Who We Serve
Each of our clients is unique, with specific concerns, goals and aspirations in life. At Orion, we aim to discover what is most important in each client’s life, then tailor a customized financial plan and investment strategy to pursue their objectives.
We serve a wide variety of clients, including individuals, families, trusts, corporations, retirement plans, pension plans and non-profit organizations.
Client Profiles
Richard & Mary
Ages 60 & 57
Key Concerns
- Do we have enough money to retire and live the life we desire?
- Will our family be OK if something was to happen to one or both of us?
- How do we maximize our retirement benefits for our goals, while at the same time ensuring we are not paying the IRS more than their due?
Other considerations
- Have two adult children and three grandchildren
- Would love to travel more
Richard & Mary’s Story
Richard and Mary are both nervous and excited about their future. Richard is retiring from his career in Government Services, and Mary is wrapping up her tenure as a teacher at a local school district. They are doting grandparents and looking forward to spending more time with the grandkids. Additionally, Richard and Mary have always wanted to travel more, and plan to kick off retirement with
Together, Richard and Mary have diligently saved $1.2 million in retirement accounts, and they are concerned if this money will last the rest of their lives. Additionally, they want to safeguard that if anything happened to either of them that the other is in good hands with competent and trusting wealth advisors. They want to know their family is taken care of. Last, they have questions about how to best tie everything together from their pensions, social security, and a smart distribution strategy that will protect their wealth, while ensuring they can live their most abundant retirement.
We specialize in helping couples successfully transition into retirement so they know they are well taken care of. As independent advisors, we carefully listen to what is important to you, and then carefully design a custom plan for your situation that maximizes your benefits and protects your wealth. Ensuring you get the best advice is important to us, and we happily collaborate with your other advisors (JDs & CPAs) to ensure your best outcomes. You will receive full transparency and clear communication, without jargon, to ensure you are clear and comfortable with our process. Our goal is for you to live an abundant life free from financial worry. We navigate, you relax.
Meredith
Age 55
Key Concerns
- Developing a comprehensive retirement plan
- Cutting her tax bill
- Reducing complexity in her financial life
- Receiving responsive service
Meredith’s Story
Meredith, single and age 55, is a psychiatrist who operates her own practice. She is very skilled at her profession and has a healthy referral network. She generates annual income in excess of $350,000, but also faces a large tax bill each year. Meredith is not particularly interested in finance or investments, but she has saved well over the years, putting most of her assets into a variety of growth funds. She opened a number of investment accounts at different firms over the years and does not have a clearly defined investment strategy or overarching goal. Once her retirement began coming into view, she realized that she needed help building a resilient financial plan so that she could enjoy a very active but financially comfortable retirement. She wants to make the most of her remaining working years by building the largest retirement nest egg possible, then retiring completely at age 65. She also wants to reduce the risk inherent in her growth-oriented portfolio and focus more on income-generating investments.
Our Solution for Meredith
We established for Meredith both a defined benefit (DB) pension plan and an Individual 401(k) Plan for her business, enabling her to make the maximum tax-deferred retirement plan contributions allowable. She is now making tax-deductible contributions of $120,000 per year into the DB and Individual 401(k) plans, reducing her annual tax bill by $40,000. We also consolidated all of her accounts to a single custodian to simplify her tax reporting (only one 1099 and gain/loss report per year) and to make her finances more transparent and easier to grasp. We further reduced complexity by merging her nine accounts into four, including merging three old 401(k)s from previous employers into her new Individual 401(k). With her accounts consolidated as much as possible, we identified risks in her portfolio stemming from an overabundance of technology holdings. We rebalanced her portfolio to provide lower volatility and a higher income stream. We then set her up on our secure online portal, where she is now able not only to monitor her increasing net worth but also see projections of her wealth and income 40 years into the future.
We specialize in helping self-employed professionals cut their tax bills and save more for retirement. As independent advisors, we listen closely to what is important to you, then carefully design a custom plan for your situation that maximizes your benefits and protects your wealth. We happily collaborate with your other advisors (e.g. attorney & CPA) to ensure you receive the best coordinated advice possible. We strive to communicate clearly, without jargon, to ensure you are informed about and comfortable with our process.
Our goal is for you to live an abundant life free from financial worry. We navigate, you relax.
