Learning Center

Contributed by: Dale Shaw, CFP, RICP For many founders, the moment a Letter of Intent (LOI) arrives is both exciting and unsettling. After years of building a company, someone has formally expressed interest in buying it. The headline number might look compelling. Advisors start getting involved. Momentum builds quickly. But the period between receiving a Letter of Intent to buy your company and signing…

Contributed by: Jared Virgadamo, CRPC®, CFS® At some point in a successful career, many executives begin to ask a simple but important question: Do I need to be doing something about my company stock? It usually does not come up at the beginning. Early on, equity compensation feels like a benefit, not a concern. Over time, however, that balance shifts. Shares accumulate. The company performs well.…

Contributed by: Derek Taylor Why Now Is the Time for Investors to Access Private Equity Operating Company Investments In today’s economic environment, investors are navigating a landscape defined by higher interest rates, persistent inflationary pressure in certain sectors, geopolitical uncertainty, and widening dispersion in public market outcomes. While public equities and traditional fixed income…

Contributed by: Nicholas M. Brown, CFA, CFP® The S&P 500 has delivered strong performance over the past three years. After navigating inflation shocks, aggressive rate hikes, and recession concerns, it has rewarded investors who stayed disciplined. For many, that resilience reinforced a simple narrative: stay invested in the index and let compounding do the work. Yet 2025 introduced a quieter development. While…

Contributed by: Dale Shaw, CFP, RICP For many founders, the moment a Letter of Intent (LOI) arrives is both exciting and unsettling. After years of building a company, someone has formally expressed interest in buying it. The headline number might look compelling. Advisors start getting involved. Momentum builds quickly. But the period between receiving a Letter of Intent to buy your company and signing…

Contributed by: Jared Virgadamo, CRPC®, CFS® At some point in a successful career, many executives begin to ask a simple but important question: Do I need to be doing something about my company stock? It usually does not come up at the beginning. Early on, equity compensation feels like a benefit, not a concern. Over time, however, that balance shifts. Shares accumulate. The company performs well.…

Contributed by: Nicholas M. Brown, CFA, CFP® The S&P 500 has delivered strong performance over the past three years. After navigating inflation shocks, aggressive rate hikes, and recession concerns, it has rewarded investors who stayed disciplined. For many, that resilience reinforced a simple narrative: stay invested in the index and let compounding do the work. Yet 2025 introduced a quieter development. While…

Contributed by: Timothy Smith, CFP® Why January–February Is the Most Important Tax Window of the Year The most important tax planning window of the year isn’t March or April. It’s January and February. In a high-rate, high-deficit environment—where federal debt continues to expand and future tax increases remain a realistic policy response—early-year tax strategy has become one of the most powerful…

Contributed by: Brian Sak, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC® Market volatility is often discussed as an investment concern. From an estate planning perspective, it is more accurately a valuation event. When asset prices fluctuate, the cost of transferring wealth changes, sometimes dramatically. For families with taxable estates, these periods can create opportunities to improve long term outcomes if they are deliberately…

As covered in our 401(k) – Super Roth article, a Roth IRA offers an attractive tax benefit. But, what do you do if you do not have a 401(k) or your 401(k) does not allow post-tax contributions? The answer is the Backdoor Roth which is the conversion from a Traditional to a Roth IRA. Both the Super Roth and Back Door options are for people who exceed the income limits (single filers that make over $168,000…

Authored by: Derek J. Taylor For high net worth investors, portfolio construction extends well beyond traditional public markets. While public equities and fixed income remain foundational, they are increasingly insufficient on their own to address the complexity of modern wealth objectives—capital preservation, long-term growth, income generation, and downside resilience across market cycles. At Granite…

Getting Started with Private Markets as part of a Comprehensive Investment Strategy for Accredited Investors. Private Market Investing has become increasingly popular over the years as investors seek higher returns in a low-interest-rate environment and an alternative to the daily volatility of the public markets1. Private Markets can be a profitable venture for the right investor. While investing…

Ensuring compliance while managing personal investments is a significant challenge for senior executives and directors of public companies. Company trading policies often impose restrictions to prevent conflicts of interest and insider trading, making it difficult for executives to sell shares. However, Rule 10b5-1 trading plans offer a solution. This article provides an in-depth look at these plans,…

Contributed by: Austin Manning, CFP® In periods of market uncertainty or exuberance, investors often find themselves tempted to adjust their portfolios in reaction to short-term movements. It’s a natural impulse—markets are dynamic, news cycles are constant, and the pace of change can be dizzying. But this raises an important question for any serious investor: what is the right way to position a portfolio…

Understanding Premium Financing Premium Financing represents a sophisticated financial strategy that involves the procurement of a bank loan to pay for insurance premiums. This approach is particularly advantageous for high-net-worth individuals seeking to preserve their use of capital in other areas, while securing desired life insurance coverage for liquidity planning. The Mechanics of Premium Financing Premium…

As you prepare for retirement with confidence, we wanted to share key findings from Ernst & Young's newly released 2025 study, 'Holistic Planning: Integrating Insurance Products for Better Outcomes in Retirement' The 2025 study by Ernst & Young on incorporating life insurance and guaranteed income strategies into a holistic financial plan expands on its 2021 study and further validates that…

Contributed by: Austin Manning, CFP Retirement planning for corporate executives involves far more than deciding when to exit the workforce. With deferred compensation packages, concentrated stock positions, non-qualified plans, and golden parachutes in the mix, the path to financial independence is layered with complexity. One often overlooked tool in managing this transition is the annuity – a word…

Contributed by: Caleb Christian, CFP, CLU, ChFC Reconsidering Life Insurance: Seven Misunderstandings Wealthy Families Should Avoid Among individuals with significant wealth, life insurance is often viewed as unnecessary. With assets sufficient to cover family needs, taxes, and liabilities, the assumption is that life insurance serves little purpose. Yet this view overlooks how insurance can function…