Authored By Teresa Kuhn, JD, RFC, CSA – TeresaKuhn.com
Living Wealthy Financial
In its simplest form, the Dual Asset Strategy (DAS) is a way to describe the process of using value inside a specially-engineered whole life policy to invest in real estate or other cash-flowing businesses. First articulated by veteran real estate educators and investors Jake and Gino of “Wheelbarrow Profits” fame, The Dual Asset Strategy is an easy-to-understand method of framing the principles undergirding a 100 Year Real Estate investor approach to wealth creation. Investors of all kinds, but especially real estate investors, can profit from using DAS to become their own source of financing.
Jake, Gino and I all independently came to the conclusion that the typical middle class mindset of saving money in a bank account, where you’re getting little to no interest, reduces your options. And, as I always say, the quality of your life hinges on the number of choices you have available to you. As believers in the many merits of real estate investing, all three of us have used some variation of a dual asset strategy to dramatically grow our portfolios.
The DAS method of financing real estate deals, the purchase of cash-flowing businesses, or other investments. is fairly simple to understand. Instead of directly purchasing an asset, you instead put your cash into a specially-designed whole life insurance policy. These whole life policies bear only a scant resemblance to those your parents or grandparents may have owned. Instead, these modern insurance contracts are architected so that their tax advantages, liquidity, and other benefits are fully maximized.
Normally, we’re taught to save our money for specific life events (investing, college education, retirement, rainy days, etc.) Utilizing the dual asset strategy requires you to pivot; letting go of that traditional middle class mindset. Instead, you’ll be taking advantage of something the wealthy understand- the velocity of money. You’ll be putting your dollars into a specially designed whole life policy and borrowing from that policy to fund your life events and investments.
To illustrate: Let’s say you bought into a multifamily syndication for $500,000. That’s a fantastic addition to your balance sheet by any measure. But, what if you could leverage that same $500,000 and instead of controlling one asset (the syndication investment) you could have two? If, instead of putting your $500,000 straight into the syndication, you purchased a life insurance policy that pays $1million on your death, you would effectively create two assets with the same money. Wouldn’t that help grow your wealth at a much faster pace? Wouldn’t it also give you some peace of mind to know your family will get much-needed cash when you die? This is the essence of the dual asset strategy.
Gino Barbaro, one of the authors of Wheelbarrow Profits, and a business partner of mine, is a great example of the dual asset strategy in motion. He has six children, the oldest of whom has already graduated from college. Was Gino putting away money for years to pay for his daughter’s education? Did he have his cash tied up in government-sponsored college savings plans? No, Gino repurposed his money into a supercharged whole life policy, then borrowed from that policy to finance a small apartment complex. The cash flow from that real estate investment paid for his daughter’s degree. Even better, that same property, purchased over ten years ago, continues to fund the educations of his other children. The Dual Asset Strategy lets you borrow from the policy as you operate the real estate and optimize your cash flow. You then pay back your policy loan and are left with two assets, instead of an empty bank account.
DAS also drives one of the most critical skills developed by successful entrepreneurs, namely a focus on long-term solutions instead of quick fixes. I am convinced that this approach to wealth is the only one with the ability to create both generational wealth and generational life skills; what Jake and Gino refer to as “long-termism.”
In a way, the dual asset strategy does seem too good to be true. The data and the verified success stories prove it isn’t, though. The kind of whole life policies Jake, Gino, and I advocate are specially-designed and custom-built to work harder toward helping you achieve your financial objectives.
You can take policies out on your children, on key people in your business, or to finance buy-sell agreements. This is particularly beneficial if you are an investor who has partners.
Teresa’s Takeaways: A Dual Asset Strategy is a way to finance real estate and other investments, or any other type of high-ticket item, in a way that offers incredible liquidity and tax-advantages. Taking a cue from the wealthy, investors use this uniquely-designed life insurance to create and protect their wealth and grow their portfolios more quickly and with fewer hassles. In upcoming articles, I will drill down into more of the meaty parts of DAS, so keep checking back.
Contact Teresa today: https://calendly.com/tkuhn-3/.
For more money-saving, stress-reducing personal finance tips, or to discover more about making every dollar you’ve saved do the work of three or four, visit my website at www.teresakuhn.com.
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