Who We Serve
For the years when the questions get real.
Most of our clients come to us within a few years of retirement, carrying the same two questions: am I actually ready, and how do I make the leap? That moment is our specialty. But wherever you are on the mountain, the plan starts where you stand.
Where most clients begin
About to retire
The finish line is in sight, but is the runway under it? We pressure-test your numbers, answer “am I ready?” with evidence instead of guesswork, and then manage the transition itself: replacing the paycheck, timing Social Security and benefits, and building your first retirement income plan.
Recently retired
The paychecks have stopped and now every decision compounds: which accounts to draw first, when to convert to Roth, how to stay clear of Medicare surcharges, so the money lasts from the go-go years through the slow-go years.
Still climbing
Retirement is a decade or more away, but the readiness you’ll want then is built now: a real plan, disciplined investing, and tax decisions made early enough to matter.
What Makes Us Different
Advice measured by your well-being, not our bottom line.
Quality of life improves through considerate financial planning and proper investment management. By solving your biggest financial concerns, we create the space for you to fully realize your life goals.
Deep Expertise
Led by a Certified Financial Planner® with nearly two decades of experience serving individuals and families, specializing in preparing people for retirement and building income that reliably lasts a lifetime, through every stage from the go-go years to the slow-go years.
A True Fiduciary Standard
Your best interests come first, legally and personally. We have worked hard to minimize conflicts of interest, and we partner with carefully selected institutional managers to build customized portfolios and tax-aware strategies. Never one-size-fits-all.
Independent & Fee-Only
No products to sell. No sales goals to meet. No commissions. Our only fee is based on the assets we directly manage, which aligns us with a single objective: growing and protecting what’s yours.
Modern Tools, Human Guidance
We pair modern planning technology with clear, ongoing communication, so your financial path is always easy to see and understand, and our time goes where it matters most: you.
Retirement isn’t a finish line. It’s a long game measured in decades. Three principles run through everything we do.
Faith in the Future
We invest as long-term owners of the world’s great companies, because patient optimism has been the realistic position for over a century.
Patience
Plans built to be right for your life, not right this quarter. You don’t have to win every hand. You have to stay at the table.
Discipline
The plan only works if we work the plan. A large part of our job is helping you stay seated when every headline says otherwise.
Our Services
Everything retirement demands, handled with care.
Financial Planning
A collaborative process built around your personal circumstances, values, and goals, from understanding where you stand today to implementing recommendations and monitoring progress as your life evolves.
Our financial planning process
- Understand your personal and financial circumstances
- Identify and select goals
- Analyze your current course of action and potential alternatives
- Develop financial recommendations
- Present financial planning recommendations
- Implement financial planning recommendations
- Monitor progress and update
Retirement Planning
The leap from working to retirement is the number one reason people call us. We answer the hard questions: when you can retire, how much is enough, and how to draw income that balances longevity, risk, and taxes. Then we walk each stage with you.
Preparation
When exactly can you retire? How much do you need to ensure it lasts a lifetime? What is the tradeoff between working longer and income ability? There are a seemingly endless number of questions to answer before you can confidently walk into retirement. We answer them together.
Income Strategy
As important as how much you’ve saved is how you draw it out. Each investment vehicle carries different tax consequences and IRS requirements for you and your beneficiaries. Your income strategy balances longevity, risk, and reliability while minimizing taxes throughout your lifetime.
Execution
Your life will evolve, laws will change, and your goals may shift. We’re there at each turning point to correct course and chart a better path forward, through the ups and downs, and ultimately to carrying out your legacy goals.
Investment & Wealth Management
Portfolios with a clear purpose, built from your plan: thoughtful asset allocation, diversified construction, disciplined rebalancing, and tax-efficient strategies like direct indexing and tax-loss harvesting.
Asset Allocation: the optimal mix of asset classes, balancing risk and return around the needs of your plan
Investment Selection: choosing specific investments that align with your objectives and allocation
Portfolio Construction: diversification that spreads risk while pursuing the return you need
Risk Management: mitigating risk through diversification, hedging, and related techniques
Monitoring & Rebalancing: regular review and adjustment to maintain your target allocation
Tax Efficiency: direct indexing, tax-loss harvesting, lot-level gains deferral, and more
Estate & Inheritance Planning
What happens when wealth changes hands.
