“What exactly do you do?” I think about this visual from Michael Kitces whenever someone asks the question. There are 101 different items on this list. Cash flow. Debt. Insurance. Investments. Taxes. Retirement. Estate planning. Not everything applies to every client. And not every advisor provides everything. But the last section may be the most important: The Psychology of Financial Planning. Some of the most valuable things a good advisor does are also the hardest to quant

Want to be the founder of the next billion-dollar unicorn? Apparently, your odds may be better if you're an immigrant or the child of one. A recent National Foundation for American Policy study found that immigrants founded or co-founded 59% of America's privately held startups worth $1 billion or more as of April 2026. When you include children of immigrants, that number jumps to 66%. The story of immigrants coming to America and building successful businesses is certainly n

One of the biggest mistakes I see "younger" investors make? Holding too much cash. If you're in your late 30s or 40s, it's easy to look at the market and worry about what might happen next. Will we have another correction? 100%. Another bear market? Absolutely. But we have no idea when. The problem with holding too much cash is that the cost is easy to ignore. It doesn't show up on a statement. There's no red number showing you what you missed by sitting on the sidelines. Cas

Financial literacy in America is at its lowest level in a decade. According to the 2026 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index, U.S. adults answered just 49% of basic personal finance questions correctly. That's crazy to think about. We live in a world where nearly all the information you could ever want is at your fingertips. Yet somehow, when it comes to understanding money, we're going backwards. I've never understood why basic financial literacy isn't part of every s

"Swap until you drop" It's a common saying among real estate investors. The idea is straightforward: Continue exchanging investment properties through a series of 1031 exchanges, defer capital gains taxes along the way, and ultimately receive a step-up in basis at death, potentially avoiding capital gains taxes altogether. It’s a great strategy…in theory. In practice, I’ve found it rarely plays out. I’ve seen it reported that fewer than ~12% of 1031 exchanges ultimately mak

Good financial advice doesn't scale. When you're just starting out, the advice is fairly universal. Contribute to your 401(k). Build an emergency fund. Invest consistently. Keep costs low. Avoid unnecessary debt. That's all very good advice. But as your wealth grows, your financial life becomes more complex. Maybe you own a business, invest in real estate, or have accumulated company stock. Maybe you’ve inherited wealth, are preparing for retirement, or have an upcoming liqui

One of the hardest parts of reaching financial independence isn’t building wealth. It’s learning to live off it. For 20, 30, or 40+ years, the goal is simple: Build Save Invest Grow Then one day, the switch flips. After decades of saving, investing, and watching money consistently come in, it can feel unsettling to begin living off the assets you spent a lifetime accumulating. No matter how financially secure someone is, it often takes years to become comfortable drawing on t

“An inability to control emotion has caused more financial disasters than anything else I can think of.” — Charlie Munger I'm currently reading Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger. Countless great quotes and lessons, but this one stood out to me. It's remarkably simple, but it's also one of the biggest truths in investing. Most financial mistakes don't come from a lack of intelligence. They come from fear, greed, impatience, overconfide

More than a decade ago, I was exploring a career change into wealth management. Before making the leap, I spent a lot of time talking with advisors and others in the industry, trying to understand what the profession was really all about, what actually made someone successful, and whether it was the right fit for me. Of course, technical competence mattered. You need to understand investing, the markets, the economy, tax planning, estate planning, insurance, and all the other

This small planning move helped one of our clients protect $2M+ from estate taxes. A partner at a real estate development firm with much of his net worth tied up in the business and real estate investments. He didn't feel wealthy, but on paper his estate was already above the federal estate tax exemption. With young kids and significant illiquidity risk, we recommended putting cost effective term life insurance in place. Life insurance death benefits are generally included in

We've made gambling look like investing and investing look like gambling. I appreciate Liz Ann Sonders of Charles Schwab continuing to raise awareness around this topic. One line from her recent article sums it up perfectly: "The gambler hopes. The investor owns." Investing is ownership of productive assets. Gambling is betting on an outcome. There's nothing wrong with gambling as entertainment. The problem is when speculation gets confused with wealth building, especially am

A new client hired us recently. Our fee was higher than another firm they were interviewing. They chose us anyway. Why? It was the right fit. High income. Business owner with significant real estate exposure. Lots of moving pieces. Tax sensitivity. Liquidity events ahead. Investment complexity. Family responsibilities. At a certain point, you're not looking for the cheapest option. You're looking for the right one.

