Wealth Management in Orange County
Estate and wealth management, where financial advice is focused on what you keep Learn moreContact usWho We Advise
Wealth management in Orange County goes beyond mere maintenance; it is a dynamic journey of growth and refinement during working years and sustainability in retirement.
Your financial needs evolve with each life stage, and as you accumulate wealth, the strategies for a W-2 employee, a 1099 independent contractor, and an independent business owner within a corporate framework vary significantly.
When you transition into retirement, how you led your professional life greatly influences your next steps, whether it’s staging your 401(k) for distribution, liquidating shares, or negotiating the sale of a business.
We are here to guide you in optimizing your wealth management at every stage, ensuring your decisions lead to the best possible outcomes as your trusted partner and navigator.
Small Business Owners
You took the more difficult path professionally; let’s take the difficulty out of the path ahead ⇒
Business Professionals
Let’s have the discussions your HR department never will ⇒
Retirees / Pre-Retirees
You have decided to retire, or are just about to, let’s make sure it’s all that you’ve imagined ⇒
How We Work Together
Flexible options to engage in financial advice in the way you prefer
Financial decisions take on very different views depending on your stage of life. Wealth management in Orange County takes on unique approaches as you build wealth early in your career, carefully grow it in your prime earning years, and strategically maintain it in retirement.
- If you prefer to be hands-on with your wealth management, we can be your financial sherpa, providing advice as needed on an hourly basis.
- If you prefer professional wealth management, we conduct the research and modeling and, based on your goals and risk considerations, ensure clarity and care in every recommendation, providing this service for a flat or wrap fee.
- If you need advice for a solution that should not incur an ongoing fee, we can research and explore all your options, find the right partners for your needs, and upon making your choice, that organization, not you, pays our one-time fee.
No matter which path you choose, we consider it our duty and honor to be your financial advocates to help support the financial opportunities and challenges that life may present. Our goal is to help you navigate your financial journey with prudent advice so that you may achieve your goals with better clarity and less undue financial stress.
You may have done a great job developing and maintaining your financial portfolio, and perhaps all you need is a second opinion, an occasional review of strategies, or sound advice on critical financial planning considerations as they arise. In this case, we are here for you as needed, providing financial advice on an hourly basis.
You may prefer a dedicated team to design your short- and long-term strategies for managing and monitoring your financial world, with regular communication and financial goal planning for your work and personal investments. In this case, we are here to provide advice regularly, as a traditional percentage of assets under management, working as your partner to navigate challenges and capture opportunities together.
There are occasions when an objective perspective is essential for finding the right product solution tailored to your needs. In these cases, compensation is structured as a commission for referring business to a specific company. Importantly, this compensation is fully covered by the company that receives your business, thus your investment remains unaffected. As an independent firm, we collaborate with a diverse range of reputable A-rated companies, free from obligations or affiliations to any single organization. This independence enables us to focus exclusively on identifying the most suitable solution for your unique needs, ensuring our recommendations remain unbiased and free from external influences.
Wealth management in Orange County with a focus on strategy for today, and legacy for tomorrow
Our firm was founded to address the overlooked tax implications in financial planning and wealth management. Tax-loss harvesting alone is just not enough. Your CPA knows tax code, but your financial advisor should also be advising you of the tax aspects of your financial decisions.
Investment performance presented in pre-tax dollars can be misleading. We identify assets that inherently provide tax efficiencies while crafting strategies to reduce capital gains during withdrawals. Most importantly, we assess whether a proactive tax strategy aligns with your specific financial situation. You can trust that our discussions will include performance, as well as your potential tax savings, as these conversations are essential to protecting your financial well-being.
Fee-only advisors avoid conflicts of interest, yet they refer you to someone else if you do need an insurance solution for a Trust to benefit a future taxation concern. That other party, in turn, may “sell” you whatever benefits their contractual obligation with a specific insurance carrier. How is this in your best interest?! We believe that being a fiduciary shouldn’t have a limit in our responsibility to you.
