Introduction
We’re a Fee-Only Financial Planning and Investment Management (no products sold, no commissions) firm in Berkeley Heights, NJ. We opened our doors in 2004. We work with clients throughout New Jersey and nationwide. Our typical clients are individuals and families with at least $1.5 million of investments. We specialize in working with women. We’re honored to be awarded a “Real Financial Professional Consumer Commitment” Certificate (2018) by www.Advisors4Advisors.com and to be a “Five Star Professional Wealth Manager,” 2016-19.
We welcome new clients. Our investment minimum is $1.5 million. Please contact us if you’d like to learn more about our services.
We adhere to a Fiduciary Oath that puts our clients’ needs before our own at all times. We take a 360 degree view of planning and investments. By working closely with our clients, we replace uncertainty and chaos with prudent investment management and financial planning principles. This gives our clients peace of mind. We have over 30 years of professional investment experience.
Services
Investment Management
We design low cost, high quality portfolios that are integrated with client needs for both growth and income. We rebalance regularly and adjust client portfolios as their needs change. Click on “Learn More” for detailed information.
Financial Planning
We leave no stone unturned. We help transform chaos into order for our financial planning and investment clients by assembling a step-by-step plan of action. Each client has his or her own financial road map which outlines the best approach toward estate planning, insurance, investment design, tax minimization, executive compensation or other relevant areas.
Why Fee Only?
Our Fee-Only approach to planning and portfolio management is not clouded by product sales or split commissions.We charge a percentage on the investment assets we manage to cover detailed financial planning and investment management. Our fee structure is transparent. The Fee-Only model is a perfect fit with our Fiduciary Oath to put our clients’ needs before our own at all times.
More Services
Tax Planning
We work with CPAs (our own “team” or existing client CPAs) on tax projection work to minimize annual taxes. Example: Jill is retired and wants to tap her taxable account for funds. We determine that she can tap e.g. $30,000 from her IRA in one year and avoid virtually all ordinary income taxes, while drawing the balance of funds she needs from a taxable account.
We utilize tax-managed mutual funds for taxable accounts, whenever possible, the minimize capital gains taxes.
Executive Compensation Assessment
Some of our clients have an array of stock options and Restricted Stock Units that contribute significantly to their net worth. We utilize The Black-Scholes model and other strategies to determine the optimal timing for exercising and/or selling executive compensation; we work together with a CPA in this area to optimize value and minimize taxes.
Estate Planning
What are the best ways to gift to family and charity while our clients are alive, and after they have passed away? State and federal guidelines constantly are changing. We work with “best in class” estate attorneys to make sure our clients’ needs are addressed.
Insurance and Annuities
We work together with insurance specialists in the area of life, disability and long-term care insurance. As a Fee-Only firm, we don’t sell insurance or other products. We make sure our clients secure the best insurance for the best price to address gaps in financial planning. We don’t sell annuities but we do work with a specialist to assess existing annuities to see if they truly are needed or if they can be terminated or rolled over to save our clients money.
Founder
National Advisors Week
2019 Five Star New Jersey Wealth Manager
From the Blog
5 Lessons Learned from the 10 Year US Bull Market
Create PDFPrintBy Eve Kaplan, CFP® We’re celebrating 10 years of a remarkable bull market in US stocks. Here are 5 lessons reinforced during this time: Lesson 1: Stay the Course When Things Get Rough The 2008-09 crash seemed to be The End of the World because the entire banking system (with knock-on effects worldwide) was […]
Does It Pay Off To Invest In A Financial Plan?
Create PDFPrintBy Eve Kaplan, CFP® Professional Does it pay off to have a financial plan in place? Thanks to a number of new studies, it’s possible to answer this question clearly and unambiguously: Yes. One such study by Morningstar* tracked households over 15 years and ranked their financial soundness and the quality of their financial […]
Women – Especially “Suddenly Single” Women – Are At Greater Risk of Outliving Their Money
Create PDFPrintBy Eve Kaplan, Certified Financial Planner™ Women run a higher risk of outliving their money in retirement than men. The risk is even greater for single women – especially women in the lowest pre-retirement wage earning quartile (meaning the lowest 25% of wage earners). In addition to low income-earning women, women who are “suddenly […]
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