Skip to content

Professional Partnerships

A Team Approach

The complexity of a sound financial, business, tax, and estate plan requires a coordinated effort among a client’s various advisors to ensure that plans are professionally orchestrated, integrated, and implemented. In the process of working with us, you will soon learn that developing strategic partnerships with other professionals is a key part of our philosophy and we go out of our way to introduce our clients to strategic partners that have been vetted for integrity and competency. We see it as a real benefit that the tax and financial planning pieces are seamlessly integrated within SLS, if using both is the client’s preference.

Our Back Office Team

Founded in 1963, Valmark is an exclusive, invitation-only consortium of independent wealth transfer and wealth management firms. Valmark Financial Group is comprised of a family of companies including Valmark Securities, Inc., a FINRA-registered securities broker-dealer, Valmark Advisers, Inc., an SEC-registered investment advisor, Executive Insurance Agency, LLC, a Master General Agency for life insurance products, and the Valmark Policy Management Company. 

As a collective group, Valmark Member Firms have over $50 billion of life insurance in force and an estimated $6 billion of assets under management, with an additional $25 billion of assets under management controlled through independent Investment Advisors associated with Valmark. This combined buying power gives us access to some of the nation’s top companies, products, and services, enabling us to advocate on behalf of our clients while maintaining independence. 

The exclusive, private services available to clients of SLS are provided by one of the most distinguished professional teams in the life insurance and securities industries. Valmark’s senior team houses an office staff of over 100 full-time professionals who are experts in all aspects of financial, retirement and estate planning, investment analysis and portfolio management, qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, life insurance case design, underwriting and policy management, and regulatory compliance. 

One Simple Rule Guides All We Do

The Golden Rule Marble, encircled with a band bearing the inscription – “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Matthew 7:12) – was created by Jesse Shwayder in 1910 as a timeless symbol for living, upon which he founded the Samsonite Corporation.
 
Sixty years ago, the founder of our partner firm, Valmark Financial Group, was given the Golden Rule Marble which became an enduring touchstone guiding the firm toward the highest ethical standards in all of its dealings.

When SLS joined the Valmark family of firms, the Golden Rule Marble was presented to us as a guiding principle in all of our practices:
 
  • Serving as an industry model for relationships built on trust and mutual respect
  • Addressing the financial needs of our clients with innovative, collaborative solutions
  • Safeguarding clients’ best interests at all times
Professional Partnerships

We Bring the Golden Rule to Life

See How We Help You Plan

CPA Partnerships

Many of our planning strategies include tax-sensitive issues. As a result, we place high importance on coordinating efforts with our internal tax advisors to provide insight into areas impacting a client’s retirement, financial, business and estate planning issues.

Through our team of in-house CPAs, we are able to efficiently and proactively involve tax advisors in our process of developing and implementing planning strategies for clients in areas such as:

  • Personal and Business Income Tax Planning
  • Sale or Purchase of a Closely-held Business
  • Business Succession Planning
  • Estate Tax Planning
  • Life Insurance Tax Issues
  • Business Valuation and Buy-Sell Agreements

Attorney Partnerships

We place high importance on coordinating our efforts with legal advisors to provide insight during the execution of legal documents that impact the client’s plan. At the same time, we proactively involve legal advisors in our process of developing and implementing planning strategies for clients in areas such as:

  • Estate Planning
  • Trusts
  • Business Succession
  • Life Insurance and Risk Management Planning
  • Asset Protection Planning
  • Income, Estate and Gift Tax Planning
  • Qualified and Non-Qualified Retirement Plans
  • Charitable Planning

Health Insurance Partnerships

Having the appropriate health insurance in place before and after retirement is key in both minimizing premium dollars and maximizing coverage and avoiding financially catastrophic claims. We work with qualified agencies that can provide health insurance advice and products for:

  • Individual Health Insurance
  • Group Health Insurance
  • Medicare Supplement and Advantage Plans
  • COBRA Coverage
Glencoe

1721 10th Street East
Glencoe, MN 55336

(320) 864-6166
(320) 864-5884

Mon-Fri: 8:00 AM–5:00 PM

Arlington

105 West Main Street
ArlingtonMN 55307

(507) 964-5868
(507) 964-5666

By Appointment

Norwood

214 West Elm Street,
PO Box 664
Norwood, MN 55368

(952) 467-2407
(952) 467-2647

Mon-Fri: 8:00 AM–5:00 PM

Securities offered through Valmark Securities, Inc. Member FINRA, SIPC. Investment Advisory Services offered through Valmark Advisers, Inc. a SEC Registered Investment Advisor. 130 Springside Drive, Suite 300 Akron, Ohio 44333-2431 1-800-765-5201 SLS Certified Public Accountants is a separate entity from Valmark Securities, Inc. and Valmark Advisers, Inc.  Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States, which it authorizes use of by individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements. ©2023 SLS // All Rights Reserved. // Check out our Advisors on FINRA Broker Check