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Whom We Serve

Living in Retirement

You’ve worked hard to get where you are today. We want to help you live the retirement you dreamed of and planned for over the years. By utilizing the Retirement Blueprint Planning Process, Elevation Capital Strategies takes your goals into consideration. Our clients enjoy the satisfaction of knowing relevant assets will be accounted for and available strategies will be considered to help guard against any potential risks that could impact your lifestyle.

Inherited Wealth

While the prospect of "coming into money" may seem glamorous, the process for managing an inheritance can be quite overwhelming. Recipients of an inheritance are tasked with understanding the options they have to protect and grow their newfound money. When receiving a large sum of money, it is vital to enlist professional guidance to set goals and objectives and put a plan in place.

Career Transition

Experiencing a career transition can be exhilarating and stressful. Our wealth advisors provide a broad range of guidance as you step-into your new role.

Business Owners

As the owner of a business, you have unique needs. Not only do you need to plan for the future of your family, but the maintenance and growth of your business and its employees are key elements of your preferred financial future and legacy.

Widows, Widowers

The loss of a loved one is hard and comes with true growing pains. Survivors are often left with difficult questions regarding property in the estate, taxes involved in settling the estate, and even how to access financial accounts.

Divorcees

When dissolving a marriage, emotions can run high and make it difficult to think clearly. You will need support to make sound financial decisions during this time. Our advisors are compassionate and can help you understand your options during and after a divorce. Planning ahead ensures that just because you are parting with your spouse, does not mean you have to part with important assets

About Us & FAQ’s

A Message From The Founder

There are few things more important than ensuring you and your family have a strong financial plan that will help enable you to have more confidence in your retirement strategy.

• Understanding your finances and future
• Creating a financial strategy to help pursue a secure and comfortable life
• Working toward financial security and independence

Now, if you’d prefer, we could complicate things immensely, but is that really necessary? If you are ready to better understand your finances and future and pursue your retirement success while simplifying your financial life, come visit us.

Let’s have a cup of coffee and start a meaningful conversation about how our family can help yours work toward its financial goals. At Elevation Capital Strategies, we know that what you truly need is a reliable, understanding partner in retirement financial planning. It’s what all families deserve.

– Cathy Mendell, Founder and CEO

How much risk should I be taking during retirement?

There are three phases of everyone’s financial life: Accumulation, Preservation and Distribution. When entering retirement, you are moving from the “Accumulation” phase of life into the “Preservation” phase of life.
Do you need your investments to produce income outside of pensions or Social Security? Do you hope to pass the bulk of your money on to your loved ones and beneficiaries? Determining a proper risk to reward ratio in retirement is a pivotal part in protecting your assets and producing reliable income in retirement

How much am I paying my existing advisor?

Management fees…12B-1 fees…administrative fees…expense ratios…turnover cost…where does it end? Chances are, if you have your money invested anywhere on Wall Street, you are paying a cost or fee. In the “risk” world, you can’t escape fees. The “safe*” stuff is a bit more transparent. In most cases, you have to dig deep within your prospectus or account statements to find what you are actually paying to hold your investments. Unfortunately for you, most advisors and brokers do not have to fully disclose the fees you are paying.
At Elevation Capital Strategies, we know that fees are a part of investing in “risk” money. By taking alternative investing paths and using lower cost vehicles, you can lower your fees to a certain extent. There are also “safe*” investment options that offer little to no cost to you. When investing in “risk,” you need to understand whether or not you are receiving value for the fee you are paying.

Will I run out of money?

Planning for sufficient retirement income requires you to map out what you spend in retirement, not what you have saved. You should factor in your basic living and joy expenses to determine how much money you need per month to live comfortably. This number may be affected by future inflation or cost of living, so you should consider that, too. Planning for lifetime income should be your No. 1 objective.

How do I leave a legacy?

Simple things like proper account titling, power of attorney, trusts and wills are all things that must be in place if you are to truly avoid a drawn-out legal fiasco.
By having the proper estate strategy in place, you can eliminate probate and make it easier for your family during their time of grieving. The last thing you should hope for is a legal obligation while your loved ones are mourning their loss.

How do I Avoid Probate?

Excess estate taxation can be avoided by simply titling your accounts correctly or changing the way you invest entirely. To succeed, you have to have an advisor who will help guide you through the third phase of your financial life, “Distribution.” When developing a written investment plan, your estate should be considered equally as important.

How do I stop losing money in the market?

Unfortunately, greed plays an integral part in the mind of the common investor. All too often, bad behavior takes over, forcing the right decision to take a back seat to greed. In order to avoid losing the money you desperately need in retirement, you have to remove some risk from the equation.
The biggest step in determining a proper risk to reward ratio is to know how much risk you can afford to take. Without an income plan in place for your retirement paycheck, how do you know if you are overexposed?

How do I develop an income plan?

Simply setting up a systematic monthly withdraw from your account could get you trouble. You need laddered, inflation-adjusted income — using safe* and reliable accounts — to come in each and every month on the schedule you set yourself.
An income plan provides scheduled income starting on a specific date, either now in the future. By positioning safe* assets, you can eliminate any chance that you will run out of money during your retirement. Each step up the ladder will increase your income to keep up with inflation.