Tom & Kelly
Ages 60 & 58
Key Concerns
- Offering their employees an attractive retirement savings plan
- Reducing their tax bill
- Simplifying their finances ahead of retirement
- Preparing their company for a successful sale
Tom & Kelly’s Story
Tom and Kelly are joint owners of a successful nutrition business with ten employees. They would like to sell the company in seven years and retire fully. In the next seven years, however, they would like to expand the company further, offer their employees an excellent retirement savings plan and also reduce the tax bite on their growing incomes. They also want to focus on their personal finances, which they have put on the back burner during the busy years of growing their company. They also want to see how the proceeds from the sale of their business will set them up for retirement.
Our Solution for Tom & Kelly
After discussions with Tom and Kelly, we set up a cash balance plan for their firm to achieve two objectives. First, the cash balance plan would be an effective retirement savings plan Tom and Kelly’s employees. Second, the large tax-deductible contributions the plan permits allowed Tom and Kelly to reduce their annual combined taxable income by $160,000, putting them on track to save, on average, $56,000 in taxes each year until they sell their company. We also consolidated their twelve investment accounts into five and reduced their institutions from three to one. In revamping their investment portfolio, we replaced many of their tax-inefficient mutual funds with lower-cost and more tax-efficient exchange-traded funds (ETFs). We then developed several scenarios for the sale of their business and built retirement income plans for each of them.
Tom and Kelly now have a plan in place to keep their taxes low prior to the sale of their business and a clear view of the comfortable retirement that awaits them thereafter.
We specialize in helping successful business owners structure retirement plans for themselves and their employees, reduce their taxes and bring clarity to their financial lives. As independent advisors, we listen closely to what is important to you, then carefully design a custom plan for your situation that maximizes your benefits and protects your wealth. We happily collaborate with your other advisors (e.g. attorney & CPA) to ensure you receive the best coordinated advice possible. We strive to communicate clearly, without jargon, to ensure you are informed about and comfortable with our process.
Our goal is for you to live an abundant life free from financial worry. We navigate, you relax.
Jason & Alice
Ages 55 & 53
Key Concerns
- Developing a comprehensive retirement plan
- Paying for kids’ college and graduate school
- Reducing/hedging high exposure to technology sector
- Creating a plan for charitable giving
Jason & Alice’s Story
Jason is a senior executive with a publicly traded technology company located in California. He and his wife Alice have four children. Jason has focused intently on his career over the past twenty-five years and has always made his maximum allowable retirement plan contributions at his various employers. He has also accumulated, through options grants, large positions in the stocks of companies for which he has worked. He and Alice have also made other investments over the years, but due to their busy work schedules, have not had the time to adequately track them. As a result, their assets are spread around in more than sixteen accounts with five different institutions. Now, with fewer than fifteen years until they would like to retire, Jason and Alice wanted to develop a sustainable long-term plan for a comfortable retirement that would allow them to have their children’s college and graduate school expenses covered but still leave room for them to make charitable contributions.
Our Solution for Jason & Alice
After discussions with Jason and Alice, we consolidated all of their disparate accounts at one institution. By merging all of their like-titled accounts, we reduced their number of accounts from sixteen to six. To help them save for college in a tax-efficient manner, we set up 529 college savings plans for each of their children. We then reallocated their overall portfolio, putting income generating assets into their retirement accounts to take advantage of the tax shelter, while putting their growth assets in taxable accounts. We also put in place a program to hedge two of Jason’s concentrated stock holdings with options and a plan to gradually reduce their collective equity exposure to the technology sector. Finally, we planned systematic charitable contributions from Jason’s highly appreciated technology stock holdings, which will not only chip away at his concentrated risk in this sector, but also provide the couple a current-year tax deduction.
Jason and Alice now have a clear view of their financial path leading into retirement and beyond.
We specialize in helping successful professionals reduce complexity in their financial lives, invest in the most tax efficient way possible, and save more for retirement. As independent advisors, we listen closely to what is important to you, then carefully design a custom plan for your situation that maximizes your benefits and protects your wealth. We happily collaborate with your other advisors (e.g. attorney & CPA) to ensure you receive the best coordinated advice possible. We strive to communicate clearly, without jargon, to ensure you are informed about and comfortable with our process.
