Corporate History / Background
Back in 1997, four financial advisors sharing office space discovered they also shared a critical belief: the financial services industry needed a better way to provide advice to clients. They were passionate about that truth. They had complementary skills in financial advice, technical expertise, relationship management and operations that enabled them to translate their passion into action. From those shared beliefs, Wealth Enhancement Group was born.
This new approach to financial services put clients first. It made clients long-term partners in planning their own futures based on their values and goals, so that they understood why they owned the investments they did. It ensured our firm's advice would always be in their best interest.
Like all good ideas, Wealth Enhancement Group has branched, adapted, and grown as new people work on it. But more than 20 years later, the basics remain. We believe independence from Wall Street, and a client-centered approach to financial services, are good for clients. We believe a team-of-specialists methodology delivers better results than a single financial advisor can offer. And we believe the long-term partnership we create with clients gives them confidence about their financial future.
At Wealth Enhancement Group, we simplify your financial life through our team-based approach,
enabling you to make more confident decisions and be less stressed about managing your wealth.
With expertise in six key areas of wealth management, our Roundtable team helps ensure your
financial life is examined from all angles: financial planning, tax strategies, investment
management, retirement income planning, insurance, and estate planning.
You get all the specialized knowledge you need, all through one point of contact.
Join us today and rest in the comfort of knowing your entire financial life is unified,
simplified and under control.
Jim Sandager
Sr. VP, Financial Advisor
As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER" professional, Jim
brings an extensive retirement income planning background
to the team. He regularly writes a personal finance
column for The Des Moines Registers Business section and
also co-hosts the popular WHO radio program, "Your
Money," with Bruce Helmer on occasion.
A true scholar, Jim not only has a Master of Business
Administration degree from Bowling Green State
University, he also co-authored "What Consumers Look for
in Financial Planners," an article published in the
academic journal Financial Counseling and Planning. He
received a bachelors degree from the University of
Minnesota. Jim has served as treasurer of the Midwest
Board of the National Association of Personal Financial
Advisors and chairman of the Financial Planning
Association of Iowa. He is also very actively involved in
the Greater Des Moines community.
In his free time, Jim enjoys reading, traveling and
spending time with his wife Louisa, and two children,
Philip and Molly.
Erik Severson
Sr. VP, Financial Advisor
Erik has been with Wealth Enhancement Group since 2008 and
is a practicing CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER". A planning-
oriented advisor, Erik serves a key role on the Roundtable
team of specialists and advisors by focusing on clients'
unique needs and situations. He received his bachelor's
degree in Finance and Marketing from the University of
Iowa, where he met his wife, Jane. They reside in Urbandale
with their three children. Outside of work, Erik enjoys
spending quality time with his family and playing the
occasional round of golf.
General Information |
Firm Start Year: | 1997 | |
Name of Broker/Dealer: | LPL Financial |
States Licensed in: | AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MN, MO,MS, MT, NC, ND, NH, NE, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WY ONLY |
Number of Years with Current Firm: | 20 |
Work with the following types of clients: | Individual Investors, Retirees |
Advisory Services Provided: | Retirement Planning, Financial Planning for Individuals, Tax Advice and Services, Estate Planning & Trusts |
Financial Services |
Financial Planning for Individuals
Financial planning is at the very core of the comprehensive financial planning services we offer to individuals and families seeking to build, protect and manage wealth over time. That's why our approach to comprehensive financial planning seeks to help you fully assess your current situation, goals and desires by basing your plan on your values. Your financial advisor works with our Roundtable team to help you recognize and pursue opportunities, minimize taxes, invest more effectively, and achieve a greater understanding of comprehensive, values-based financial planning services. |
Retirement Planning
Retirement income planning is a step in the financial planning process that is often overlooked. Many individuals only focus on the wealth accumulation phase, but retirement income planning is essential in order to ensure that you do not outlive your income. There are many variables to consider when planning for retirement. Inflation, rising health care costs and long-term care are just a few examples of the things that can affect your retirement income. Our team can help you create a retirement income plan with the goal of providing a sustainable, predictable, tax-efficient stream of income based on your age, values and vision of retirement. In addition, based on your risk tolerance, we'll develop an asset allocation strategy so that you have an effectively diversified portfolio that helps deliver what you need and what you want in retirement. |
