The Tax Life Cycle: How Physicians’ Tax Strategies Should Evolve Throughout Their Careers
The Tax Life Cycle: How Physicians’ Tax Strategies Should Evolve Throughout Their Careers One of the most common tax mistakes physicians make is using the same savings strategy throughout their careers. In reality, tax planning should evolve as your income changes. Thinking in terms of a “tax life cycle” can help you build wealth while […]
Educating Heirs on Student Debt
One of my favorite television shows is Shark Tank, which shows aspiring entrepreneurs pitching their business plans to seasoned investors, the “sharks,” in hopes of an investment. The sharks use their own money to invest, so they ask tough questions to help evaluate the business’s potential. Have they demonstrated sales? How much does it cost […]
Should Business Owners Raise Their Salary to Earn More Social Security?
Key Takeaways: Lower taxes are better, right? We spend a great deal of time planning around the tax code to help people accomplish their goals in the most tax-efficient manner. However, lowering taxes today often has consequences down the road. Sometimes there is a clear mathematical break-even, and other times a complex web of behavioral […]
Should Business Owners Raise Their Salary to Earn More Social Security?
Key Takeaways: Pass-through entity owners can choose to take profits as wages or distributions Increasing owner salary raises payroll tax liability but also increases future Social Security benefits Older owners and owners with non-working spouses and/or incomplete earnings records stand to benefit the most from increasing their salaries Lower taxes are better, […]
Connections: Tara N. Halbert on Estate Planning
Tell us a little about your background and what inspired you to pursue a career in estate and trust law. I was a math major in college and gravitated toward tax classes in law school. I received a LL.M in tax law from the University of Florida after law school and took several trust and […]
A Financial Windfall Becomes a Planning Opportunity
More Than an Investment Decision At age 55, Mark and Jennifer received a $4 million inheritance following the passing of Jennifer’s father. While the additional assets strengthened their financial position, they also introduced a series of decisions that reached far beyond investment management. The inheritance included an inherited IRA, a taxable investment account, and cash. […]
Understanding Private Equity: Opportunities and Considerations
Understanding Private Equity: Opportunities and Considerations For many physicians, private equity has become part of everyday conversation, whether through a practice acquisition, a colleague’s group merging into a larger platform, or an investment opportunity presented as a way to diversify beyond stocks and bonds. But what private equity actually offers, and what it demands in […]
Connections: Mike Reynolds On Legacy Planning
Andy Reynolds recently interviewed Mike Reynolds, Member at Kinkead & Stilz, on Legacy Planning. Full interview below. How have family dynamics changed the way you approach estate planning compared to 10 or 20 years ago? Today we see a lot more blended families than we saw in the past. That means having conversations about […]
A Tale of Two Chairs
If you tuned in to the most recent Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) press conference in June, you may have noticed the grey-haired man with his customary purple tie did not step up to the podium as he has for the last eight years. Jerome Powell’s term as Chair of the Federal Reserve ended on […]
Beyond the Luxury Car: Avoiding the Costliest Financial Mistakes in Medicine
Physicians spend years mastering medicine, but many receive little formal education on personal finance. As a result, some of the most common physician financial mistakes occur during major career transitions from becoming an attending physician to preparing for retirement. The good news is that most of these mistakes are predictable and avoidable with thoughtful planning. […]
Ballast Announces Two New Additions to the Team
Since our founding, our vision has remained steadfast: build a team that we would want to advise our own families. As we continue to grow, we’re excited to welcome two talented individuals to the team who bring unique experiences, fresh perspectives, and a shared commitment to serving our clients well. Jake Nahra, Intern Jake […]
Upcoming Mega-IPOs: SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI – Index Inclusion and Investor Implications
Upcoming Mega-IPOs: SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI – Index Inclusion and Investor Implications SpaceX had its IPO last week. Anthropic (maker of Claude) has filed for as early as October, and OpenAI (maker of ChatGPT) is preparing a filing targeting Q4 2026. These companies carry enormous valuations. SpaceX is already valued at approximately $2.2 trillion […]