The financial planning for young physicians modules, were developed by ACG’s member benefits partner, Wealth Management Strategies which is a full service private wealth management firm, working primarily with business owners, physicians, and high net worth families.

In this 6-part webinar series, they explore a wide range of financial topics geared toward physicians. This series covers important topics such as budgeting and managing debt, risk protection with different types of insurance, building a plan for retirement and other expenses, accumulating wealth through saving and investments, preserving your wealth, tax planning, and planning the future distribution of your wealth with trust and estate planning.

If you would like to learn more about the financial benefits and services, designed and negotiated exclusively for ACG members by Wealth Management Strategies, which include High Limit Disability Insurance, Physician’s Life income Plan, Company Retirement Plans, Group/Employee Benefits, Personal and Business Planning, and a Personal Financial Management Portal, click here.

Module 1—Budgeting & Managing Debt and Protection & Risk Management

Part 1:
In the first module of the series, we begin at the base of the financial planning pyramid and discuss planning for your basic needs. This includes creating and keeping a budget as well as managing debt, medical school debt in particular. To access a Budget Worksheet, click here.

Part 2:
In the second part of Module 1 we discuss risk protection and insurance. We discuss what types of things are important to protect and how to protect them, focused primarily on different types of insurance including health insurance, liability insurance, disability insurance, life insurance, and long term care insurance. We dive into the different types of policies available and how to determine how much coverage you need.

Module 2—Planning for the Future and Accumulating Wealth

Part 1:
Now that we covered budgeting for our basic needs and protecting ourselves and our families, Module 2 starts the planning process for the future. We discuss how to begin planning for typical future expenses including emergency planning, a home purchase, retirement, and education planning. We discuss the typical planning considerations and the types of tools and accounts used for each type of planning.

Part 2:
This module dives into the process of accumulating wealth to achieve the goals you set in your planning process from the previous module. We discuss the difference between saving and investing and then dive into some of the basic concepts important to understanding investing such as: what are stocks, bonds, and mutual funds? We discuss asset classes, allocation and diversification, taxation, and other important investment concepts.

Module 3— Preservation and Distribution of Assets

Part 1:
In this module, we discuss strategies to preserve and protect your wealth and the assets you have grown over time. Topics include investment diversification and taxation, as well as additional insurance types.

Part 2:
In this final installment of the Financial Planning for Young Physicians, we discuss the distribution of assets including retirement income planning, basic estate planning, and gifting. In particular, we focus on what actions you can or should take today that will impact your distribution phase later.