Clients
Our clients are individuals and families who have moved beyond providing for their basic needs, who already have choices about how they save, invest and spend their money, who can go beyond financial survival to enabling a meaningful life.
They are from all occupations – entrepreneurs, professionals, artists and home creators – but they want a financial partnership based on the foundation of relationship and understanding. They value our expertise in helping them devise a great financial strategy to make good choices, protect and grow their money and think clearly about their future.
Because we’ve developed a skill set to help clients think and plan for expected and unexpected transitions, we attract clients who want or must plan for change. Divorce. Death of a spouse. Inheritance. Midlife career change. Entrepreneurial succession planning. Retirement. Your challenging transition is where we do our best work.
MIDLIFE CAREER CHANGE
We live longer than ever and there is more disruption than ever. Very few people will go through life pursuing the same career. We look for different things after midlife – meaning and purpose. We’ve developed tools to help our clients with their decision-making process during this time, to allow them to weigh up their options and take action towards a fulfilling second half of life.
DIVORCE
Divorce can be devastating for the financial future of one or both parties if navigated poorly, particularly as money is often the main point of contention. Our experience shows that the sooner we become involved in the financial planning aspect of divorce, and work with the mediators or lawyers, the better the outcome for both parties. We advise on the most tax-efficient structuring of the divorce settlement and include robust cash flow projections in our work. We walk with our clients through the entire process, helping them navigate the negotiations. Through our empowering educational work, we help those who have not been involved in managing the family’s finances gain the confidence to make wise financial decisions during and after the divorce.
Recommended reads:
When is a spouse a legal spouse?
What does it really take to divorce well?
DEATH OF A SPOUSE
The lucky ones get a heads up that they need to get their affairs in order because they have little life left. Others leave without warning. Either way, losing a spouse, especially after a long marriage and when that spouse handled the money, is hard. We help our clients prepare for this process and difficult time. It doesn’t need to be harder than necessary because of insufficient preparation or unempathetic advisors. We understand the grieving process, that you need to take it one step at a time and that some days are not good for making decisions. We deal with the money stuff so that you can deal with grieving.
Recommended reads:
What do I do when my loved one dies?
What will I do if my spouse leaves me out of their Will?
Excon and the proceeds of a deceased estate
ENTREPRENEURIAL PLANNING
You have worked hard to build your business from scratch, and you’ve achieved success, but it has come at a price. Often, the price is that you have left behind your own personal finances, your own planning, or your administration. It may be time to review your planning. How will you extract value from your business? How will you derive income in retirement? How do you deal with the risk of having all your wealth tied up in a business that is possibly dependent on you? How do you diversify without paying too much tax? We understand these questions, not only because we have built our own business from scratch, but because we have worked with entrepreneurs for years.
RETIREMENT
Retirement is no longer just planning for a day when your formal employment comes to an end. It is about the potential decades of life left after that day. Planning for that life, and how to afford it, has become complex but we also have more tools than ever at our disposal to help you think through scenarios and calculate the probability of success.
Recommended reads:
You may not die from old age but from retirement
The biggest financial risks in retirement
GENERATIONAL PLANNING AND INHERITANCE
This generational transfer of wealth will be the largest in history. Planning for the transfer of a large inheritance, and receiving such a life-changing inheritance, both present challenges. We understand that inheritance can stir emotions such as guilt, which could hamper clear decision making. We already help many three-generation families think through these dilemmas and help them plan for it.
Recommended read: