Our Services
Tax Planning
For me, aren’t taxes simply a given? Isn’t innovative tax planning relevant only to the super-rich?
Not at all. While there are no magic bullets, practical and transparent strategies help one balance their civic duty and personal wealth. For instance, we tax-loss harvest investments and use low-basis stock to make charitable donations. We facilitate 83(b) elections for employer stock and 1031 exchanges for real estate investments. Over time, small improvements can make a big difference.
Retirement Planning
How should I save before retirement? How should I spend in retirement?
Gryphon guides your choices in how to accumulate retirement wealth as well as how to maximize cash flow after your working years. There’s more to saving than the 401(k) and IRA. A small business owner could save tens of thousands in a SEP IRA, and magnitudes more in a Cash Balance Plan. A corporate employee can defer hundreds of thousands into a Deferred Compensation Plan. Both can use a Health Savings Account to save long-term for retirement, like an IRA. During retirement, you can maximize cash flow and minimize taxes by structuring social security benefits along with distributions from traditional IRAs, Roths, Cash Balance Plans, and Deferred Compensation Plans.
Insurance Planning
Isn’t insurance opaque and expensive? Don’t the “experts” always opine about how the market is broken, while the many agents give “advice” that always recommends buying more expensive coverage?
We are unaffiliated with and receive no compensation from any insurance company, so we can address your insurance issues objectively. We understand that insurance coverage can be complicated and highly dependent on other financial variables. When transitioning from one job to another, you must weigh COBRA coverage versus a short-term health insurance plan. If self-employed or a small business owner, you must decide on the right coverage for yourself and what you can afford for your employees. Rising long-term care premiums scare off many, but for some policyholders the protection is a godsend. You’re confronting decisions regarding term or permanent life insurance, such as which to own, if/when to convert the former into the latter, and how to invest the cash value.
Estate Planning
Should I own my house, or should my trust? Do I need a special trust for our life insurance? If I die unexpectedly, who will oversee my children’s inheritance?
Estate issues go far beyond a will or trust. In order to avoid the forced sale of illiquid assets, you need to make sure your estate has a ready source of cash. It’s often not immediately clear what entity should be the beneficiary of retirement plans and insurance policies. The wrong designation could give millions to immature heirs not qualified to manage the funds or could result in premature taxable distributions. For you, estate tax considerations may necessitate more complex strategies, such as a grantor retained annuity trust. At times, the complexities are so dense, they might as well be written in Greek, and lawyers’ billable hours add up quickly. Working alongside your attorneys, we can help interpret and administer your estate plan.
Investment Planning
Why pay an advisor to manage the portfolio when I could buy and hold index funds? Isn’t it well-established that active management trails the market, and charges you high fees for the courtesy?
We are not portfolio-churning stock-pickers, and we don’t buy fads. Our investment services provides you with comprehensive and customized performance reporting on your whole portfolio so you can see the entirety of your performance, not obscured across a dozen individual statements. When transacting, we aggregate your assets at a firm-wide level, allowing us to pay lower fees because of economies of scale. You may have idiosyncratic holdings – for example, a large amount of employer stock – that don’t fit neatly into the index fund box. Your portfolio may need to meet various goals at different time horizons, such as a home purchase in the short-term, and in many years a bequest to your university. We customize portfolios to these needs. Rather than predicting market gyrations, we exploit the very few, most robust sources of outperformance, such as the value and illiquidity premiums. We minimize fees and capital gains taxes in order to maximize return. We’re patient and prudent.
Cash Flow Planning
How much can I afford to spend on a new house without jeopardizing my retirement? Do I make enough money to care for my aging parents?
Most corporations have a full team of employees dedicated to tracking their budget. Many households don’t know what they spent last week. The daunting nature of budget-tracking deters most, but like businesses, households need clarity on their current and future cash flows in order to make optimal financial decisions. It begins with gathering and organizing the facts. We use your easily accessible spending and income data, such as credit card statements and W-2’s, to model your cash flows. These models form the basis of many of our recommendations, and they help to uncover unseen “money pits” that jeopardize your future financial independence. Shedding light on the cash flow illuminates the entire plan.
Saving for Education
I can see the university’s expenses on their website, but how much will I really be paying? Can I save more in my children’s college savings account without jeopardizing my retirement? What is the best way for me to help with my grandchildren’s tuition?
Paying for college seems akin to healthcare. The list price is surprisingly high, but few pay that amount. During the college consideration and application process, it can be unclear how much a family will pay and what will be subsidized by other sources. We have experience helping many through the college years. We provide clarity on what you may expect to pay, and create a plan to fund it. We use tax-deductible 529 savings plans and when appropriate advise on where and how to take out student loans. Our advice allows you to balance the cost of college with their other financial obligations.
Business Consulting
How should I be considering my personal financial plan when making decisions for my business? Are there strategies that can benefit both pursuits?
Owning a business promises satisfying autonomy and the reward of building an enterprise from the ground up. It also creates many opportunities for innovative financial planning. We work with your attorneys to determine the best form of ownership, and how best to structure your business’ balance sheet. We work with your accountants to take advantage of business tax deductions, maximize tax-deferred savings, and minimize taxable net income. We’ll help establish a 401(k) and/or Cash Balance Plan, and oversee the selection of other benefits, such as health insurance. Entrepreneurs drive economic ingenuity and innovation. Think of Gryphon as being in the passenger seat, providing the necessary navigation.