Building long-term wealth is about more than growing your portfolio. As your assets increase, so does the need to manage taxes, preserve wealth, maintain liquidity, and plan for future generations. Many high-net-worth investors are also moving beyond the traditional mix of stocks and bonds by adding private and alternative investments to their portfolios. In this guide, we cover the investment strategies commonly used to build and protect long-term wealth. You'll learn about

As wealth grows, the tax picture around it gets more complex too. Income tax, capital gains tax, and estate tax can each take a meaningful share of accumulated wealth. This is especially true when planning only happens at the last minute. In 2025, the top marginal income tax rate sits at 37%. Many high earners also face the 3.8% net investment income tax on top of that. These layers can add up over a lifetime. This guide covers tax strategies that high-net-worth individuals m

Charitable giving can be a meaningful way to support the causes that matter to you while also offering potential tax benefits. Depending on your financial situation, certain charitable giving strategies may help manage taxable income, address capital gains considerations, or complement broader wealth and estate planning objectives. According to Giving USA 2025, Americans donated a record $592.5 billion to charity in 2024, including $392.45 billion from individual donors. Unde

According to the First Citizens Bank 2025 Wealth Survey, high-income Americans now estimate they need an average of $4.1 million to retire comfortably. However, retirement planning becomes more complex as wealth increases. In many cases, it creates new challenges that require a more strategic approach. High-net-worth retirement strategies go beyond basic saving and investing. The goal is to create a reliable income, manage tax exposure, protect wealth, and leave a meaningful

Attention Clients! Hello! I have so much information this month, there is room for only one picture! Asher and I did a father-son weekend at Daytona in February for the 24-hour Rolex IMSA race! Think of it as “Ford vs. Ferrari!” IMPORTANT INFO FOR HFC CLIENTS! 2022 Tax Filing is Near If you are trying to make sure you have your correct 2022 Tax Documents in order, You’re Not Alone! If you are unsure, send us an email or give Stephen or me a call to verify what you should be o

John F. Wasik, Contributor Oct. 13, 2021 The Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment, or COLA, is going to be 5.9% next year. While that’s a nice bump for retirement benefits, don’t order the party favors just yet. Sure, everyone wants to keep pace with the cost of living. And Social Security is one of the few government programs to do that. Your 401(k) and IRA withdrawals are not indexed to inflation. You get dinged even more when you pay income taxes on that money. Keep i

Ron Carson, Contributor Oct. 12, 2021 The month of October is known for a lot of things, shorter days, cooler temperatures, falling leaves and the arrival of pumpkin spice everything—from baked goods to coffee, yogurt, smoothies, beer—and yes, even pumpkin spice turkey. It also marks the start of Medicare’s annual open enrollment period, which begins on October 7 and ends on December 15, 2021. Why is the start of open enrollment important? Even if you’re years away from eligi

Roger Whitney, Contributor Oct. 11, 2021 If you're within 5 years of retiring, you have a window of opportunity. Don't miss it. A little intentionality now can set the stage for a successful retirement. Years ago, I planned a backpacking trip through the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. I started by casting my vision for my adventure: the trails I'd hike, the team I'd work with, the sights I wanted to see. Then I started working on the logistics and assessing my equipment, deciding o

Unlike stock investors, those who invest in bonds usually have a way to gauge how risky an investment might be. It’s the rating assigned to the bond by a credit rating agency, with triple-A being the agency’s best rating. However, not every triple-A rating means precisely the same thing. In fact, two bonds with that same rating can present different possibilities regarding timely repayment of principal. Here’s why: 1. The ratings are relative to the sector. A fundamental fact

Depending on your age and circumstances, retirement can feel far away and mysterious or achingly close and excitement (or panic)...

The sooner you start saving, the less you have to put away each month to accumulate the needed funds for retirement. For example, say as...

Saving money is a bit like exercising. We all know how important both are, but it can be hard to actually get into the habit of doing either. Here are five reasons to help keep you motivated. 1. You’ll Be Prepared for Emergencies Here’s an alarming fact: most Americans don’t have enough money saved to cover even relatively small unexpected expenses, such as emergency room co-pays, minor car repairs, or a broken furnace. Without cash on hand to cover these irregular but inevit

Protecting your financial accounts and information is extremely important. Here are some steps to help you: Passwords and PINs Create strong passwords that contain numbers, letters, and symbols, and don’t share them or store them on your computer. If you need to write down your passwords and PINs, put them in a secure place. You should change your passwords and PINs on a regular basis. Keep Your Computer Secure It is best to always use your own computer or device to access yo

A pension plan has become exceedingly rare, or at least that’s the conventional wisdom. But that doesn’t mean pensions are not still an...

Your asset allocation mix represents your personal decisions about how much of your portfolio to allocate to various investment...

Everyone’s goals for retirement are different. Maybe your dream is to travel the world; maybe it’s to live closer to your grandchildren....

Despite the natural pull investors may feel toward stocks similar to those they’ve had good experiences with, the best way to reduce risk in stock portfolios is to diversify. Diversification is a practice investors use to reduce risk in their stock portfolios, as well as maximizing returns by investing in various industries that will most likely react differently to the same event in the market. To make wise investment decisions, investors must be aware of the two types of ri

Tax-loss harvesting is choosing to sell some investments at a loss to reduce taxes on realized capital gains from other investments. The...

To make sure your retirement isn’t derailed, consider these tips: 1. Start saving now. Because of the power of compounding, starting to save for retirement just a few years earlier can make a huge difference at the end. For example, a 30-year-old puts $400 per month into a tax-deferred retirement plan (like a 401(k)), which generates $1,015 per month in retirement income for 30 years beginning at age 65. For the 35 years that the individual is saving (from age 30 to 65), she

Many people believe they don’t need a will. But how valid are the more common reasons for not preparing a will? Your estate is too...