will perform background checks to verify the accuracy of the information included in the resumes. They will check any references and recommendations as well.

Conducting Interviews and Preliminary Testing

The recruiter will also conduct preliminary interviews with suitable candidates, then they will evaluate the candidates based on their own experience as well as based on the client’s requirements and they will recommend candidates for the last round of interviews performed by the client’s important decision makers. Many recruiters use multiple interviewing methods, including meeting, IQ and EQ tests, personality tests and tests that assess important and relevant personality traits, such as problem-solving.

Assistance and Expert Opinions for the Final Decision Making

Most recruitment specialists also participate in the interviews between the client and the candidates and will facilitate the final decision by offering expert opinions and advice. Recruiters also help with the evaluations of the candidates who have been interviewed by highlighting their strengths and weaknesses and by making recommendations.

What are the Steps to Follow if You Want to Sell Your Business

When your business is for sale, you need to be especially careful that everything looks perfect. In fact, this is the time when extra effort to keep things in the best shape can really be worth it. Think about it: just like a house that is for sale, you want your business to look good. So, it has to work well, you must have the the financial records, a good inventory and well-maintained working area. People want to buy a successful business, not one that has obviously been neglected. You will also want to make sure that you have reduced the company’s debts as much as possible, that you have resolved existing lawsuits and that all tax obligations are up to date.

how to sell your business - tips that work

Before giving a tour to potential buyers, prepare your business to look at its best. Here are some tips on how to sell your business by making a good first impression:

  • Do a general cleaning. Look around to see if there are any areas or equipment that need to be cleaned, repaired or replaced. It will be worth the effort, because any buyer will appreciate a clean and fully functional business environment.
  • Get rid of obsolete equipment. In this way, the business will appear more active and the sales process will be easier, because it will not include technologically outdated equipment.
  • Prepare your workforce. Potential buyers will appreciate the employees who will remain in the fray during the transition process and after the sale.
  • Renew commercial leases in advance and make sure they can be easily transferred to a new owner.
  • Be present online. In the digital world we live in, the first thing a potential buyer will do is search for your profile and business online. So, make sure that the company’s website is functional and all the links are active. Also, do a brand audit and make sure that no unprofessional or compromising aspect appears on internet searches that have to do with your business.
  • Another important step is to choose the sales team. The complexity of the company and the time allocated to the sale will determine whether you need a lawyer, an accountant, or an entire team (evaluator, consultant, broker) in your sales team. Many business brokers can also do an evaluation, so often a specialized evaluator is not necessary.

By following these steps in preparing a business for sale, you are more likely to find a good buyer and maybe even get a higher selling price.

Last but not least, you will need to identify serious buyers in the process of selling your business. You may be pleased with the large number of people who respond to your sale advertisement, but, surprisingly, most people who seem interested never buy. Therefore, it is important to distinguish between those potential buyers who have a real interest in your business and those who only do window shopping.

People respond to business sales ads for a variety of reasons, from curiosity to market research. In addition, many intend to buy a business, but do not have the necessary experience or funds. In these situations, your instinct can play an important role in the final decision.

How Do You Know A Denver Personal Injury Lawyer Is Actually Good?

Are you trying to find a lawyer for solving a particular legal problem? Then you probably noticed that there are several types of lawyers, and that`s because the legal field is extremely large and complex. Some lawyers specialize in a particular branch, while others choose to offer expertise in several areas. Each option has its advantages and disadvantages, but this is why there are so many types of lawyers. Regardless of the legal problem you have, there is a specialized lawyer who can help you solve it.

If you are the victim of an accident, you should opt for a personal injury attorney Denver specialist. Whether it’s an accident at work, a road accident or bodily injury involving cyclists, or an accident caused by clinical negligence (malpraxis), a good personal injury lawyer can help you in many ways.

personal injury attorney Denver

In the current economic-social context, consulting a lawyer must be a habit and that is why choosing a good lawyer is a very important aspect in successfully solving the legal problems you are dealing with. However, choosing one, especially in the situation where you have faced personal injury is not easy, but not impossible either, especially if you consider certain important aspects.

First and foremost, you need a specialized lawyer. Legally, a lawyer who has a certain specialization can also deal with cases related to other specializations. However, regardless of the reputation of a lawyer, it is not advisable to hire them, if you can find a personal injury specialist.

In general, the system of recommendation between friends and acquaintances works very well, because a close friend will recommend a Denver specialist who provided them satisfactory service, or will advise you to stay away from a lawyer that didn’t live up to the expectations. Ideally, you should get referrals and contact details from different sources, to be able to compare them and do some further research on them, if necessary.

The fact is a good lawyer does not hire you from the courts or around them; it is preferable to spend some time searching the Internet, reading articles written by or about them, reading people`s discussions on forums and blogs, as well as professional opinions on specialized web sites or publications.

As experience and training are not the exclusive prerogative of older age, you should not refuse the collaboration with a young lawyer, to the detriment of an older one. Each age category has its advantages and disadvantages, and it is never wise to be age or gender biased.

Another aspect that you need to be aware of is that good lawyers know their value and how to appreciate their work, therefore their fees will not be cheap.  In exchange, they correctly estimate the working time, the extent of the dispute and they try to foresee any obstacles, so that potential necessary changes in schedule would be as small as possible.

If you have information about a lawyer who is involved in dubious business, you must not hire them, no matter how good they are.