Our Process
Here Is How You Get Your Bearings
Three steps. No pressure at any of them, because I recommend, I don't sell. You won't be asked to move anything, sign anything, or decide anything on the first call.
The whole process is built so that at every step, you know more than you did before it, whether or not you ever hire me.
Three steps, no pressure at any of them
Step 01
Take the Curiosity Call
Bring the question that's been bugging you. Maybe it's a sale on the horizon, a retirement date, or a tax bill you were told you can't do anything about. Maybe it's just "are we going to be okay."
I'll answer it and tell you what I'd look at first. That's the whole meeting.
Helpful to have handy, not homework: your most recent statement. If you can't find it, come anyway.
You leave with: a straight answer, and a better question than the one you came in with.
No charge and no pitch. Plenty of people take what they learn straight back to the advisor they already have, and that's a completely fine outcome.
Step 02
Get the Investment and Tax Audit
This is where we find the gap between what you're paying and what you're getting. We go through what you actually own, what it actually costs all-in, and what it's costing you in taxes across your lifetime, not just last April.
If a sale or a retirement is coming, this is also where the tax strategy starts: what the event will trigger, which options are still open, and what your CPA needs to see.
Helpful to have handy, not homework: your statements, your account agreements, and your last couple of tax returns. Whatever you can gather is enough to start.
You leave with: a line-by-line picture of your all-in fees, how your assets are actually allocated, and the tax drag on your wealth over your whole lifetime.
Step 03
Own a Portfolio Built for You
Once the tax strategy is set, the portfolio gets built around it, with your fees visible and every position explainable. You know why you own everything you own, and you know your all-in fee because we said it out loud before you signed anything.
And when the market gets loud, you know what's supposed to happen next, which is usually nothing. Not because nobody is paying attention, but because activity and progress were never the same thing, and the plan already accounted for the noise.
You leave with: a portfolio you understand, a fee you can state out loud, and taxes that are planned forward instead of reported backward.
The Investment and Tax Audit
What the Audit Actually Looks At
The audit is where the gap between what you're paying and what you're getting gets put in writing. You bring your statements, your account agreements, and your last couple of tax returns. Whatever you can gather is enough to start.
I go through all of it first, then we walk it line by line together. How long that takes depends on how your accounts are built and how quickly the paperwork comes together.
We look at what you actually own and how it's really allocated, then add up what it costs you once every layer of fee is counted, the ones on your statement and the ones buried inside the funds.
Then we turn to the part that's easiest to skip: how your investments are taxed across a lifetime, not just last April. Where each holding sits across your accounts, your Roth conversion windows, harvesting, charitable giving, any annuities you hold, and how all of it reads against your actual tax return.
You leave with a number on every line, not an impression.
Taxes are usually the largest expense an investor carries across a lifetime, and they're the piece that's easiest to leave unopened.
After the Plan Is in Place
The Work Doesn't Stop at the Portfolio
A plan you build once and never touch is just a document. What makes this a relationship and not a transaction is what happens on the calendar after you're set up. It's the same calendar every year, so nothing important waits on someone remembering to bring it up.
Every quarter
We rebalance where things have drifted and sit down for a real review of your performance, your progress, and anything that has changed in your life. Every quarter, without exception.
All year
We look at your tax returns throughout the year, not just when your CPA is filing them. Almost every tax strategy has to be in place before the year ends, not by April 15.
Every fall
Before December 31 we make the moves that only work inside the calendar year: Roth conversions that stay inside your bracket, charitable giving, and harvesting losses to fund a rebalance.
As life requires
We review your estate documents and beneficiaries, and when required minimum distributions arrive, we handle the amount, the timing, and which accounts they come from.
None of it's a product, and none of it's a surprise. It's on the calendar before the year begins.
Custody
Where Your Money Actually Sits
- Your money sits at a major independent custodian, in an account in your own name.
- Not in an account with my name on it. Yours.
- You can see it any day you want, and if you ever leave, it's already yours to take.
- I never hold your money. I advise on it.
That distinction sounds small until the day you want to ask a hard question, and the person answering has nothing to hold over you.
Our Process
Start With the Call
You've read the whole process now, so you know there's nothing waiting in the first step. It's a conversation, and nothing gets signed or moved.
Schedule a Curiosity Call. It costs nothing, and the worst case is you leave with a better question than the one you walked in with.
If I'm not the right fit, I'll say so. If you're not someone I can genuinely add value to, I'll tell you that plainly and point you toward somebody good. I'd rather refer you out than collect a fee for work you don't need.
No charge. You keep the results.
The fee comes with a warranty.
If you're not completely satisfied in your first six months, there's a written warranty on your advisory fees. It covers fees, not investment results. It's worth reading in full: The Fee Warranty.