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Yes, the advisors at Hawkins Laakso serve as fiduciaries, meaning they are legally and ethically bound to prioritize their clients' best interests above all else. This fiduciary duty includes a responsibility of loyalty and care, requiring advisors to act with unwavering integrity and diligence. They must exercise prudent judgment and reasonable care, delivering personalized advice designed to align with each client’s unique financial goals and individual circumstances. 

Please click here for the EQH Code of Ethics. 

Hawkins Laakso (HL) maintains a professional relationship with Equitable Advisors, LLC. For detailed information about this relationship, including the firm's Relationship Summary for Retail Investors and General Conflicts of Interest Disclosure, you can click EQH Relationship Summary.

Equitable Advisors and Equitable Network are the brand names for Equitable Advisors, LLC and Equitable Network, LLC, respectively.

The answer depends on your unique circumstances. We take a holistic approach to understanding your family’s financial picture, including projected retirement expenses such as travel, healthcare, and daily living costs. Your distribution strategy may also vary based on factors like taxes and your place of residence. Once we assess your current financial situation and identify your retirement goals, we can provide personalized, concrete guidance to help you plan for a secure and fulfilling future.

At Hawkins Laakso, we follow a disciplined approach to asset allocation and consistent, scheduled rebalancing. Investment decisions are guided by a thorough understanding of each client’s goals, time horizon, and distribution needs. We tailor portfolios to align closely with these factors, ensuring they support long-term financial success while adapting to your unique circumstances.^* 

^*Asset allocation, diversification and rebalancing do not guarantee a profit or protection against loss.

We use detailed modeling to determine whether your education savings goals, the assets allocated to these goals, and the tax structure of your accounts align with your overall financial philosophy for funding your child’s college education. When it comes to saving for private school, there are multiple strategies to consider. A personalized analysis of your unique financial situation is essential to provide tailored recommendations that best fit your needs.

Life insurance is a critical component of any risk management strategy. The right amount of coverage depends on several factors, including your income (and/or your spouse’s income), the size of your emergency fund, savings for intermediate and long-term goals, retirement accounts, outstanding debts, and annual expenses. By analyzing these aspects, we can help determine whether you have sufficient coverage—or if adjustments are needed to better protect your financial future.

Leverage can be an effective way to maximize the use of your money. By evaluating current interest rates and the expected rate of return on your portfolio, we can explore strategies to enhance the growth and efficiency of your investments. For legacy purposes, we can design plans that use leverage to help you maximize the impact of a gift, inheritance, or donation. This may involve strategically planning your annual gifting amounts to make the most of your financial legacy.

Many of us have seen the challenges of long-term care, either through a family member or as a caregiver ourselves. Proper planning can help alleviate the financial and emotional burdens on your children and grandchildren while avoiding decisions that could negatively impact taxes or significantly reduce your wealth.

We design personalized plans that consider your unique financial situation, offering strategies that provide flexibility in premiums, inflation protection, and appropriate care options. Our approach not only addresses your care needs but also helps preserve your wealth and ensure you leave a meaningful legacy.

Rising interest rates can affect your portfolio in various ways. Fixed-income investments like bonds may experience price declines, but higher rates could also lead to better opportunities for reinvestment. Equities could react differently depending on the sector—companies with heavy borrowing may be impacted more, while sectors like financials may benefit. 

We can evaluate your asset allocation, ensuring your investments are aligned with your goals and resilient against interest rate fluctuations. Diversification and proactive adjustments are key to facing this environment.

Yes, volatility can present opportunities for long-term investors. Periods of market downturns often allow you to buy quality investments at lower valuations. The key is to stay focused on your goals and avoid emotional decisions. 

We take a disciplined approach, ensuring your portfolio aligns with your time horizon, risk tolerance, and objectives, while smoothing out volatility through strategies like dollar-cost averaging and diversification.

Inflation can erode the purchasing power of retirement savings, making it essential to have a strategy in place. We recommend incorporating assets that historically outpace inflation, such as equities, real estate, or inflation-protected securities (e.g., TIPS). 

By crafting a well-diversified portfolio and considering cost-of-living adjustments in your retirement income plan, we can help ensure your savings remain robust enough to fund your spending needs in the long term.

The decision to pay off your mortgage early depends on your specific situation, including your interest rate, other investment opportunities, and cash flow needs. With low fixed rates, keeping a mortgage could allow you to invest excess funds for potentially higher returns. However, in a rising rate environment, reducing debt can provide peace of mind and reduce fixed expenses.

We can evaluate your financial picture to help you decide whether paying off your mortgage early aligns with your goals.

Preparing for a recession involves ensuring you have adequate liquidity, controlling expenses, and having a portfolio that balances risk and opportunity. Emergency funds are essential to cover unexpected expenses without tapping into long-term investments. 

We work with you to stress-test your plan against potential recession scenarios, ensuring you can weather economic downturns without compromising your long-term goals.