An inheritance is the largest financial event most families will ever experience, and almost no one is prepared for it: not the parents who leave one, and not the children who receive one. We make sure the transfer actually works: beneficiary designations that match your intentions, trusts and titling that work together, tax-aware handling of inherited IRAs, and heirs who are prepared rather than surprised.
This is the center of our practice. Jason is writing a book on it: When an Inheritance Becomes Your Legacy, written for both generations of the transfer. The thinking behind it shows up in every plan we build. Join the monthly letter to read along as it takes shape.
One estate, three beneficiaries. The transfer designed before it’s needed.
Proactive Tax Planning
The work that compounds.
A financial plan is only as good as its after-tax results. Each year we analyze your actual tax return, map the multi-year moves worth making, and coordinate them with your tax professional.
- Roth conversions: looking at your entire lifetime to convert when it is most advantageous
- Qualified Charitable Distributions: giving directly from your IRA, tax-free
- IRMAA planning: minimizing Medicare premium surcharges to save thousands
- Withdrawal sequencing: drawing from the right accounts, in the right order
- Gains & loss harvesting: realizing gains and losses in the years they cost least
One example: converting IRA dollars to Roth in the years your bracket has room to spare. Hypothetical illustration, for education only.
Our Approach
A partnership, not a transaction.
Great plans aren’t documents. They’re ongoing relationships. Here’s how we work together, year after year.
Understand
We start with you: your circumstances, your concerns, and the goals that matter most, both financial and personal.
Plan
We analyze your current course, weigh the alternatives, and develop clear recommendations tailored to your life.
Implement
Every step is executed with care: investments, income strategy, and tax considerations working in concert.
Adapt
Life evolves. Laws change. We’re at every turning point to correct course and chart the better path forward.
Hard work alone isn’t enough. It takes a good plan to navigate the big swings, and come out better on the other side.
Jason G. Fang, CFP® · Principal, Wealth Advisor
Our Team
Small by design. Personal on purpose.
We deliberately cap the number of families we serve, and when we reach capacity we pause new relationships rather than dilute existing ones. Most clients come to us at or near retirement, typically with $1 million or more to manage, the point where the decisions become consequential enough to warrant this level of care.
Jason G. Fang
CFP®
Principal, Wealth Advisor
A journey that began in 2006, sharpened by guiding clients through the 2008 recession, to one calling: helping individuals and families avoid the big mistakes and materially improve their lives.
Questions, Answered
The things people actually ask.
Are you a fiduciary, and what does that actually mean?
Absolutely. Being a fiduciary involves two main responsibilities. The duty of loyalty means your interests come before ours, and if there’s ever a conflict of interest, we must disclose it and work to reduce or remove it. The duty of care means giving you the advice that benefits you most, handling your transactions in the best way, and continuing to monitor your situation over time.
Where is my money actually held?
Your accounts are held in your name at Altruist, our custodian. Altruist is an all-in-one digital brokerage platform. That means digital onboarding (accounts open online in minutes), no trading commissions on stocks and ETFs, no maintenance fees on most account types, and a mobile app where you can track progress, see your holdings, and make deposits or withdrawals. Existing clients can sign in here.
How do you charge?
One transparent fee, based only on the assets we directly manage. Nothing else. We have no products to sell, no sales goals to meet, and we never receive commissions, so there is no financial incentive to guide you away from optimal decisions. Growing and protecting your assets is what aligns us.
The Monthly Letter
Read along each month.
Plain-language notes from Jason on markets, retirement, taxes, and the handful of moments that can unmake a plan. No jargon and no sales pitch. Unsubscribe whenever you like.
Getting Started
Curious if we’re the right partner for you?
Start with a no-obligation introductory call. We’ll listen, answer your questions, and be honest about whether we’re a good fit.
Or call the office: (925) 587-8883Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm PT