We help a variety of clients protect their financial future. In our practice, we strive to help our clients explore, discover and savor their life’s greatest pursuits. We work in a collaborative atmosphere with our clients, with whom we reach mutual agreement on every phase of the wealth planning process. The following are actual clients we have worked with to help protect their financial future:
The Executive Couple
Daniel is a co-founding partner of a premier litigation law firm. Madeline is a senior executive of a high-profile tech company. This couple understands as well as anyone the challenge of focusing on what they want and need and delegating the rest. What they want to focus on is their two young children, building their own careers, and pursuing their passion for running marathons. Wealth management gets filed under “delegate.”
We implemented a college savings plan for the kids with plenty of time to grow, took steps to protect their family’s financial future by enhancing personal lines insurance, put life insurance in place and set up their estate plan.
We have also helped Madeline better understand her variable compensation and put together a 10b5-1 stock sale plan that will give her far more control over her wealth accumulation.
In short, we’re letting Daniel and Madeline know they can delegate the work of creating a more secure future to us so they can focus on what matters most right now.
The Divorce Survivor
Leslie came to us on the recommendation of her family law attorney. Her ex-husband had handled all of the finances during their long-term marriage while she focused on raising four wonderful children. Leslie never liked the investment advisor her husband had selected, and once their marriage settlement agreement (MSA) was finalized, she made finding a new advisor her first priority. She selected our practice in part due to our fiduciary standard of care and fee-only approach.
Her focus is spending as much time as possible with her young grandchildren and doing some international travel that she was never able to do when she was married. She is also focused on giving back via the Donor Advised Fund we established with some low-basis stock she brought over. We also set up college savings plans for all of her grandchildren so her children can feel more confident about their college funding concerns in the future.
The Attorney
A founding partner of a premier immigration law firm, Jacqueline believes in working hard for her clients and making time to play hard, too. She and her wife Suzanne, a health care provider, are passionate about the arts. They are Burning Man Rangers and regularly attend the annual event. Between work and play, they don’t have a whole lot of time to think about their personal finances. We have been working with Jacqueline and Suzanne to plan for the future, which always comes faster than you think. We have reviewed and upgraded their life insurance and put in place long-term care insurance for both of them. And we have helped them with strategies to consolidate and simplify their extensive real estate holdings as well. As a result, Jacqueline and Suzanne can work and play as hard as they want, assured their financial future is in good hands.
The Tech Couple
California is home to many tech companies, big and small. Diana and her husband, Leonard, each work for one of the big ones. As you might expect, they love tech, but also going sightseeing throughout California in their tricked-out Mercedes Sprinter Van. They know what it takes to maintain this ideal lifestyle for themselves and their two adorable daughters: not just working hard, but working smart. Our practice has helped Diana and Leonard put together an evidence-based diversification strategy.
They appreciate the logic behind a strategy for their concentrated tech equity (not based on emotional stock-picking), historical data, and the foundation for long-term growth. We have been intimately involved in seeing their estate plan drafted and funded, establishing and funding a college savings plan for their daughters and providing a borrowing line for their periodic cash flow needs. We’re working smart so this tech couple can cruise through the life of their dreams.
The Inheritor
If you have inherited something from a loved one, you understand the conflicting emotions of receiving that gift. The joy John might have felt receiving his father’s wealth under different circumstances was tempered with the pain of losing him. But thankfully, as this retired military officer knows, with enough time you can learn to enjoy life to the fullest again. For John, that means enjoying the outdoors. He’s up for anything: rock climbing, paragliding, skiing, water sports. You name it, he’s in. With the inherited wealth, he understands he needs a helpful eye on his accounts to stay within a budget and plan for his future and his children’s future.
Our practice has helped John stay on track with his financial plan, sometimes gently reminding him to keep his spending in check. We have provided oversight on his long-term care insurance and helped John create and later update his estate plan. He takes comfort in knowing that when it’s time to pass his wealth on to the next generation, the process will be as seamless as possible.
The Personal Values Investor
“Invest not only with wisdom but with your conscience,” say Alexis and George. These successful entrepreneurs working in creative services wanted to create an investment plan that aligns with their personal values. For them, that is their love and passion for the environment. In the past, they had been let down by advisors who did not have a plan to work with their personal values.
We created a plan that uses sustainable funds from Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA). We were able to provide evidence that the fund is responsible in its commitment to environmental sustainability. Satisfied and delighted, Alexis and George have since consolidated all their assets with us. They know that here, they have more than an advisor. They have a fiduciary ethically bound to work in line with their financial interests while helping to keep their conscience clear.
Disclosures
(i) The fact that the case study may not be representative of the experience of other customers.
(ii) The fact that the case study provides no guarantee of future performance or success.
