Active Tax Advisory
Year-round tax planning, built into every financial decision
Simplifying Taxes with Proactive Planning
At Acumen, our in-house CPA, a CFP® professional, and Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisors (CTFAs) work together as one team on each client’s tax picture.
Most people only think about taxes once a year, at filing time. We take a different approach. Tax planning is integral to maximizing and managing wealth, so we consider the tax implications of every decision across our clients’ financial, estate, and investment picture, year-round, not just in April.
Selling a business or expecting a major liquidity event?
See how our Exit and Succession Planning services coordinate tax structuring with your sale timeline.
Active Tax Management Services
- Tax Return Review: Examine tax returns for accuracy.
- Year-End Planning: Financial planning at year-end to optimize taxes and financial goals.
- Trusts and Estate Planning: Managing assets and wealth transfer according to legal and individual wishes.
- Asset Location: Strategically placing investments to improve tax efficiency.
- Tax Optimization: Implementing strategies designed to reduce tax liabilities and support tax-efficient growth when possible.
- Roth Conversion Analysis: Assessing whether converting retirement accounts makes sense for tax and long-term planning purposes.
- Tax-Loss Harvesting: Realizing losses if possible in taxable accounts to offset gains and manage the tax bill.
We take a thorough look at each client’s tax obligations and advise them every step of the way, working with their CPAs to prepare the necessary documentation. Once prepared, Acumen’s in-house CPA reviews our clients’ returns to help them avoid costly missteps and prepare for next year’s tax planning.
What Is Asset Location, and Why Does It Matter?
Asset location is deciding which type of account (taxable, tax-deferred, or tax-free) holds each of your investments, so that tax-inefficient holdings sit where they’re taxed least. It differs from asset allocation, which is the mix of investments you choose.
Acumen seeks to enhance after-tax returns through active tax management that combines security selection and asset location. In general:
- Tax-efficient investments belong in taxable accounts.
- Long-term, lower risk holdings also tend to fit taxable accounts.
- Income-producing and higher-turnover investments tend to fit tax-deferred or tax-free accounts.
- When trading, prioritize realizing losses first, then positions with no tax impact, and gains last.
The same thinking applies in retirement: knowing which accounts to draw from, and in what order, is crucial.
To potentially benefit from this strategy, clients must have both qualified and non-qualified accounts. Results depend on each client’s individual circumstances.
Trusts and Estate Planning
Protecting legacies is central to our mission at Acumen Wealth Advisors.
Many of our clients have considerable trusts and estates that need to be protected and properly managed from a generational wealth and tax perspective. Our goal is to help with their income tax strategies today and their trust and estate planning strategies for tomorrow. Having plans in place to protect and grow what matters most gives clients peace of mind: they need to know that what they’ve worked so hard to build will provide for generations to come.
Our fiduciary team understands the circumstances and wishes of each client, and the intricacies of estate planning, including:
- Tax-efficient wealth transfer strategies.
- Legacy through charitable gifting options.
- Assets and tax planning at death.
- Insurance review and strategic advice.
- Preserving family harmony and addressing unique situations.
- Assessing appropriate trust options.
We collaborate with clients’ attorneys to create and update several types of trusts, including:
- Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs)
- Charitable Lead Annuity Trusts (CLATs)
- Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts (CRATs)
- Revocable Trusts
- Irrevocable Trusts
Once trusts and estate plans are designed and structured, we work with clients’ attorneys to ensure those wishes are properly documented, preserving assets for generations while providing for loved ones and philanthropic goals.
Additional Services
In addition to tax and business advisory, we provide thoughtful financial planning and investment management, estate planning, charitable strategies, real estate investing, and private asset management services. Rather than just one advisor, each of our clients has their own team of in-house specialists.
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roadmap to Invest Intentionally®.
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