How do I know when to retire?

Planning for sufficient retirement income requires you to map out what you spend in retirement, not what you have saved. You should factor in your basic living and joy expenses to determine how much money you need per month to live comfortably. This number may be affected by future inflation or cost of living, so you should consider that, too.

Listen to Cathy live on the radio

KQAK 105.7 FM

Sundays at 7am

KBNW 104.5 FM or 1340 AM

Sundays at 1pm

Listen Now

KMED 106.7 FM or 1440 AM

Sundays at 7:30am

Our mission is to TAKE THE FEAR OUT OF your financial future,

And to give you CONFIDENCE in what lies ahead!

Meet our Team

Director of Client Services
Lori Robinson

President & Founder

Cathy Mendell

Cathy Mendell is the President and Founder of Elevation Capital Strategies, an independent financial services firm designed to help individuals create their own retirement strategy. Cathy specializes in creating simple and powerful retirement solutions. She is passionate about helping her clients achieve financial security and independence because everyone deserves a secure and independent retirement.

The Retirement Navigator, Cathy’s proprietary planning process, is the cornerstone of her work as an advisor in her own firm, an author on many national and local publications, and as a radio show host (Elevate Your Retirement airing Sundays at 7:30 a.m. on KMED, KBNW and KQAK.

Outside of work Cathy and her husband, Arlan, enjoy spending time with their three grown sons and two grandchildren. Together Cathy and Arlan are the directors for Orphanages of Kenya, located in Nairobi, Kenya.

Email:cathy@elevationcapitalstrategies.com

Financial advisor

Ryan Sanford

Ryan Sanford is a financial advisor at Elevation Capital Strategies and an Investment Advisor Representative of Elevation Capital Advisory. Ryan specializes in guiding retirees and pre-retirees in retirement income planning, and wealth preservation. He joined the team at Elevation Capital Strategies in 2014, and holds his Series 65 securities registration and insurance license in the state of Oregon.

Ryan brings a great mix of education and experience along with his genuine desire to help people. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a Master of Business Administration degree. He also has a decade of corporate finance experience where he worked as chief financial officer of a corporation.

Ryan’s combined love for numbers, math, and people, making him a perfect fit for financial planning. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and five children.

Email:ryan@elevationcapitalstrategies.com

Associate Producer

Derrick Hanson

Derrick Hanson is a financial advisor at Elevation Capital Strategies and an Investment Advisor Representative of Elevation Capital Advisory. Derrick joined ECS in Spring of 2018, and his focus is on helping clients build and maintain wealth. Derrick’s focus is on helping clients build and maintain their wealth. He develops income plans for those who are at or near retirement, analyzes investment portfolios, and determines future investment strategy allocations for clients. Derrick spent the first 10 years of his career with a life insurance company that specialized in the ultra-high net worth market, where he learned the value of understanding the specifics of financial instruments and the role they play in an overall financial plan.

Derrick holds current CLU® and ChFC® designations from The American College, his Oregon life/health insurance license, his Series 65 securities registration, and is working toward his CFP®. Outside the office, he enjoys spending time with his wife and son, playing sports, and tutoring math.

Email::derrick@elevationcapitalstrategies.com

Phone::(541) 728-0321 ext 203

Director of Client Services

Lori Robinson

Lori Robinson is our director of client services at Elevation Capital Strategies and assists clients with various service items and additional requests regarding their custom retirement blueprint. She handles new accounts and outstanding service requests to assure they are taken care of in a timely manner. She is also responsible for ensuring a great experience for our clients, managing office workflow and overseeing compliance-related activities.

Lori joined the Elevation Capital Strategies team in 2010. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and granddaughter.

Email::lori@elevationcapitalstrategies.com

Phone::541-728-0321

Marketing

Devin Lakovics

Devin Lakovics is our newest member, joining the ECS team in November 2018. Devin brings vast experience in sales, software, and marketing to our team. She has worked for companies such as Microsoft, G5, and Pronghorn, as well as a non-profit and a start-up company. Originally from the East Coast, Devin moved to Bend, with her family and attended high school here. After earning her bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Management and Innovation from Seattle University, she continued to live in Seattle to pursue her career.

With her love for outdoor activities and family in Bend, it was an easy decision for her to move back when the opportunity presented itself in 2016. In her free time, Devin enjoys time with family, and outdoor activities such as golf, kayaking, and skiing. She is also a world traveler having visited 30 countries and hopes to have the opportunity to add to that number.

Email::Devin@elevationcapitalstrategies.com

Client Service Specialist

Saori McRill

Saori McRill is a client service specialist at Elevation Capital Strategies and assists clients with various service items and additional requests regarding their custom retirement blueprint focusing primarily on assets-under-management portion of the business. She handles new accounts, account transfers, various service items and works directly with clients to ensure they are taken care of in a timely manner.

Saori joined the team at Elevation Capital Strategies in 2013. She resides in Bend with her husband, Randy, and their daughter, Erin. In her spare time, she enjoys listening to music and spending time with her family.

Email: :saori@elevationcapitalstrategies.com

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Get access to our helpful retirement kit which includes three guides that address topics you should consider when planning your retirement.