One City Built to Last

“Retirement is not necessarily this set age as
we have been taught or trained to believe,”
Westhoelter explained. “I have clients who ask me
why they have to retire if they have the ability to
work at age 80 or 85. They ask, ‘Is there anything
set in stone that says I have to quit doing what I
love to do?’ I tell them, no. If you are doing the
job you have a passion for and have the quality of
life that you want to live – then by all means keep
working.”
America is in the midst of a paradigm shift in the
way we view retirement. Some of it was brought
about by massive losses experienced during the
fulfilling retirement goals.
For clients onboard with the idea of complete,
unfiltered transparency between their spending
habits and Westhoelter and his staff, there is
software potentially linking credit card and
checkbook statements directly to the accounts
managed by the firm.
“Using this technology, we can link into all of
their spending habits, so everything is updated on
a monthly basis, making it extremely easy to track
how their spending habits are impacting their
short and long-term savings goals,” he explained.
This certainly requires a high level of trust
Gateway Financial Advisors, Inc. was formed in January 2000, Prior we
operated under the name of Shane Westhoelter and Associates insurance
agency, formed in 1988. The focus of Gateway is to provide a “One Stop
Financial Planning Shop”. Gateway has office locations across the USA.
Look under “Our Offices” to locate an office near you.
Great Recession. There are older Americans who
have no choice but to continue earning wages.
Some are simply too healthy and vigorous to
hang up their working years. For others, it is a
combination of both.
Based on what clients indicates as their current
status, Westhoelter designs individualized plans
that include highly tactical, earnings-driven
investments for those who are 10 to 15 years
away from retirement, attempting to maximize
whatever accumulation can occur. For those
closer to retirement, he designs a much more
conservative investment strategy, focused on
wealth preservation.
Having been in the financial services industry
since 1998, Westhoelter knows the market is cyclic,
and knows that throwing a blanket investment
policy over all his clients will only smother them.
“We don’t have a set philosophy that we adhere
to necessarily, long term. We look at the trends
and watch where they are going,” he noted.
Another trend he’s watching is the
implementation of social media within his
industry.
Westhoelter and his firm has hooked up all
of today’s basic social media tools – Facebook,
LinkedIn and Twitter. He and his associates use
meeting software on a regular basis to spare clients
a trip to the firm’s physical office. Clients owning
iPhones have access to a specially-designed
app providing 24/7 access to their accounts and
portfolios, giving clients a choice between a graph
or tubular format with a thermometer indicating
how close current market performance comes to
between client and advisor. But for Westhoelter,
that type of relationship is the one he wants with
his clients.
“We are connecting with our clients through
Facebook, and staying up on their activities both
in their personal social lives and their professional
lives,” he said. “We bring in the entire family
– children, grandchildren and sometimes even
great-grandchildren – for meetings, so that
everyone is aware of what is going on.”
He noted, “Gone are the days when only the
oldest patriarch dictated all of the financial
decisions for a family. That trend is quickly
changing – not only in the direction of multiple
decision-makers but to also embrace a multigenerational
approach.”
“We are no longer assuming there is only one
decision-maker in the household. There could be
two or three decision-makers who have to come to
agreement – specifically when the primary bread
winner deceases,” Westhoelter emphasized. “It is
time for us to get our heads out of the sand, meet
with professional financial advisors, and get our
futures on track.”
1646 N. California Blvd. Suite 650
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Phone:925-999-8699
www.gfainvestments.com
THE SUIT MAGAZINE p.79