También puedes leer este artículo en español, El Manejo de Riqueza No es Sólo Para Ricos.

Immigrants create wealth for others. Why not help them manage the wealth they create for themselves?

Brothers Gilberto and Osmar A. García, cofounders of García Wealth Management with offices in Conway and Little Rock, dedicate themselves to this.

The firm was opened in 2019 after seeing how many members of minorities could not access loans at banks because they arrived without having organized their finances. But it was their parents who motivated them to help the community. “Our mom has a GED, and our dad is one of the smartest people we know, he only got through sixth grade, but he has plenty of education in life. Without their help we would not be where we are,” they say.

They recommend that immigrant families start with goals in mind. “The number one goal of coming to this country is a better life and additional goals are for your son or daughter to go to college. For that you need to save for tuition.”

Another goal is to have resources in case one of the spouses dies or to have retirement because "we are not designed to work all our lives," says Osmar, adding that there is life insurance and retirement accounts that can be started with little money, but they can increase over time.

A person who works for himself can purchase a retirement plan to which he can contribute up to 25% of his income or $61,000 annually, whichever is less. Those plans also allow the owner to pay less taxes.

Gilberto adds that the goal is to look at every dollar as an employee or as a player and as such you have to put it to work. He indicates that, although the banks are safe, the money deposited there is not earning much interest, so they recommend investments in the stock market or money markets, among other tools, that gives more benefits.

However, Gilberto recommends not to put all money into these investments because “you always have to have funds to cover emergencies”. Likewise, Osmar indicates that, despite the ups and downs that the stock market can have, "in the long term it is positive," he says.

They do not advise on the management of cryptocurrencies because "it is a very variable market and it is not legally regulated," they said.

They recommend investing in life insurance. “There are policies available that accumulate cash value that can be accessed for retirement and can be used for the education of your son and daughter and as a down payment for a house or a business,” says Osmar, “but the most important thing is the benefit in case of death and can pay debts, send children to school and have an investment in the future of the surviving husband or wife or pay for long-term medical care.

They emphasize that the main thing is that parents can inherit wealth and education to their children. "Knowledge is power and it is important to understand the tools that are available in terms of managing finances and spending wealth and education to give children what I did not have," says Osmar, emphasizing that parents should educate their children in managing money because "if you don't teach him he loses it and that's where poverty begins."