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Contributed by: Sam Gagne As 2025 draws to a close, many successful business owners are turning their attention to year-end financials; finalizing tax positions, assessing profitability, and preparing reports for key stakeholders. Amidst the routine financial housekeeping, there lies a more strategic and often overlooked priority: business succession planning. Succession planning is not a once in a…

Contributed by: Austin Manning, CFP® Why Early Year-End Planning Matters for High-Net-Worth Families The most effective year-end planning does not begin in December. It starts weeks earlier, when families still have the space to evaluate their financial picture in a thoughtful and coordinated way. Affluent families, business owners, and corporate executives understand that their financial lives are…

Contributed by: Dale Shaw, CFP®, RICP® As the final quarter of 2025 draws to a close, households with significant income face a familiar but often underused opportunity: proactive year-end tax planning. While the demands of business, family, and holiday schedules can understandably take center stage, those in higher tax brackets often stand to benefit the most from timely financial decisions made before…

Contributed by: Pijus Bulvinas, CFP® Every few years, the headlines return with a familiar sense of urgency: “Government Shutdown Looms.” For many Americans, this signals little more than a political standoff. But for others such as federal employees, contractors, and business owners with government clients, it can mean something far more personal: income disruption, operational uncertainty, and financial…

The IRS has finalized key provisions of the SECURE Act 2.0, and while these changes may appear technical, they carry important implications for families focused on long-term wealth preservation and legacy planning. If you have significant qualified retirement assets, own a business, or are focused on strategic tax and estate planning, here’s what you need to know. Qualified Retirement Accounts: Still…

Contributed by: Sam Gagne As 2025 draws to a close, many successful business owners are turning their attention to year-end financials; finalizing tax positions, assessing profitability, and preparing reports for key stakeholders. Amidst the routine financial housekeeping, there lies a more strategic and often overlooked priority: business succession planning. Succession planning is not a once in a…

Contributed by: Dale Shaw, CFP®, RICP® As the final quarter of 2025 draws to a close, households with significant income face a familiar but often underused opportunity: proactive year-end tax planning. While the demands of business, family, and holiday schedules can understandably take center stage, those in higher tax brackets often stand to benefit the most from timely financial decisions made before…

Contributed by: Austin Manning, CFP® Why Early Year-End Planning Matters for High-Net-Worth Families The most effective year-end planning does not begin in December. It starts weeks earlier, when families still have the space to evaluate their financial picture in a thoughtful and coordinated way. Affluent families, business owners, and corporate executives understand that their financial lives are…

Contributed by: Pijus Bulvinas, CFP® Every few years, the headlines return with a familiar sense of urgency: “Government Shutdown Looms.” For many Americans, this signals little more than a political standoff. But for others such as federal employees, contractors, and business owners with government clients, it can mean something far more personal: income disruption, operational uncertainty, and financial…

Authored by: Brian W. Sak, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC® For successful business owners and wealthy families, few tools offer the combination of control, tax efficiency, and estate planning flexibility that a Family Limited Partnership (FLP) can provide. But with that power comes complexity—and more than a few misconceptions. Used properly, FLPs enable families to retain control over significant assets, compress…

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…

Contributed by: Timothy Smith, CFP® In the world of wealth planning, quiet legislative changes often have an outsized impact on how families and business owners structure their estates, minimize taxes, and leave a legacy. The “Big Beautiful Bill” is a prime example. Though its title may sound casual, the potential implications for charitable legacy planning are anything but. Designed to modernize and…

Contributed by: Pijus Bulvinas, CFP & Richard Dorfman, Vice President, SRS Real Estate Partners Real estate investors are constantly seeking ways to maximize their returns while minimizing their tax liabilities. For those looking to sell appreciated property without incurring significant capital gains taxes, the 1031 exchange offers a powerful solution. Named after Section 1031 of the Internal…

Authored by: Nicholas Brown, CFA, CFP® In the ever-evolving world of tax legislation, clarity and consistency are rare luxuries. Yet that is precisely what the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the Act) aims to deliver—a sweeping tax reform package designed to bring permanence to key provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and introduce several notable changes affecting high income earners, small…

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…