Fit

After thousands of meetings over 11 years, I’ve learned how important fit is for an advisory relationship. When it’s right, people achieve goals and money becomes one less thing to worry about. When it’s wrong, people feel like they’re speaking different languages.

My goal is to give people ongoing advice in a way I can happily sustain for decades, not to scale and sell a business. All of my recent clients have come through referrals, so this website has gone from a funnel for attracting people to a filter for finding the right few.

Who I serve

My most common clients are tech workers, doctors, people who own or have sold a business, engineers, accountants, widows, and people who inherited wealth.

They are in one of two life stages:

1. In their working years, advice centers on how much to save and where, how to invest, simplifying scattered accounts, minimizing fees, whether they can afford a new home or a career change, dialing in insurance, what to do with stock compensation, and recalibrating finances as families grow.
2. Around retirement, it turns to how much they can safely spend and give, planning withdrawals, minimizing taxes, Medicare and Social Security, Roth conversions, making sure their spouse would be OK on their own, updating estate documents, and helping family.

For my fee to make sense, clients typically have $1 million in investments or a high enough income that they’ll get there soon.

Who I work best with

My best clients are willing to trust expertise. They ask in-depth questions and expect thoughtful answers, but once we’ve worked through a decision, they act.

They’re often, though not always, delegators. Some want to understand my reasoning, and others prefer to stay out of the weeds, but both want me to carry the load of making financial decisions. For them, delegating feels like relief rather than a loss of control.

They’re content with a great plan. Finances are a means to the life they want, not an identity-defining hobby. They’d rather stick with a plan built with time-tested ideas than endlessly chase new strategies.

Who I don’t work well with

I don’t work well with people who are habitually cynical. I welcome healthy skepticism, but when distrust is the starting point, many decisions become negotiations that never quite end.

Another mismatch is with people who see me as an investing peer, weighing my advice as one opinion among many. I don’t tell my mechanic which parts to use or my doctor which prescription is best. For each, I’ve found someone I trust. I tell them what I want, we talk it through, and ultimately I leave the how to them. If they keep my trust, I keep going back. If they lose it, I find someone else.

Investing hobbyists also tend to be a poor fit. They enjoy watching markets and frequently trading their own accounts, so they are happier on their own or with a different advisor.

Testing fit

If you find yourself nodding along to most of the ideas that shape my advice, we’ll probably work well together. If you find yourself arguing with many of them, we won’t.

The first few months of working together are the true test. As we make decisions and carry them out, I’ll either earn your trust or I won’t. If I do, I hope to help guide your financial decisions for years to come.

If this sounds like you, read about my process for getting started.