Estate Planning & Trusts
When we sit down with you to begin your estate plan, we start with one simple question: What do you value most in life? We believe that more than any other aspect of life, the values you hold dear should drive your decisions and determine your legacy. Our estate planning services team is specifically structured to help you create an estate plan by working closely with your tax and legal advisors to help ensure that all of the pieces of your plan work together for you and your loved ones' benefit. Effective estate planning can help you while you're very much alive and well, protecting your assets now, and providing income while you're healthy and enjoying retirement. Through estate planning tools like life insurance, annuities and charitable trusts, we help you provide for your own needs while ensuring that the bulk of your assets are distributed according to your values and wishes. We also believe that estate planning isn't just for the wealthy. Our experience is that modest estates need even more careful planning because there's less room for error in the distribution of assets. |
Tax Advice and Services
We know that our clients have more important things to worry about in their lives, so we've assembled a group of top-notch tax experts to help you make the best decisions possible for your life and your goals. Our Tax Strategies team executes various strategiesreducing income, increasing deductions, leveraging credits, and increasing withholding always mindful that minimizing taxes is never an end in itself, but rather is a means to help maximize your returns. Our Tax Strategies team is highly skilled at leveraging the differences among taxable earnings that are fully taxable at year-end, tax-deferred investments like retirement savings accounts that are taxable when distributed, and tax-advantaged investments that have deductions and credits that may reduce tax obligations. We believe that careful tax planning strategies for distribution is critical to helping your hard-earned savings last as long as possible. |
Investment Advice & Management
Working with your financial advisory team, our Investment Management team aims to help ensure that your money is invested where it has the best chance to performat a risk level you're comfortable with. Our investment philosophy is based on four key principles: 1.Effective Diversification* - We seek to minimize risk and maximize return by constructing portfolios comprised of investments with fundamentally unrelated risk factors. 2.Active Management We consistently monitor 70+ global markets to assess market risks, rebalance when appropriate, and take advantage of opportunities. 3.Cost Efficiency Our scale allows us to negotiate lower- cost investments with our custodians and investment managers, and we pass those savings along to you. 4.Tax Efficiency We believe that controlling tax liability is the most certain way to improve returns. As a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services has a fiduciary responsibility to our clients, meaning that you can rest assured that any products or services we offer are in your best interest. *There is no guarantee that a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns or outperform a non-diversified portfolio. Diversification does not protect against market risk. |
Risk management
We feel risk management is not about the probability of an event happening; it is about the financial and emotional consequences to you and your family if it does. Our Risk Management and Insurance team helps determine which policies may best suit your needs by reviewing your current insurance policies and making sure they're up-to-date in terms of coverage, consistency and your particular situation. We'll comparison shop various carriers to determine which policy provides the most value, based on carrier rating, product features, cost and your needs. And, of course, we work in tandem with your financial advisory team to ensure that the risk management and insurance mechanisms we recommend are in support of your goals and values. |
Disclosures |
WiserAdvisor provides referrals to financial professionals. WiserAdvisor is not a current client of advisor or advisory services. Financial professionals pay cash compensation for these referrals, which creates the incentive for WiserAdvisor to make these referrals, resulting in a conflict of interest. |
Additional Detailed Disclosures |
Disclaimer |
Advisory services offered through Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, LLC (WEAS), a registered investment advisor. Certain, but not all, investment advisor representatives (IARs) of WEAS are also registered representatives of and offer securities through LPL Financial, member FINRA/SIPC. Wealth Enhancement Group and WEAS are separate entities from LPL. Wealth Enhancement Group is a registered trademark of Wealth Enhancement Group, LLC. |