Comprehensive Plan + Ongoing Risk Management + Time = Success!
Financial success isn’t the result of chance — it’s the outcome of clear planning, disciplined execution, and long-term perspective. At Independent Investment Advisors, we partner with clients to create personalized strategies that evolve with their lives and the markets.
We work collaboratively with your broader team of professionals such as CPA’s, estate attorneys, and other advisors to ensure every piece of your financial life is connected and working toward the same goals. Our approach avoids unnecessary complexity and illiquidity, focusing instead on transparent, proven strategies: diversified portfolios of equities, ETFs, bonds, real estate investment trusts, and carefully selected managers. Where appropriate, we also employ advanced tools such as options strategies to manage risk or define investment outcomes.
Client Focus & Approach
We provide integrated, comprehensive wealth management services — including financial planning, tax strategies, and investment portfolio management — for individuals, families, estates, trusts, and business owners.
Every new client relationship begins with an in-depth discovery process. We assess your investable assets, goals, constraints, and risk tolerance, often in collaboration with your other trusted professionals such as estate attorneys, tax advisors, and CPA’s.
From this foundation, we design a customized investment strategy tailored to your objectives. Portfolios are implemented thoughtfully and adjusted over time, with allocation changes made in response to both market conditions and your evolving needs.
Integrated Comprehensive Financial Planning
We believe financial planning is not a one-time project but an ongoing process that evolves with your life. Our planning services integrate all areas of wealth management — investments, taxes, retirement, Insurance, estate, and beyond — into a single, coordinated strategy.
Core Financial Planning Services
Every client engagement begins with a holistic financial plan that addresses the essentials of financial well-being:
Retirement Planning
- Build a Personalized Roadmap – Develop a clear plan to achieve financial independence, tailored to your lifestyle goals and long-term vision.
- Structure Reliable Income Streams – Coordinate savings, investments, Social Security, pensions, and other sources to create sustainable retirement income.
- Optimize Withdrawals – Sequence withdrawals strategically across taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free accounts to extend portfolio longevity and improve tax efficiency.
- Plan for Longevity and Risks – Account for healthcare costs, inflation, and potential market downturns so your retirement plan adapts to changing conditions.
Tax Planning
- Integrate Tax Efficiency Across Your Portfolio – Design investment strategies that minimize tax drag and maximize after-tax returns.
- Manage Equity Compensation – Develop tailored strategies for RSUs, ESPPs, and stock options to reduce tax surprises and improve after-tax value.
- Coordinate with Your CPA – Partner with your tax professional to implement advanced tax strategies with accuracy and consistency.
- Leverage Strategic Timing – Identify opportunities such as Roth conversions, charitable giving, or tax-loss harvesting to lower overall tax liability.
Estate Planning
- Align Wealth with Legacy Goals – Ensure your estate plan reflects your financial objectives, family values, and multi-generational priorities.
- Coordinate Estate Documents – Work alongside estate attorneys to establish or update wills, trusts, and charitable giving strategies.
- Review Beneficiary Designations – Confirm accounts are properly structured to transfer assets efficiently and according to your wishes.
- Minimize Potential Estate Taxes – Explore strategies to reduce tax exposure and preserve more wealth for heirs and charitable causes.
Education Planning
- Create Tax-Advantaged Savings Strategies – Use 529 plans, custodial accounts, and other tools to maximize growth while reducing tax impact.
- Plan for Multiple Generations – Design funding strategies for children, grandchildren, or other loved ones, aligned with your broader financial plan.
- Balance Competing Priorities – Coordinate education savings goals with retirement, tax, and investment strategies to ensure financial balance.
- Review Funding Flexibility – Evaluate trust-based solutions or other vehicles that provide both control and adaptability for future education needs.
Advanced Planning Solutions
For clients with complex needs, we offer specialized planning strategies that address unique financial circumstances:
Equity Compensation & Concentrated Stock Planning
- Manage Concentrated Wealth Risks – Develop strategies to reduce the financial risks tied to large equity positions or employer stock holdings.
- Optimize Equity Compensation Timing – Evaluate when to exercise stock options and sell RSUs/ESPP shares to balance tax efficiency with growth potential.
- Diversify Thoughtfully – Create structured diversification strategies that reduce single-stock risk while protecting long-term wealth.
- Maximize After-Tax Outcomes – Coordinate equity decisions with tax planning to capture more value and reduce surprises.
Risk Management & Insurance Planning
- Identify Key Financial Risks – Assess potential risks such as disability, liability, or loss of income that could affect your long-term financial goals.
- Integrate Insurance Strategically – Align insurance solutions (life, disability, long-term care, liability coverage) with your broader wealth management plan.
- Coordinate with Estate & Tax Planning – Ensure protection strategies are consistent with your estate plan, tax considerations, and legacy goals.
