Financial Planning

We’ve found that in today’s age of automation and institutional financial planning, our clients want a different financial planning experience. It shouldn’t feel so stuffy (some stuffiness is ok). It should be personal. It’s a collaboration. It’s sharing dreams and working together to find ways to see those dreams come to pass. We’ve really championed the “live life to the fullest” philosophy here. Isn’t that what retirement is all about? We want our clients to be able to go out there and enjoy life.

Our Process

We start by asking the question: Where do you want to be? This sparks a discussion that helps us uncover what means the most to you and the type of financial plan you need to get the most out of life. It also helps us uncover potential roadblocks and opportunities so we can meet them head-on. While each client will experience our rigorously researched and implemented investment strategies, the other pieces of your financial plan are dictated by your choices. We incorporate areas such as estate planning, college funding, generational wealth transfer, tax management, philanthropy, and insurance strategies – all are available if and when you need them.
Customized Planning

We combine holistic financial planning with customized investing to help you identify opportunities and optimize your portfolio, as well as achieve your most important life goals.

Our detailed, 5 step planning process allows us to completely understand each client’s person and financial situation, objective, risk tolerance,:

  • Initial Meeting, Get to know you
  • Data Gathering and evaluation of current goals
  • Analysis of Complete financial picture
  • Review results and Present Financial Plan Strategy
  • Implement Financial Plan Recommendations

After completing our financial planning process we are able to:

  • Create a customized portfolio for investment accounts taking into consideration tax efficiency, duration, privately held concentrated positions (stock options), and liquidity.
  • Review cash flow strategies to maximize income and tax efficiency, while taking into consideration both short-term and long-term goals.
  • Advice on existing risk mitigation and insurance strategies (we don’t sell insurance but we work with a highly trusted group of experts who can help you with implementation if needed).
  • Review existing debt and liability structures to determine if better options are available.
  • Advise and review current estate planning options with the assistance of outside expert partners.
Personal CFO

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a financial expert in the family? One that could help you navigate the everyday financial maze of life? Helping you to understand and optimize various financial situations is central to our role. Should you pay cash or finance your next car, might you be eligible for college financial aid, what health insurance plan is best for you, how can you maximize the value of your business? These are all areas where we can help. Our extensive knowledge of your financial situation coupled with our financial expertise affords us the unique opportunity to give you the perspective and advice you need to avoid financial potholes and capture opportunities.

However, we recognize that no client’s financial life is neither static nor one-dimensional. Don't worry about missing something. Our financial planning process is not a one-off transaction We meet regularly to keep up with what's happening in your life. Financial planning is a process, and we will continue to review and recalibrate your plan as your life evolves.

Investment Management

Our initial financial planning work will illuminate the role your investments play in your life. For many, investments need to be drawn upon to cover living expenses, charitable giving, or other expenditures. For others, there is little or no current need to draw upon their investments and their focus is on future growth. In many cases, the role will change over time. Together, we start the investment management process by developing a customized investment portfolio. Reflective of your financial plan, the investment portfolio will articulate what it is that your investments need to do for you in the furtherance of your goals.
Our 5 Asset Management Philosophies:
  1. Low-cost ETF’s and Direct Indexing. We use low-cost funds, ETFs, and individual securities for most situations. We also assist in locating private investment opportunities when applicable. We never use front-end-loaded or back-end-loaded funds. Paying a commission to buy or sell something may work in real estate, but we believe that it has the potential to create conflicts of interest when it comes to investing. In addition to being low cost, most of the funds and ETFs we use have zero transaction fees as well. Minimizing fees is something we can all agree on.
  2. Long-term, passive approach. We aren’t trying to time the market or make short-term speculative bets. We are proponents of dollar-cost averaging, proper global diversification, We follow a disciplined, valuation-centric process of portfolio construction that positions your investments in a manner that is specific to you and your financial plan.
  3. Portfolio Optimization. At a minimum we do yearly tax-loss harvesting, rebalancing, and are always looking to further optimize by reducing fund expenses, looking at ETF fund spreads and drift.
  4. Tax-Conscious. We pay attention to our clients' asset allocations as it relates to potential tax burdens. There are tax benefits to reap as it relates to tax-loss harvesting, long-term gains, and appropriate asset-to-account allocation (e.g., which investments to hold in an IRA, Roth, or taxable account). Minimizing the tax burden is always a good thing.
  5. Independent. We help individuals, families, and small businesses invest their money. Because we are fully independent, there is no pressure to push specific funds or solutions on our clients. The investment tools at our disposal are virtually limitless. We are legal fiduciaries for the benefit of those we work with.
The holistic approach isn’t just for financial planning
Just because we aren’t managing ALL your assets doesn’t mean they aren’t as important. Most clients have their assets tied up in real estate investments, employer retirement plans, and/or stock options. Every financial picture is interdependent on the other pieces and they should affect how a portfolio is invested. Our primary goal is for our clients to reach their place of financial freedom, it would be myopic to ignore financial vehicles and lucrative employer benefits that can create substantial wealth just because they aren’t in-house.
Types of Outside Investments we advise on:
  • Stock Options: RSA’s, RSU’s, NSO/ISO, ESPP, AND ESOP’s.
  • Real Estate Investments (direct and indirect), DST’s, 10-31 Exchanges, etc.
  • Retirement and taxable investment account not managed in-house (401(k), 403(b), IRA, etc.)
  • Maximizing Employer Benefits (NQDC, CBP, MPP, etc.)

