Beyond the Advisor Podcast
Most financial questions do not stay in their lane. A decision about selling a business becomes a tax question, then an estate question, then a question about what your kids are actually ready to handle. The parts connect, and the connections are where plans usually break.
Each month, Senior Wealth Planner Nina Breen, CFP®, RICP®, CPWA®, and Retirement Plan Consultant Micah Alsobrook, CPFA®, MBA, take on a question families and business owners actually bring to us. Sometimes that means unpacking a strategy in depth. Sometimes it means walking through a hypothetical scenario the way our team would work through it in...
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You Got a Lump Sum of Cash… Should You Invest It All Right Now?
<p>In this month's episode of Beyond the Advisor, Nina Breen, CFP®, RICP®, CPWA®, Senior Wealth Planner, and Micah Alsobrook, CPFA®, MBA, Retirement Plan Consultant, walk through one of the most common — and emotionally loaded — questions in financial planning: when you receive a large sum of money, do you invest it all at once, or spread it out over time?</p> <p>Using a hypothetical client scenario — a married couple in their early 50s who received a $1 million inheritance and are hesitant to invest — Nina and Micah break down the research on lump sum vs. dollar cost averaging, explain the account types available for a windfall (and the ones that won't work the way you'd expect), and walk through what really happens when you invest and the market drops shortly after.</p> <p><strong>Key Topics Include:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Lump sum investing vs. dollar cost averaging — what the research actually says</li> <li>How your timeline to retirement changes the strategy</li> <li>Why you can't just drop an inheritance into your 401(k)</li> <li>What to do with money you might need in the next few years</li> <li>How to protect yourself from being forced to sell at the wrong time</li> <li>The behavioral side of investing — and why working with an advisor you trust matters</li> </ul>Should You Sell Investments to Buy a House... or Borrow Instead?
<p>In this month's episode of Beyond the Advisor, Nina Breen, CFP®, RICP®, CPWA®, Senior Wealth Planner, and Micah Alsobrook, CPFA®, MBA, Retirement Plan Advisor, walk through a hypothetical client case that comes up all the time: a married couple in their mid-40s with a $4.2 million net worth who've found their next home and need $500,000 for the down payment. The question on the table — should they sell investments to fund it, or borrow instead?Nina and Micah break down the real options on the board: selling from a taxable brokerage account, using a home equity line of credit (HELOC), or opening a securities-backed line of credit (SBLOC). Along the way they unpack the tax impact of selling, the difference between qualified and non-qualified accounts, how much you can actually borrow against a portfolio, and the risks to watch for — then model how each path could play out over a lifetime inside a financial plan.<strong>Key Topics Include:</strong>- Selling investments vs. borrowing to fund a large purchase- How capital gains taxes hit a taxable brokerage account sale- Qualified vs. non-qualified (taxable) accounts — and why it matters here- How a securities-backed line of credit (SBLOC) actually works- SBLOC vs. HELOC: comparing borrowing power and risk- Advance rates — how much of your portfolio you can borrow against- The long-term cost of selling: compounding and opportunity cost- SBLOC pitfalls: margin calls and market volatility- Setting up a line of credit proactively as a liquidity backstop</p>Timing, Tax Strategies & Missed Opportunities for Business Owners
<p>In this month's episode of Beyond the Advisor, Nina Breen, CFP®, RICP®, CPWA®, Senior Wealth Planner, and Micah Alsobrook, CPFA®, MBA, Retirement Plan Advisor, continue their fishbowl-style Q&A with a deep dive into the timing, tax strategies, and missed opportunities that quietly shape outcomes for business owners and executives. </p> <p>From estate planning and step-up in basis to 401(k) plan design, business exit timing, donor-advised funds, and weathering market volatility—this episode unpacks the costly decisions that get delayed and the planning moves that change the trajectory.</p> <p><br></p> <p><strong>Key Topics Include:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Why estate planning is the most delayed financial decision—and the basics every adult needs</li> <li>A real client story on step-up in basis and concentrated employer stock</li> <li>When a will isn't enough: the case for a revocable trust</li> <li>Signs a 401(k) was designed to check a box vs. built strategically</li> <li>New comparability profit-sharing as a way to max out owner contributions</li> <li>Donor-advised funds as a tax play in big-income years (like the year you sell your business)</li> <li>How far in advance to plan a business exit (hint: 5–10 years)</li> <li>Vesting schedules as a key employee retention tool</li> <li>What NOT to do when markets get volatile (fear selling, loans, distributions)</li> <li>Fortress Gatewood: the cash + fixed income buffer strategy</li> <li>A real COVID retiree story on confidence in the plan, not the market</li> <li>Target date funds and the "evidence-based" investment lineup</li> </ul>