Introduction to the Firm

We are a State of California registered investment advisor that is required by law to act as a fiduciary for our clients.

We are a full-service, wealth manager that provides financial, tax, and estate planning, investment advice, and management as a single integrated service offered at a flat fee. Our services are focused on providing our clients with the financial, organizational, and psychological tools needed to become and remain financially independent. Talk to us about our household balance sheet approach to investing.

Our Approach to Wealth Management

At the heart of our firm's expertise lies a unique blend of financial theory and behavioral science. Sustainable financial independence is not just about numbers but also about relationships and achieving psychological autonomy. This is why we combine these two disciplines, offering a realistic approach to wealth management and financial planning and independence. The firm specializes in achieving sustainable financial independence through active balance sheet management, diversified asset ladders, and proactive risk management.

Client Education and Independence

We educate clients on how to understand their personal and financial situation so that they can make increasingly well-informed decisions. Compared to our competitors, our approach doesn't make clients dependent on our firm. Instead, the firm's approach makes our clients our partners in learning and understanding. We coach, educate, plan, and manage wealth in a structured and systematic manner. Our goal is to guide families and their finances to a place where they are confident that they can manage all aspects of their finances. At that point, they may continue to retain us to manage their wealth because they want to focus on other areas of life. Still, our goal is to set clients free, not to make them dependent on our services.

Risk Management and Comprehensive Advice

Wealth management is risk management; time and capital are always constrained. The risk of financial loss extends far beyond the financial markets. Therefore, the firm’s advise incorporates issues as diverse as household privacy and security issues, estate and tax planning, and more complex threats such as climate and political risk. We have developed a business model based on the observation that it's technically easy to save and invest but psychologically tricky. We have developed investment and planning models based on quantifiable risk capacity and observable human behaviors that can be insured against by building and maintaining high quality portfolios of investments that are diversified across time, economic region, and business sector.

Addressing Cognitive Bias and Building Resilience

Cognitive bias is real and prevents people from achieving sustainable financial independence. We have designed a set of knowledge-based investment and planning models that minimize the impact of cognitive bias on financial planning and wealth management. The quality of your relationships with money and people determines your individual capacity for financial independence. Together, we establish your current and projected income needs. Then, we ensure that you stay on the path to sustainable financial independence by monitoring your risk capacity on an ongoing basis.

The Process of Achieving Financial Independence

First, financial independence begins and ends on your Household Balance sheet and Cash Flow Statements. We determine what your desired annual expenses (liabilities) are. That is, how much you need to spend per year to not just meet your necessary expenses but to create your desired lifestyle. Second, we build a high quality bond portfolio that reliably produce enough income to match your annual liabilities. Third, we implement an adaptive strategy for the long-term maintenance of your portfolio. Fourth, we work with you to increase your capacity to observe your decisions and actions objectively. Without such objectivity, psychological autonomy is impossible; without psychological autonomy, financial independence is an exercise in randomness.

Functional and Effective Financial Advice and Management

The process begins and ends with the family balance sheet and the family's lifelong commitment to understanding themselves and how that's reflected in the financial, informational, and emotional balance sheet.