We believe you should have an annual review that discusses performance, changes in your life, your business, or your goals, and how you have benefited from your actual overall savings from implemented tax strategies.
If you wish to see your financial decisions through an ever-present tax lens, and have deeper, more meaningful conversations to uncover strategies that you can benefit from, then we welcome the opportunity to start a conversation.
How We Help
Whether working with our dedicated team or collaborating with CPAs, attorneys, and other professionals, we prioritize understanding and meeting each client’s unique needs.
Investment advisory services:
- Tax managed investments
- Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs
- Asset allocation
- Portfolio design & management
- Foreign investments
- Donor-advised funds
- Real estate investment trusts
- Real estate/ 1031 exchange strategies
- Tax drag analysis
- Tax loss harvesting
- Distribution management
- Capital gains reduction strategies
- Opportunity zone funds
- Separately managed accounts
- Unit investment trusts
- Municipal bonds
Investments
Ideally, working with an investment advisor begins with great communication, and trust in knowing that your best interests are primary, a true fiduciary advisor only places your investments in fiduciary accounts. This means institutional funds.
The best advisors institute strict processes, procedures, and structures that will adhere to the prescribed plan and execute according to your objectives. So what is missing?
The final ingredient must be directed at your bigger picture. All considerations, decisions, and actions need to constantly be checked against your true long-term objectives, beyond purely financial gain.
Estate Planning
Estate planning is not just meant for anyone with significant wealth, but anyone with a home (or homes), checking and savings accounts, investments, life insurance, and personal valuables. The true goal is to decide, in advance, who will receive your assets after you die, instead of the process of Probate to step in and decide for you.
You have options to do this yourself, hire and attorney to do it for you, or a hybrid model that takes you step-by-step through your options where you become an active participant to be intimately aware of your details and along the way.
Estate planning considerations:
- Coordinating the financial aspects of estate planning
- Reviewing and updating considerations
- Establishing the proper titling of assets
- Asset positioning for retirement and legacy
- Special needs planning
- Gifting strategies
- Income planning
- Minimizing taxes and fees
- Probate avoidance structures
- Family dynamics, blended families, divorce planning
- Financial power of attorney considerations
- Medical power of attorney considerations
Retirement
Retirement is the only endeavor that does not allow for trial and error. You must get it right on the first try or suffer the consequences of not knowing something was possible. Planning for retirement is checkers, and executing retirement is chess. You can’t afford a wrong move.
This should be the best chapter of your life. Let us show you how your plans and dreams can translate into strategies and processes that will safeguard all that you have worked for, and address all that you could imagine and some things you never realized.
Retirement planning services:
- Comprehensive financial planning
- Estate planning
- Tax planning
- Traditional IRA, ROTH IRA, Self-directed IRA
- ROTH conversions
- 401(k), 403(b) and 457 managed options
- Asset protection
Retirement income planning services:
- Distribution management
- Maximizing tax brackets
- Social security planning
- Pension planning
- Gifting strategies
- Fixed Income strategies
- RMD strategies
Financial Planning and Coordinated Services:
- Retirement planning
- Tax planning
- Income planning
- College planning
- Healthcare planning
- Legacy planning
- Charitable giving
- Windfall planning
- Inheritance planning
- Windfall planning
- Financial restructuring after divorce
- Financial restructuring after the death of a spouse
- Financial coordination for the care of a parent
- Financial planning for retirement vs. legacy
Financial Planning
Financial planning is teamwork. It is a process of taking your details and translating that into your roadmap, but that alone is an empty shell.
There may be multiple iterations, and it must be fine-tuned to your wishes, including the other coordinated professionals to execute all that is needed. Since this is a living, breathing process we continue to monitor and modify as it evolves over time.
