By Jill Nagy
Retirement Planning Group LLC recently opened an office in Glens Falls in the NBT Bank building at 86 Glen St.
For now, it is a satellite office. The main office is in Saratoga Springs and there is another office in Albany. However, company president David M. Kopyc expects the Glens Falls office to grow and soon become the company’s main office.
He sees “great opportunity in Glens Falls,” he said.
Kopyc is looking for “seasoned investment professionals” to add to the firm’s staff. He expects to spend an increasing proportion of his time in Glens Falls.. His Clifton Park home is on the market and Kopyc expects to make a vacation home in Lake George his primary residence.
Company clients are located all over the country, Kopyc said, but primarily in the Capital District, with growing numbers in the North Country.
“With technology today, you can be anywhere,” he said.
He divides his company’s services into three categories: investment advice, legacy planning, and asset protection. The company works with attorneys, both in-house and others, to develop estate plans for clients. He terms the attorneys “strategic partners.”
A large part of the company’s practice is asset protection. Kopyc said it dovetails with long-term care planning, one of “the largest expenses for people who have not properly set up their estate. This is the thing people least want to talk about, but it can create the greatest risk,” he said.
Much of that planning consists of effectively removing assets from an estate in order to qualify for Medicaid assistance for long-term care.
The legacy piece of the Retirement Group’s practice involves “how people want to leave their property.” It may include establishing trusts, setting up charitable donations, and implementing similar decisions.
The investment part of the practice draws upon Kopyc’s 37 years in the investment field, including work for major brokerage firms. The work is strictly on a fee basis, he said, with no commissions. While Fidelity is the custodian of their clients’ accounts, the clients can buy and sell other investment products as well, he said.
The company’s website is www.rpgretire.com. The telephone is 518 580-1919.