Built By Insiders
We set out to answer this question: How would we want to be served if we were the client --
knowing what we know about the financial industry?
Well, we’d want to:
- Be charged a flat-fee rather than a percentage of assets managed
- Be given advice with our interests coming first
- Have our lifetime tax liability reduced with annual tax planning
- Have our investments taken care of as if they were our own
- Work with a distinguished professional at the top of their field
That’s what we’d want. So that’s simply what we did for you.
Built By Insiders
We set out to answer this question: How would we want to be served if we were the client --
knowing what we know about the financial industry?
Well, we’d want to:
- Be charged a flat-fee rather than a percentage of assets managed
- Be given advice with our interests coming first
- Have our lifetime tax liability reduced with annual tax planning
- Have our investments taken care of as if they were our own
- Work with a distinguished professional at the top of their field
That’s what we’d want. So that’s simply what we did for you.
Built By Insiders
We set out to answer this question: How would we want to be served if we were the client --
knowing what we know about the financial industry?
Well, we’d want to:
- Be charged a flat-fee rather than a percentage of assets managed
- Be given advice with our interests coming first
- Have our lifetime tax liability reduced with annual tax planning
- Have our investments taken care of as if they were our own
- Work with a distinguished professional at the top of their field
That’s what we’d want. So that’s simply what we did for you.
Built By Insiders
We set out to answer this question: How would we want to be served if we were the client --
knowing what we know about the financial industry?
Well, we’d want to:
- Be charged a flat-fee rather than a percentage of assets managed
- Be given advice with our interests coming first
- Have our lifetime tax liability reduced with annual tax planning
- Have our investments taken care of as if they were our own
- Work with a distinguished professional at the top of their field
That’s what we’d want. So that’s simply what we did for you.
Built By Insiders
We set out to answer this question: How would we want to be served if we were the client --
knowing what we know about the financial industry?
Well, we’d want to:
- Be charged a flat-fee rather than a percentage of assets managed
- Be given advice with our interests coming first
- Have our lifetime tax liability reduced with annual tax planning
- Have our investments taken care of as if they were our own
- Work with a distinguished professional at the top of their field
That’s what we’d want. So that’s simply what we did for you.
Differences That Matter To You
Simple Investments Are Better
and Here's Why
The financial industry has made a killing getting folks to believe that better performance comes from complex investments. The more sophisticated the better. The truth is the only people who are benefiting from complexity are the ones pushing it - the finance industry.
The data is conclusive: straightforward, simple investment strategies are what win over the long-term and keep more money in clients' pockets. Unfortunately, it's much easier to sell complexity, but that is exactly not what people need. People are willing to trade consistently better performance through indexed-based strategies for the unproven 'get wealthy' scheme of a financial lottery ticket, which is what most strategies are.
If there was a better way, we would do it. But there isn't. We'd rather stand for what works than pander to an inferior strategy.
Being Focused is Better
and Here's Why
If you build a home, do you hire your neighbor who’s handy with a hammer or do hire an established custom home builder? While your neighbor might be a great guy or gal, you want to entrust your home to an expert.
Our focused expertise is in Retirement Planning and Tax planning. Our services are build around this focus:
- Tax efficient accumulation and withdrawal strategies you can't outlive
- Roth conversion, RMDs, and Qualified Charitable Distributions
- Health care planning
- Raising successful and grounded children/grandchildren
- Estimated tax payments and withholding
- Donor advised funds/Gifting appreciated stock
- Gain harvesting (& loss harvesting)
- Asset location optimizing to pay less in taxes overall
- Municipal bond management
- Insurance and risk management
- Social Security planning
- Estate planning with your attorney
Personal Is Better
and Here's Why
True personal service is unscalable. There's a limit to how many relationships an advisor can handle.
We never want to compromise on the services we offer to clients or stretch our relationships too thin. While other large firms are incentivized to make their advisors handle hundreds of clients to enhance economies of scale, Birchwood Capital’s goal is to build deep relationships and know exactly what's going on in their financial lives. We do this by limiting the number of clients we will work with.
Aligning Our Core Values To Benefit You
Integrity
Undivided
- Most decisions aren’t difficult with a commitment to doing the right thing
- Be extremely reliable
- Operate authentically
Excellence
Painstaking Attention to Detail
- Highest standards with every interaction and action
- Continual learning and growth in expertise
- Win the day with preparation
Effort
Everything Worth Doing is Hard. Period.
- Quick fixes never pay off; think and act long-term
- Build deep win-win-win relationships between our clients, our communities, and ourselves
- Good returns and a house full of love must be earned
Humility
Serve Others
- Clients come before firm’s desires
- Listen and arrive with an open mind not the “right answer”
- The work done well serves the community, rather than the firm
How Do We Compare?
Birchwood Capital
We are purposefully independent and smaller so that human-beings remain our focus and success.
Large National Firm
They are bigger and clients might get lost in the shuffle.
Birchwood Capital
We do one thing really well: Retirement Planning.
Large National Firm
They handle all situations and age groups.
Birchwood Capital
We slow down and summarize what needs to be done in plain English.
Large National Firm
They might provide statistics and information full of industry jargon.
Birchwood Capital
We are fiduciaries, legally bound to always act in your best interest.
Large National Firm
They are not required to always put you first.
Birchwood Capital
We have a simple, transparent flat-fee structure.
Large National Firm
They charge by the amount of assets they manage.
Birchwood Capital
We don’t push proprietary products. We select investments based on research and being low-cost.
Large National Firm
They sell proprietary products that tend to be expensive.
Birchwood Capital
We use your tax information to analyze how you can be avoiding taxes throughout the year.
Large National Firm
They typically don't review your tax information.
Birchwood Capital
We are CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM practitioners and professional investment managers.
Large National Firm
They may not have the education and credentials that your long-term situation requires.
The Difference is Clear
If Our Difference makes sense to you, read about Our Investment Philosophy for more details.
