INTEGRATED FINANCIAL STRATEGIES

PROVIDING PERSONALIZED FINANCIAL GUIDANCE THROUGH ANY ENVIRONMENT

our-mission

OUR MISSION

We strive to develop relationships with our clients that goes beyond financial investments. We understand that money is a vehicle used to achieve your life goals. To that end, we spend a significant amount of time trying to understand what our clients hope to accomplish in life. We then develop a prudent financial plan which allows them to obtain those goals with the least amount of risk possible.

our-services

OUR SERVICES

Financial Planning

We take a comprehensive approach to plan for your life’s important agendas. Through the use of the industry’s finest software, we partner with you to develop a personal website that manages your entire financial picture. This program is your financial command center used for retirement planning, cash flow modeling, estate planning and more. We employ a collective 60+ years of planning knowledge and expertise to tailor strategies and solutions to your financial concerns.

Asset Management

If you’re like most investors, you’ve struggled to feel good about your investing. You’ve never really known when to buy, sell, make changes or sit still. It’s always felt more like random luck than deliberate plan.
We’ve got a solution for that. At IFS, your investment activities are driven by strategy based on decades of academic research gathered from the capital markets. Our investment strategy connected with your personal financial goals guides confident decision-making for:
• Your proper allocation of assets
• Fund and/or security selections
• Trading decisions
That way, you can relax, knowing you’re making well-reasoned decisions for you and your family

Investment Tax Planning

Successful investing is not just about accumulating assets, it’s about spending them meaningfully and properly throughout your life. By minimizing leakage from taxes and maximizing deferrals and other tax strategies, we help you keep more of your hard earned resources in your pocket.
We work together with your chosen tax professional to implement strategies we custom design to solve your tax issues.

Estate Planning

We help you establish a well-crafted plan to continue your legacy for future generations. The peace of mind, from knowing your wishes will be carried out in the manner you desire, is priceless. Through the partnership with your attorney, we will develop strategies to minimize taxes and potential family issues.

Insurance Services

Most people collect insurance plans throughout their lifetime. What once was a great idea is now and unnecessary expense. Our need for insurance and the type we own drastically changes from young adulthood to the time we near retirement. We will evaluate your insurance programs to be certain you are covered for the current risks to your financial well-being.

meet-the-team

MEET THE TEAM

Kelly G. Burke, Managing Partner

Kelly Burke, a founding member and Managing Partner of Integrated Financial Strategies, LLC, is a financial planning expert and entrepreneur. His highly creative style coupled with his deep understanding of his clients allows for unique solutions to common financial issues.

Throughout his twenty years of experience, Kelly has educated thousands of individuals, who are in or nearing retirement, about how to maximize their assets for income. He has been featured in the Charlotte Business Journal as a Top Wealth Manager and listed in Charlotte Magazine, annually since 2008, as a Top Wealth Advisor.

He earned a Bachelor of Science with honors from Louisiana Tech University. Kelly is involved in many charitable and non-profit organizations including his own Summit Organization, with his wife Melissa Burke.

In his free time, Kelly enjoys being outdoors. He is an avid adventure traveler and home chef. His knowledge of international food and wine is extensive.

Kelly’s favorite pastime is spending time with his wife and children.

Roy Mattox, Chief Market Strategist / Portfolio Manager

Roy Mattox is the Chief Market Strategist and Portfolio Manager for Integrated Financial Strategies. He has over 30 years of experience in managing portfolios. His career in financial services began as an analyst for a major bank in Houston, Texas after graduate school in 1985.

After very successful stints employed by A.G. Edwards as a Vice President and PaineWebber as a Senior Vice President of Investments, he departed and concentrated on managing his personal account for 17 years. At Integrated Financial Strategies LLC, he focuses solely on managing money for client portfolios on a discretionary basis.

He holds a BS degree and MBA from Louisiana State University. He has conducted numerous seminars for individual investors and corporations over his career. He is well known in the local area as the host and facilitator for the Charlotte Investors Business Daily Meetup Group held Virtually on Zoom monthly. He writes a weekly market blog for Integrated Financial Strategies. He maintains a social media presence on Twitter at #RoyLMattox, as well as on Linkedin.

He sits on the Board of the LSU Alumni of the Carolinas and has attended Elevation Church since 2006. When he is not monitoring the stock market, his primary interest are the activities of his adult children: Kristen, Brady, and Wesley. He enjoys sporting events, the theater, festivals, great Cajun cooking, comedy, and travel.

Wesley Mattox, Chief Technical Strategist / Portfolio Manager

Wesley Mattox is the Chief Technical Strategist and Portfolio Manager for Integrated Financial Strategies. He graduated from UNC at Chapel Hill in 2015 with a BA in Economics and BA in Mathematics, and his credentials include the esteemed CFA and CMT designations. Wesley began his career in equity research in 2015 covering stocks in the Financial Technology sector. He moved to NYC in 2018 to support the #1 analyst in the Leisure, Lodging & Gaming at UBS and later joined the #1 Transportation analyst at Wolfe Research where he worked until the start of 2022. Wesley’s passion for the markets began growing at a young age as he studied stock charts on Investors Business Daily in high school. His passion grew while reading dozens of economics and investment classics including How to Make Money in Stocks by William O’Neil, Free to Choose by Milton Friedman and Reminisces of a Stock Operator by Jesse Livermore. At Integrated Financial Strategies, LLC Wesley will co-manage client portfolios on a discretionary basis and provide relevant technical analysis market commentary. Wesley recently moved back to his hometown, Charlotte, NC, with his wife, Liska, where he lives at the Palisades with their dog, Kona. He enjoys reading and exercising at CrossFit Steele Creek and looks forward to improving his golf game at the Palisades Country Club.