Our goal is for you to live an abundant life free from financial worry. We navigate, you relax.
Richard & Mary’s Story
Key Concerns
- Do we have enough money to retire and live the life we desire?
- Will our family be OK if something was to happen to one or both of us?
- How do we maximize our retirement benefits for our goals, while at the same time ensuring we are not paying the IRS more than their due?
Other Considerations
- Have two adult children and three grandchildren
- Would love to travel more
Richard, age 60, and Mary, 57, are both nervous and excited about their future. Richard is retiring from his career in Government Services, and Mary is wrapping up her tenure as a teacher at a local school district. They are doting grandparents and looking forward to spending more time with the grandkids. Additionally, Richard and Mary have always wanted to travel more, and plan to kick off retirement with
Together, Richard and Mary have diligently saved $1.2 million in retirement accounts, and they are concerned if this money will last the rest of their lives. Additionally, they want to safeguard that if anything happened to either of them that the other is in good hands with competent and trusting wealth advisors. They want to know their family is taken care of. Last, they have questions about how to best tie everything together from their pensions, social security, and a smart distribution strategy that will protect their wealth, while ensuring they can live their most abundant retirement.
We specialize in helping couples successfully transition into retirement so they know they are well taken care of. As independent advisors, we carefully listen to what is important to you, and then carefully design a custom plan for your situation that maximizes your benefits and protects your wealth. Ensuring you get the best advice is important to us, and we happily collaborate with your other advisors (JDs & CPAs) to ensure your best outcomes. You will receive full transparency and clear communication, without jargon, to ensure you are clear and comfortable with our process. Our goal is for you to live an abundant life free from financial worry. We navigate, you relax.
Meredith’s Story
Key Concerns
- Developing a comprehensive retirement plan
- Cutting her tax bill
- Reducing complexity in her financial life
- Receiving responsive service
Meredith, single and age 55, is a psychiatrist who operates her own practice. She is very skilled at her profession and has a healthy referral network. She generates annual income in excess of $350,000, but also faces a large tax bill each year. Meredith is not particularly interested in finance or investments, but she has saved well over the years, putting most of her assets into a variety of growth funds. She opened a number of investment accounts at different firms over the years and does not have a clearly defined investment strategy or overarching goal. Once her retirement began coming into view, she realized that she needed help building a resilient financial plan so that she could enjoy a very active but financially comfortable retirement. She wants to make the most of her remaining working years by building the largest retirement nest egg possible, then retiring completely at age 65. She also wants to reduce the risk inherent in her growth-oriented portfolio and focus more on income-generating investments.
Our Solution for Meredith
We established for Meredith both a defined benefit (DB) pension plan and an Individual 401(k) Plan for her business, enabling her to make the maximum tax-deferred retirement plan contributions allowable. She is now making tax-deductible contributions of $120,000 per year into the DB and Individual 401(k) plans, reducing her annual tax bill by $40,000. We also consolidated all of her accounts to a single custodian to simplify her tax reporting (only one 1099 and gain/loss report per year) and to make her finances more transparent and easier to grasp. We further reduced complexity by merging her nine accounts into four, including merging three old 401(k)s from previous employers into her new Individual 401(k). With her accounts consolidated as much as possible, we identified risks in her portfolio stemming from an overabundance of technology holdings. We rebalanced her portfolio to provide lower volatility and a higher income stream. We then set her up on our secure online portal, where she is now able not only to monitor her increasing net worth but also see projections of her wealth and income 40 years into the future.
We specialize in helping self-employed professionals cut their tax bills and save more for retirement. As independent advisors, we listen closely to what is important to you, then carefully design a custom plan for your situation that maximizes your benefits and protects your wealth. We happily collaborate with your other advisors (e.g. attorney & CPA) to ensure you receive the best coordinated advice possible. We strive to communicate clearly, without jargon, to ensure you are informed about and comfortable with our process.
Our goal is for you to live an abundant life free from financial worry. We navigate, you relax.