Retirement Planning

Financing retirement has become increasingly complex and can cause unnecessary anxiety, especially for those who plan to access their retirement assets in the next several years or before age 65. An array of investment options, combined with fluctuating interest and inflation rates and other variables, make it difficult to determine how much you will need, where you should invest, and to whom to turn for assistance.

Beyond the quantitative aspects of planning for retirement, there is a qualitative benefit to working with a financial professional who has helped clients navigate the emotional aspects of shifting from full-time working to full-time leisure and saving money to spending money. It is important to have your goals identified, establish a sense of purpose, and have a general game plan of how you want to spend those golden years.

Some of the main areas we help our retiree clients navigate in retirement are:

  • Social Security & Pension Optimization
  • Medicare, Long Term Care, and Health Care Planning (IRMAA, ACA Subsidies, etc.,)
  • Roth Conversion Tax Arbitrage Opportunities and Pro-Rata Rule Considerations
  • Distribution and Sequencing Strategies
  • Limiting and Managing Taxes in retirement
  • Navigating inflation, purchasing power risk, and making sure real returns keep pace

The complex tax and legislative environment surrounding retirement planning only compounds the confusion. With qualified plans, such as IRA, pension, profit sharing, and 401(k) plans, the timing and amount of withdrawals are critical in order to avoid additional tax penalties. We give our retiree clients the freedom to travel, learn new hobbies, and enjoy retirement, without having to worry about if they are optimizing their retirement assets or managing their taxes properly. Oftentimes, the most valuable asset a person can have is time.

Estate Planning

Part of living confidently in the present is knowing that your wishes will be carried out in the future. We help to create estate plans that will protect and efficiently transfer your wealth while conveying your wishes for your loved ones and your own care.

Proper estate planning allows you to transfer your wealth according to your wishes while minimizing unnecessary taxes and expenses. Our goal is to ensure you have taken prudent steps to reduce your tax liabilities and to help to create the most effective means to finance any future tax liabilities.

Philanthropic Planning
Philanthropic planning offers a strategic way for you to connect to causes that you and your family feel passionate about. We offer creative solutions to accomplish your philanthropic goals without interrupting your family's financial plan and stability.
Gifting
An important component to any estate plan is gifting, which allows you to reduce the size of your taxable estate by strategically transferring the wealth. Gifting enables you to take advantage of the substantial tax advantages available through lifetime gifts. Thoughtful use of these gifts through the use of planning vehicles such as trusts and life insurance can help maximize the value created for future generations.
We work with all of your professionals to help you with…
  • Wills
  • Trust and Trust Accounts
  • Power of Attorney
  • Beneficiary Accounts
  • Gifting Assets
  • Business exit and succession strategies
  • Philanthropic mission and vision

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