A View from Four Blocks Away On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange — four blocks from the World Trade Center. It was a clear, stunning September morning in a city that felt invincible. In the days and weeks that followed, as the […]
Planning for the Family You Actually Have Families rarely fit into one neat box — and that’s especially true today. Estate planning for blended families, single parents, unmarried couples, grandparents raising grandchildren, and other non-traditional family structures is more common than ever. My own family recently grew in a non-traditional and wonderful way. However, while families have evolved, many financial and […]
Being wealthy on paper doesn’t always mean having access to cash when you need it — a reality often described as being asset rich, cash poor. For business owners who haven’t yet exited their company, families with generational wealth concentrated in real estate, or investors holding significant stakes in private equity, high net worth and low liquidity can coexist — and that […]
You’ve built something extraordinary. A business, a portfolio, a legacy. But significant wealth — the kind that spans operating companies, private holdings, and multi-entity structures — rarely fits neatly into the frameworks most financial advisors are built around. The Problem With Fragmented Advice For most ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families, the status quo looks something like […]
Recently, I’ve been reflecting on a handful of conversations I have had with clients over the years. Each situation was very different on the surface, but together they all pointed back to the same underlying truth about this business and about the role that money plays in people’s lives. One conversation began when a gentleman […]
Over the years, I’ve worked with many successful business owners as they transition from running a company to managing the wealth created from its sale. What often surprises them most is not the complexity of investing the proceeds — it’s how much of the sale price ultimately goes to taxes. In many cases, the transaction […]
Your investment plan is a reflection of your financial plan; your financial plan is a reflection of your life. “Plans are nothing, but planning is everything.” That quote is often attributed to Dwight D. Eisenhower. Whether he said it exactly that way is almost irrelevant. The principle is what matters. A financial plan is not […]
For ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families, wealth brings opportunity—but also complexity. Financial decisions no longer fit neatly in silos. Investment strategy intersects with tax planning, estate design, philanthropy, business ownership, and multigenerational family considerations. For families navigating complex wealth, selecting a financial advisor is ultimately about finding the right long-term partner. What matters most is an advisor’s […]
There’s a saying many families hear long before they ever meet an advisor: “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.” It’s usually shared as a cautionary tale. Sometimes by a parent who built a business from nothing, sometimes by a grandparent who watched a family fortune quietly disappear. The phrase endures because it feels uncomfortably familiar. […]
Are you raising kids while also helping aging parents – financially, emotionally, and logistically? If so, you’re not alone. This “sandwich generation” season can feel like you’re pulled in two directions at once, especially when life is already full. Here’s the hopeful part: you don’t have to do it all, and you don’t have to […]