Business - Small Business Retirement Plans
Employer, Entrepreneur, Executive advisory services:
Business Strategy Services:
- Business financial planning
- Tax efficiency analysis
- Buy-Sell agreements
- Exit planning
- Business valuation coordination
- Expense reduction analysis
- Key employee retention strategies
- Partnership agreements
- Cash flow mitigation
Retirement Plan Services:
- Retirement plan cost analysis
- Retirement plan funds and fees analysis
- 401k, Solo 401k, 403b, 457, Simple, and SEP IRAs, retirement plan implementation
- Executive Defined benefit plans
- Employee benefit analysis
- Quarterly employee in-person Q&A
Business - Small Business Retirement Plans
You should have financial expertise that allows you to focus on running your business effectively. You can choose to hire a business consultant for a snapshot and recommendations, or opt for a comprehensive approach that integrates tax and financial planning. Through business financial planning, we can help you identify cost and tax efficiencies, develop strategies to attract and retain top talent, and prepare for a successful transition and exit plan when the time is right.
Expertise for your retirement plans should be no different. If you prefer a hands-on approach, regular reviews will help ensure that your funds are aligned with your employees’ requirements while minimizing costs, including management fees for you. We will help you maintain compliance, keep expenses low, and stay informed about legislative changes.
401k Planning
Deciding to contribute to your company’s 401(k) will likely be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make. Systematic savings, taking advantage of employer matching, and keeping a long-term perspective, are a recipe for success. Consider how effectively you can navigate the small decisions today to make tomorrow’s retirement ever better.
We can show you how to maximize every opportunity, and potentially avoid some pitfalls along the way. Protect yourself from the risks of outliving your retirement funds or not having enough for the lifestyle you envision. Let us show you how to develop a plan for a successful retirement.
Employer sponsored retirement plan services:
- 401(k), 403(b), 457, SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs reviews
- Retirement planning coordination
- Fund and allocation reviews
- Stock option exercising calculations
- Self-directed brokerage options
- 59 1/2 in-service rollovers
- Traditional vs Roth planning
- Maximizing contribution salary planning
- Employee benefit analysis
- Exit planning and coordination
- Strategies upon retirement
Life Insurance Planning and Coordinated Services:
Supporting how it can benefit:
- Tax planning
- Estate planning
- Retirement planning
- Business planning
- Legacy planning
- Income planning
- Charitable giving
- Healthcare planning
- College planning
Foundational considerations:
- Leveraging Term vs Permanent life insurance
- Universal vs Whole Life insurance structures
- Funding considerations based on goals
- Annual reviews
- 1035 exchanges
- Existing policy reviews
- Taxation, withdrawals, and safeguards
Life Insurance Planning
Wealth management is often primarily focused on investments, tax strategies, and estate structures. Yet, life insurance stands as one of the most significant yet often underestimated tools for building and safeguarding long-term wealth. Whether your aim is to provide financial security for your loved ones, maintain business continuity, add a tax-free option for withdrawals in retirement, or create a lasting legacy, life insurance can be integral to your overall strategy.
The ideal life insurance strategy is influenced by several considerations, and as specialists in comprehensive wealth planning that looks beyond traditional investments to incorporate tools like life insurance, we ensure our strategies are fully integrated with your broader wealth plan to maximize benefits and minimize risks. This enhances your financial plan to thrive both in the present and the future.
In all of our engagements, our goal is to listen
The financial advisory industry has a habit of categorizing individuals and businesses into boxes by assets. We prefer to focus on understanding your “big picture” goals, instead of presenting a generic menu of options. It’s only then we can begin to examine the appropriate ‘how’ to fit your unique ‘why’ and the applicable wealth management and tax strategies best suited for your needs.
What you can expect...
You will never be judged for not having the "right" financial habits, for not saving enough, or for spending too much.
You don't want to open up to a STRANGER about your finances. Initial conversations are only to establish if we're a good fit for your situation.
You will never be told what to do; you'll have a navigator who presents you with options around what matters most to you.
We have no agenda and believe in truly listening first, and advising second. We begin with a phone conversation, lend actionable advice, and promise no follow-up unless you ask.
You are welcome to send us a message on the right, schedule a conversation, or give us a call. We are here to support your concerns, provide clarity, and lend perspective.