The Foundational Coordination Phase is the first step in the ongoing advisory relationship. It’s designed for households approaching retirement and in the early years of retirement who want clarity on how spending, income, taxes, and investments fit together before long-term patterns are established.

This initial phase establishes the framework that guides the work that follows. Rather than approaching decisions in isolation, we evaluate spending, income architecture, tax sequencing, and investment alignment together.

Phase 1: Information Gathering & Discovery

We begin by gathering information about your financial life, retirement priorities, and decision-making preferences.

This includes completing a series of profiles and assessments, reviewing relevant financial documents, and meeting to discuss your goals, concerns, and priorities.

The purpose of this phase is to establish a shared understanding of your current situation and the questions that matter most moving forward.

Phase 2: Analysis & Initial Coordination

Next, we review the information gathered during onboarding and evaluate how spending, income, taxes, and investments currently work together.

We identify opportunities, constraints, trade-offs, and areas requiring attention while considering both immediate needs and longer-term implications.

Where appropriate, we may also address time-sensitive retirement decisions that arise during the onboarding process.

Phase 3: Foundational Coordination Summary

During the Foundational Coordination Summary Meeting, we review key observations from the onboarding process, discuss planning opportunities and constraints, identify the issues requiring attention, and establish the initial direction and priorities for our ongoing work together.

The recommendations and priorities established during this meeting provide the context for the investment work that follows.

Phase 4: Investment Guide Review

Following the Foundational Coordination Summary Meeting, we develop your Investment Guide to translate the investment direction established during the coordination process into account-specific recommendations.

During the Investment Guide Review, we review the recommended portfolio structure, explain what is changing and why, and discuss how the recommendations support your spending needs, income structure, tax considerations, and broader retirement strategy.

Implementation depends on how you choose to manage your investments. If we manage your investments, we coordinate and implement the recommended changes. If you manage your own investments, the Investment Guide provides account-specific guidance for implementing the recommendations yourself.

Transition to Ongoing Coordination

Completion of the Foundational Coordination Phase establishes the starting point for the ongoing advisory relationship.

From there, the relationship transitions into the structured annual coordination rhythm, where spending, income, taxes, and investments are revisited through recurring reviews, analysis, recommendations, and written updates as circumstances change.

Retirement decisions are interconnected. Spending influences income needs. Income decisions affect taxes. Tax choices shape future flexibility. And investment structure supports how income is delivered over time.

The Foundational Coordination Phase helps bring clarity to those relationships before important decisions are made. By developing a clear understanding of your current retirement structure, identifying priorities, and addressing key opportunities and constraints early, future planning discussions can begin with context, direction, and a shared understanding of what matters most.

The Foundational Coordination Phase is designed to transition directly into an ongoing advisory relationship.

Once the onboarding process is complete, we move into a structured annual coordination rhythm focused on spending, income, taxes, and investments. Throughout the year, we review relevant changes, revisit priorities, evaluate decisions, and make or recommend adjustments as circumstances evolve.

There is no separate handoff or re-planning process. The Foundational Coordination Phase establishes the context, priorities, and direction that support our ongoing work together.

The annual advisory fee covers the ongoing review, analysis, recommendations, implementation support, and coordination provided throughout the advisory relationship as retirement circumstances and decisions evolve.

Fees are determined by the complexity of your retirement coordination needs, with invested assets serving as one indicator of that complexity.

• Typical annual fee begins at $7,500.
• Fees generally increase as retirement coordination complexity and invested assets increase.
• As a general guideline, annual fees often increase by approximately $1,250 for each additional $1 million in investable assets.

The core scope of the ongoing advisory relationship remains consistent across clients. Fee differences primarily reflect variations in asset structure, planning complexity, and the level of ongoing coordination required rather than separate service tiers.

When investment management is part of the relationship, it is integrated into the ongoing advisory work and supports spending, income, tax, and investment decisions rather than functioning as a standalone service.