A client was about to realize over $400k in capital gains just to pay off a loan. He had a commercial property loan coming due. About a $1M balance. He was frustrated with the lender and ready to be done with it. His plan was to liquidate part of his investment portfolio and pay it off. No more dealing with the bank. Clean slate. On paper, it felt like a responsible move. But it would have created real problems: • A significant capital gains tax hit • Reduced liquidity and fl

"Trump Accounts" go live this week. My high-level take... If you have a child born between 2025 and 2028, open one and take the free $1,000. To me, that's the equivalent of an employer 401(k) match. If someone is offering free money, it's usually worth taking. If your child wasn't born during that window, the answer becomes... it depends. You could contribute the annual maximum ($5,000) and let it compound for 18+ years. At a reasonable rate of return, it could grow into a me

I manage portfolios for a living. But I rarely look at my own. My clients' portfolios? Every day. Mine? Maybe once a quarter. Not because I'm ignoring it. Monitoring portfolios is a core part of my job. But once a portfolio is built correctly, there's no reason to obsess over daily movements. Checking it constantly doesn't improve returns or reduce risk. It just increases the chance you'll interfere. The plan matters. Not the daily noise.

My grandfather got me comfortable around money before I could tie my shoes. We'd play "bank" together often. He'd also bring me along to make deposits and withdrawals at the actual bank. I got used to handling and counting cash. It wasn't a formal lesson. It was just exposure. Some studies suggest money habits start forming as early as age 3. By the time I was a teenager, money didn't feel intimidating or mysterious. It felt like something I understood. That comfort has shap

Your best investment is your business. It’s very hard to replicate the returns you can generate by reinvesting in something you already understand and control. Simple math: Let’s say you can grow your profit (or EBITDA) by $100k in a given year. Apply a 10x multiple (can vary widely by industry, company, etc. but let’s keep the math clean). That’s $1M in incremental value and personal wealth. From one year of focused execution. Do that consistently over time, and the compoun

Will we become obsolete? The one question on everyone's mind in a room full of 200 advisors last Friday. I listened to Michael Kitces and Carl Richards talk about AI and the future of our industry. Their core message was simple: AI won't replace great advisors. It will force us to become better ones. Technology will handle more of the admin and technical work. It will allow us to go deeper with clients, not further away. Carl reminded us that not too long ago, you had to cal

$6M in investable assets But the portfolio hadn’t kept pace. Recently, we began working with a physician in his 40s, married with kids, serial real estate investor and developer. Strong income. Significant real estate equity. His portfolio was built almost entirely with broad-market ETFs, including his bond allocation. There's nothing inherently wrong with ETFs. But as wealth grows and complexity increases, structure and allocation should evolve. Over the past few months, we:

Not everyone needs a therapist. But almost everyone could benefit from having one. The same is true for a good financial advisor. Sometimes you just need someone to say, “That’s a bad idea.”

In a world obsessed with AI, I'm doubling down on handshakes. I use AI every day. It makes me faster, sharper, more efficient. But it doesn’t replace sitting across from someone and hearing or seeing what’s not being said. I’ll still be here. But I’m leaning even further into real conversations. Face-to-face when possible. Where trust is actually built. If you value real conversations, let’s connect.

I cringe every time I hear, “My friend told me I need a trust.” Like it’s some kind of silver bullet. Trust gets thrown around like it’s one thing. It’s not. A revocable trust is about control and simplicity. You still own the assets. You can change it anytime. It helps avoid probate, keep things organized, and plan for incapacity. It does not provide asset protection or reduce estate taxes. An irrevocable trust is about strategy and tradeoffs. You give up control. In return

Happy April 16th. If you know a good CPA, send them a thank you as they re-enter society today. And maybe give them a few days before asking “Quick question on my taxes...”

Delaware Statutory Trusts (DSTs) are coming up more and more in conversations with real estate investors and owners as a way to defer taxes. They’re not new. But the structure, fees, and accessibility have evolved over the past couple decades. For the right investor, a DST can be a very useful tool. Especially for those who are: • Tired of active management • Selling a business and own the underlying real estate • Looking to get off — or at least take a break from — the 1031