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THE RETIREMENT SOURCE® is a fee-based financial planning firm founded by Charles D. Vaughan, CFP ® and incorporated in 1988. It was built on the principle that clients should have as much control over all aspects of their quality of life as is possible to achieve, especially in retirement. Our company is built on a solid foundation of excellent client service and in-depth market knowledge.

Our mission as The Retirement Source ® is to help our clients build and preserve their quality of life through the generations.

Our Mission Statement says it all. We concentrate on building lifelong relationships with client families. In order to do so we believe it is vital that we continue to make a material positive difference in that client’s quality of life. That means not just trying our best to earn solid rates of risk-adjusted investment returns, but also to help them to gain control over all aspects of their personal financial management. This includes to tools and techniques simplify money management and plan for succession. Frequently it also extends to advanced tax and estate planning strategies by working with the client’s other professional advisers.

That’s why we are “Retirement Income Specialists”. The first question anyone asks us about potential retirement is, “Will I have enough money to . . .”

• Continue to live at my current lifestyle
• Take care of my family’s needs (including adult children and aging parents)
• Cover all potential medical costs
• Pay for the enormous potential cost of long term care
• Help educate my grandchildren
• Support my favorite charities
• Leave an inheritance for my family

Most people mistakenly call this “income”. What they really mean is will they have enough spendable cash to meet their chosen objectives. In today’s increasingly complex financial markets what was traditionally called “income” simply will not be sufficient for the vast majority of retirees. Whether investing for immediate retirement income or building wealth for future generations, studies done by Yale Professor Roger Ibbotson and others have consistently proven that a substantial portion of historical long-term investment returns has come from reinvested income. With questionable Social Security benefits, disappearing pensions and shrinking yields, people desperately need reliable solutions.

In 48 years of investment research experience, Chief Strategist, Charles D. Vaughan, CFP ® has observed the fact that there is no single investment vehicle or strategy that has proven successful in all circumstances. As Retirement Planning Specialists for the past eighteen years, we have compiled a comprehensive range of alternatives for producing tax-efficient cash flow under virtually any circumstances. By combining long-term historical analysis with newly developed investment instruments and advanced technology, we have created a unique customizable set of solutions.

By studying the methods and techniques of the world’s smartest investors – the institutional, endowment and hedge fund managers – we have sought ways to achieve targeted absolute returns at acceptable risk levels. While there is no guarantee of success, this approach is preferable to the usual plan for relative returns that considers it a success when only losing 10% while the “market” loses 15%. Absolute return strategies are designed to meet cash needs regardless of external factors.

The key to this Risk-Managed Investing approach is to diversify not only by asset class and individual investment, but also by utilizing a broad range of strategies that have historically had low correlations. This method accepts the fact that some investments will not be doing as well as others under certain circumstances, but will do better under other circumstances. While there is never any guarantee of reaching one’s objectives, this multi-faceted balance increases the probability of less a volatile performance and more stable returns permitting a more reliable cash flow.