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What to do with Your 401(k) after Leaving a Job: Key Considerations & Advanced Tax Strategies When navigating a job transition, whether entering retirement or an unexpected layoff, one crucial aspect that requires careful consideration is what to do with your 401(k) plan. Making informed choices is of utmost importance to safeguard your financial future. By taking stock of your existing plan and…

Granite Harbor Managing Partner Brian W. Sak, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®, has been recognized as one of the 2026 Forbes Top Financial Security Professionals, earning a place among the Top 50 professionals nationwide. In addition, Brian was one of only two professionals selected by Forbes for an exclusive feature profile highlighting his approach to helping clients make confident financial decisions. Read Brian's…

What to do with Your 401(k) after Leaving a Job: Key Considerations & Advanced Tax Strategies When navigating a job transition, whether entering retirement or an unexpected layoff, one crucial aspect that requires careful consideration is what to do with your 401(k) plan. Making informed choices is of utmost importance to safeguard your financial future. By taking stock of your existing plan and…

Authored by: Brian W. Sak, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC® For decades, retirement planning centered around a relatively straightforward question: “Will I have enough?” For today’s affluent families, that question has evolved into something far more nuanced. The modern retirement challenge is no longer simply about accumulating assets. It is about preserving autonomy, flexibility, and family harmony during what…

Contributed by: Dale Shaw, CFP®, RICP® In today’s digital world, wealth extends far beyond traditional bank accounts, investment portfolios, and physical property. Much of our financial life, personal history, and valuable information now exists online. From cryptocurrency wallets and cloud storage to online banking credentials and social media accounts, digital assets have become an essential part…

Authored by: Tom Kelley, MBA For many investors, portfolio success is often measured by account growth or annual returns. Perhaps a more meaningful goal is whether a portfolio can maintain the purchasing power necessary to support long term goals, lifestyle needs, and family legacy. Inflation may appear manageable in any single year, but over decades its cumulative effect can materially reduce the…

Authored by: Derek J. Taylor From the Limited Partner (LP) Perspective For limited partner investors, the structure of a private multi-asset fund is not just about diversification—it is a powerful driver of after-tax return optimization. Through partnership taxation, strategic income blending, and timing flexibility, LPs can benefit from a range of tax efficiencies that are difficult to replicate in…

Authored by: Nicholas M. Brown, CFA, CFP® I will admit, I love watching the TV show Billions. It is compelling television, full of sharp dialogue and larger than life personalities. If you have never seen it, the show mainly follows the back-and-forth of a hedge fund manager named Bobby Axelrod and a series of ongoing antagonists. He is the quintessential financial genius, recognizing patterns where…

Authored by: Derek Taylor, Managing Partner, Granite Harbor Capital | Mariner Capital Opportunity Fund I Over the past several years, the multifamily investment landscape has undergone a significant transition. Rising interest rates, elevated construction costs, and a historic wave of new supply have reshaped underwriting assumptions across the United States. Yet amid this turbulence, the multifamily…

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: Granite Harbor Advisors 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…

Authored by: Nicholas M. Brown, CFA, CFP® I will admit, I love watching the TV show Billions. It is compelling television, full of sharp dialogue and larger than life personalities. If you have never seen it, the show mainly follows the back-and-forth of a hedge fund manager named Bobby Axelrod and a series of ongoing antagonists. He is the quintessential financial genius, recognizing patterns where…

Authored by: Brian W. Sak, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC® What if the traditional approach to retirement planning—accumulate assets, shift to bonds, and draw income—misses a meaningful part of the opportunity set? For many high-income families and business owners, retirement is not simply about replacing income. It is about sustaining a lifestyle, preserving optionality, managing taxes, and ultimately transferring…

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…