Linda Gorman, Office Manager

Linda provides administrative and office managerial support to the Integrated Financial Strategies Team. She has worked in the financial industry for the past 10 years.

Linda was born in Detroit, Michigan but was raised in Southern California. She received her Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts from Los Angeles Pierce College with a focus on business and English.

She moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in 1999 with her husband and two children.

In her free time, Linda enjoys athletic training at D1 Sports, where her daughter is the Operations Manager. She also makes it a point to travel to California every year to see her father, her brother, and her two sisters.

Kenneth Miller, Partner

Mr. Kenneth W. Miller entered the financial services industry in 1975 with American General Corporation. As a representative of American General Life Insurance Company, he qualified for eight national conventions and was a member of the company’s top forty representatives six different times.

In 1983, Mr. Miller began developing an independent practice specializing in the areas of investment planning, business and estate planning, and employee benefits. Ken has been an instructor for Successful Money Management, Financial Strategies for Successful Retirement, Lifelong Financial Security, Retirement & Asset Protection Workshops, and other financial classes.

Ken is a registered investment advisory associate with Integrated Financial Strategies, LLC and a registered representative with Fortune Financial Services, Inc. In addition, he is a member of the Million-dollar Round Table, the Court of the Table, and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. Ken has also been a recipient of the National Quality and National Sales Achievement Awards. He has received numerous other sales awards over his 40-year career in the financial services industry.

In 1977, Ken married Lisa Cooper. They are parents of five sons and two daughters: Paul, David, Philip, Stephen, Emily, Isaac, and Katie.

Ken’s practice is devoted primarily to those who are seeking guidance and assistance in meeting their long-term goals. His primary focus is in the areas of investment management, tax planning, business and estate planning, and employee benefits.

Phil Miller, Partner

Phil Miller, son of Ken Miller, entered the financial services industry in 2003 as an Advisor with The MONY Group in Charlotte, NC. He has had tremendous success under the mentorship of his Father. Phil & Meredith, married in 2005, are the proud parents of five children. (Chloe, Cooper, Levi, Liam, & Camden) Phil is an avid golfer, fisherman, kayaker, and traveler.

roth-contribution-tips-for-twozerotwozero

ROTH Contribution Tips for 2020

Q.   My husband and I usually contribute the maximum to our Roth IRAs but we skipped last year since we are both unsure of our incomes in this environment. We have received some pay, some unemployment benefits, the stimulus checks and we know we are in much better shape than others about whom we have read about.  We have a total of $4,000 we are prepared to contribute for 2020 but we’d like to contribute the full $6,000 for each of us. We have both just been called back to work full-time and we think we will have the additional $8,000 by the end of April (unless another wave of the virus hits and puts us again out of work.  We do have $8,500 in savings but that is our emergency fund.  Since retirement is probably fifteen to twenty years away, we really don’t want to raid our emergency fund just to make the full contributions to our IRA.  We think we’d be better off skipping a year, do you agree?

A.  You don’t state your ages but regardless of your age you are to be admired.  Not only for your forward thinking about retirement but for also having an emergency fund!  In addition to your money savvy mindset, you have a couple of things working in your favor.  

Roth IRAs are a great retirement savings tool. They are funded with after tax dollars, grow tax deferred and earnings and contributions can be withdrawn tax and penalty free once the owner reaches age 59 ½.  There are some exceptions where earnings can be withdrawn tax and penalty free prior to age 59 ½ but contributions may always be withdrawn without taxation or penalty.  If you are under age 50 the maximum contribution to a Roth IRA for tax year 2020 is $6,000 or earned income whichever is less.  For those age 50 and over the maximum is the lessor of $7,000 or earned income.  The maximum contribution is allowed as long as your modified gross income (MAGI) is $196,000 or less if married filing jointly or $124,000 or less if filing single or head of household. The allowed contribution is phased out for MAGI’s exceeding these amounts. 

Since contributions can be withdrawn at any time, for any reason without penalty you could fully fund your Roth IRAs for 2020 with the money in your emergency fund.  Money contributed to a Roth IRA can be invested in a variety of ways including but not limited to:  stocks, bonds, mutual funds, certificates of deposit, money markets, savings accounts, structured products and annuities.  If you are using your emergency fund, contribute the maximum allowed to your Roth IRA but keep it “invested” in a cash equivalent such as a money market account until you build back your emergency fund/savings. This will allow you to access the Roth IRA money without any market risk if needed just as if it was in your current savings account.  Once you have reestablished your emergency fund you can then move the monies in your Roth IRA into more aggressive investments with greater potential for growth.  

With that said, you may not even have to rob your emergency fund since you may have the money needed to fund your Roth IRAs in time to make your 2020 contributions.  On March 17, 2020 the IRS extended the 2020 federal income tax filing deadline to May 17, 2021. This extension also applies to the 2020 IRA contribution deadline.  So, you have more time to gather the funds needed to make your full contribution!  If you live in Oklahoma, Louisiana or Texas the federal tax deadline and therefore the contribution deadline, is June 15th. An extension to file your taxes beyond these deadlines does not extend the deadline for IRA contributions. 

When making your contribution indicate that this is for tax year 2020 or the custodian may code it as a 2021 contribution. 

Article contributed by Holly Nicholson, CFP, JD, a successful financial planning column writer with 30 years experience in planning, estate, and taxes.

CONTACT

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