- Adapt Coverage Over Time – Regularly review insurance needs as careers evolve, families grow, and wealth accumulates.
Business & Succession Planning
- Prepare for Liquidity Events – Develop strategies for selling, transitioning, or passing down your business while safeguarding personal wealth.
- Integrate Business & Personal Wealth – Align business ownership decisions with family financial planning and retirement strategies.
- Support Family-Owned Business Transitions – Design succession plans that preserve both the business and family harmony across generations.
- Plan for Growth & Exit – Balance reinvestment in business growth with long-term exit strategies that protect your legacy.
Debt & Credit Planning
- Use Leverage Strategically – Structure debt in ways that support wealth-building opportunities without creating unnecessary financial strain.
- Optimize Credit Access – Improve borrowing terms and access to credit while keeping overall costs manageable.
- Balance Debt with Goals – Ensure debt decisions align with retirement, investment, and tax strategies.
- Enhance Financial Flexibility – Create a plan for repayment and refinancing to maintain liquidity and adaptability over time.
An Ongoing Partnership
Our financial planning process is not static. As your life evolves — career transitions, liquidity events, retirement, or generational planning — we revisit and adjust your plan to keep you aligned with your goals.
Investment Portfolio Management
Our investment philosophy is rooted in discipline, diversification, and alignment with each client’s unique goals, tax profile, and risk tolerance. Every portfolio is customized and may include both core strategies for long-term stability and advanced solutions for clients with more specialized needs.
Core Strategies
These approaches form the foundation of most client portfolios:
Allocated Portfolio
- Diversified Across Asset Classes – Build portfolios with a mix of equities, bonds, ETFs, and carefully selected professional managers to reduce risk and enhance stability.
- Balanced Geographic Exposure – Maintain a U.S.-weighted focus while incorporating global investments where appropriate for broader diversification.
- Dynamic Allocation Adjustments – Review and adjust allocations regularly based on client needs, economic trends, and market opportunities.
- Long-Term Goal Alignment – Structure portfolios around mid- to long-term objectives such as retirement, legacy planning, or wealth preservation.
Tactical Portfolio
- Active Management Approach – Designed for clients with higher risk tolerance who seek to take advantage of shorter-term opportunities.
- Flexible Investment Tools – Utilize ETFs, individual securities, and options to respond quickly to market trends and opportunities.
- Responsive Allocation Shifts – Adjust allocations proactively in response to changing economic data, market volatility, or client circumstances.
- Higher Engagement Strategy – Provide more frequent oversight and decision-making for clients who prefer an active investment approach.
Defined Outcome Portfolio
- Moderate Growth with Boundaries – Target growth potential within defined outcome ranges to create clarity around possible results.
- Options-Based Structuring – Use ETFs and options to shape return profiles, manage downside risk, and capture opportunities efficiently.
- Actively Managed Positions – Monitor and adjust positions to stay aligned with client goals and evolving market conditions.
- Suited for Balanced Investors – Ideal for those seeking growth but with clearer expectations around risk and reward.
Advanced Solutions
For clients with more complex wealth management needs, we provide specialized investment approaches that enhance customization, tax efficiency, and diversification.
Direct Indexing Strategies
- Own Individual Securities – Replicate an index by directly owning its underlying securities, rather than holding a single ETF or mutual fund.
- Enhance Tax Efficiency – Use tax-loss harvesting at the individual security level to offset gains and improve after-tax results.
- Customize Exposure – Adjust index holdings to manage concentrated stock positions, avoid overlap with employer stock, or reduce sector concentration.
- Incorporate Values-Based Investing – Personalize portfolios by excluding certain industries or overweighting companies that align with your values and priorities.
- Flexible & Transparent Approach – Gain greater control over portfolio construction while maintaining broad market exposure.
Alternative Investments (for qualified investors)
- Expand Diversification Beyond Traditional Markets – Access strategies with return drivers not directly correlated to stocks and bonds.
- Potential for Enhanced Risk-Adjusted Returns – Incorporate alternatives that may help manage volatility and improve long-term outcomes.
- Broad Range of Options – Depending on suitability, strategies may include private equity, private credit, hedge funds, real estate, infrastructure, or structured products.
- Carefully Evaluated for Fit – Each opportunity is assessed for liquidity, risk profile, and alignment with your overall wealth management strategy.
- Integrated into the Bigger Picture – Ensure that alternative holdings complement your core portfolio, estate plan, and tax strategy.
Our Role as Fiduciary Advisors
Whether your portfolio is built on core strategies alone or enhanced with advanced solutions, our role is the same:
- Ensure each strategy aligns with your goals and risk tolerance.
- Integrate investments with your tax, estate, and financial planning.
- Provide ongoing monitoring and adjustments as markets and your life change.