Tom & Kelly’s Story
Key Concerns
- Offering their employees an attractive retirement savings plan
- Reducing their tax bill
- Simplifying their finances ahead of retirement
- Preparing their company for a successful sale
Tom, 60, and Kelly, 58, are joint owners of a successful nutrition business with ten employees. They would like to sell the company in seven years and retire fully. In the next seven years, however, they would like to expand the company further, offer their employees an excellent retirement savings plan and also reduce the tax bite on their growing incomes. They also want to focus on their personal finances, which they have put on the back burner during the busy years of growing their company. They also want to see how the proceeds from the sale of their business will set them up for retirement.
Our Solution for Tom & Kelly
After discussions with Tom and Kelly, we set up a cash balance plan for their firm to achieve two objectives. First, the cash balance plan would be an effective retirement savings plan Tom and Kelly’s employees. Second, the large tax-deductible contributions the plan permits allowed Tom and Kelly to reduce their annual combined taxable income by $160,000, putting them on track to save, on average, $56,000 in taxes each year until they sell their company. We also consolidated their twelve investment accounts into five and reduced their institutions from three to one. In revamping their investment portfolio, we replaced many of their tax-inefficient mutual funds with lower-cost and more tax-efficient exchange-traded funds (ETFs). We then developed several scenarios for the sale of their business and built retirement income plans for each of them.
Tom and Kelly now have a plan in place to keep their taxes low prior to the sale of their business and a clear view of the comfortable retirement that awaits them thereafter.
We specialize in helping successful business owners structure retirement plans for themselves and their employees, reduce their taxes and bring clarity to their financial lives. As independent advisors, we listen closely to what is important to you, then carefully design a custom plan for your situation that maximizes your benefits and protects your wealth. We happily collaborate with your other advisors (e.g. attorney & CPA) to ensure you receive the best coordinated advice possible. We strive to communicate clearly, without jargon, to ensure you are informed about and comfortable with our process.
Our goal is for you to live an abundant life free from financial worry. We navigate, you relax.
Jason & Alice’s Story
Key Concerns
- Developing a comprehensive retirement plan
- Paying for kids’ college and graduate school
- Reducing/hedging high exposure to technology sector
- Creating a plan for charitable giving
Jason, 55, is a senior executive with a publicly traded technology company located in California. He and his wife Alice, 53, have four children. Jason has focused intently on his career over the past twenty-five years and has always made his maximum allowable retirement plan contributions at his various employers. He has also accumulated, through options grants, large positions in the stocks of companies for which he has worked. He and Alice have also made other investments over the years, but due to their busy work schedules, have not had the time to adequately track them. As a result, their assets are spread around in more than sixteen accounts with five different institutions. Now, with fewer than fifteen years until they would like to retire, Jason and Alice wanted to develop a sustainable long-term plan for a comfortable retirement that would allow them to have their children’s college and graduate school expenses covered but still leave room for them to make charitable contributions.
Our Solution for Jason & Alice
After discussions with Jason and Alice, we consolidated all of their disparate accounts at one institution. By merging all of their like-titled accounts, we reduced their number of accounts from sixteen to six. To help them save for college in a tax-efficient manner, we set up 529 college savings plans for each of their children. We then reallocated their overall portfolio, putting income generating assets into their retirement accounts to take advantage of the tax shelter, while putting their growth assets in taxable accounts. We also put in place a program to hedge two of Jason’s concentrated stock holdings with options and a plan to gradually reduce their collective equity exposure to the technology sector. Finally, we planned systematic charitable contributions from Jason’s highly appreciated technology stock holdings, which will not only chip away at his concentrated risk in this sector, but also provide the couple a current-year tax deduction.
Jason and Alice now have a clear view of their financial path leading into retirement and beyond.
We specialize in helping successful professionals reduce complexity in their financial lives, invest in the most tax efficient way possible, and save more for retirement. As independent advisors, we listen closely to what is important to you, then carefully design a custom plan for your situation that maximizes your benefits and protects your wealth. We happily collaborate with your other advisors (e.g. attorney & CPA) to ensure you receive the best coordinated advice possible. We strive to communicate clearly, without jargon, to ensure you are informed about and comfortable with our process.
Our goal is for you to live an abundant life free from financial worry. We navigate, you relax.
**The case studies are representative and hypothetical; they do not replicate the exact circumstances or results of any any client of Orion Capital Management LLC. No portion of the content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience the same or a certain level of results or satisfaction if he/she retains Orion Capital Management LLC to provide investment advisory services.
