Not All Advisors Work the Same. Here's How We Set the Standard.

Most advisory firms are built around individual advisors competing with each other for clients. That's a problem — for you. When only one person truly understands your plan, your plan is only as stable as that one person's tenure at the firm.

We do something rare in this industry: every client is assigned two advisors who work together on your plan from day one. Both are versed in your goals, your timeline, and the strategies we've built for you. This isn't just a backup system — it's a planning model that produces better outcomes because two informed professionals are thinking about your situation instead of one.

This is only possible because our advisors are compensated with a salary, not commissions. There's no competition over your account. The incentive is simple: build you the best plan we can.

We're built for people who want to understand their plan, not just trust it blindly. If you've ever felt like your advisor handed you a 10-year projection and called it a plan, you know the gap we're describing.

We walk through every strategic lever we've built into your plan — what it does, when it's intended to be activated, and which ones are specifically reserved for major life events. You'll understand your withdrawal sequencing strategy, your Roth conversion timeline, your tax bracket targets, and your income floor. Not as a one-time orientation, but as an ongoing education throughout our relationship.

In all market conditions and life events that may come, our goal is for you to understand exactly what the plan calls for — rather than wondering if you should be worried.

We don't shoot from the hip. We don't react to the news cycle. Every recommendation we make is based on your specific situation — your tax picture, your income needs, your timeline — backed by extensive internal research.

The questions we help answer aren't vague. They're the ones that actually determine your financial outcome:

• Where should you pull income from first to seek to minimize your long-term tax burden?
• Does a Roth conversion make sense for your tax bracket, and when?
• Is your current plan leaving money on the table through inefficient structuring?
• How do you approach RMDs without creating a tax problem later?
• What does your income look like in a down market — and does your plan hold up?

These aren't questions we deflect or answer generically. We work through them with a clear research process and bring your CPA and estate attorney into the conversation when it's warranted.

"Fiduciary" has become a marketing term. Most firms use it freely. We think it needs to be earned through how you actually manage money — not just the legal standard you hold yourself to.

Here's what it looks like in practice at SG: We do not use mutual funds. That means no third-party fund manager — someone you've never met, who knows nothing about your plan — making decisions about what you own. Instead, we conduct our own internal research on individual companies and ETFs, evaluating executive leadership, financial strength, growth strategy, and how each position aligns with your specific goals.

For clients focused on income, we analyze whether a company is likely to maintain consistent dividend payments through a down market — including whether it did so during the last recession. For bonds, we evaluate maturity dates, current yield, and whether it makes more sense to hold or to sell given your overall plan.

This is real research. It's more work than selecting from a list of model portfolios. We do it because we believe your retirement assets deserve it — and because we believe that level of care is what being a fiduciary actually means.

Before we build anything, we need to see everything. Using advanced planning software, we digitally model your complete financial situation: your current tax bracket, projected RMD amounts, Social Security timing, pension income (if any), long-term capital gains exposure, potential home sale proceeds, and estimated future healthcare costs.

This gives us a clear picture of what your future looks like if you simply continue on your current path. Most people are surprised by what they see. Then we roll up our sleeves.

We run Monte Carlo simulations to stress-test how your plan holds up across hundreds of market scenarios — not just the optimistic ones. We stress test for the events you're planning for and the ones you're not. Then we start refining: removing inefficiencies, introducing strategic structures, and positioning your plan to be ready for what life brings.

The goal isn't a projection on a page. It's a plan you can point to and say: I understand this. I know what it's built for. And I know it's designed for the market, my taxes, my estate, and my life.

We require four structured meetings in your first year together — and that requirement comes from us, not from you having to chase us down. There's a lot to cover when building a plan with this level of depth, and we believe in introducing each layer deliberately so nothing feels overwhelming.

These meetings serve two purposes: to keep your plan current as your life evolves, and to continue building your understanding of why your plan is structured the way it is. You'll never wonder what we've done or why.

And behind every meeting is a full team. When a tax or estate question comes up, we have CPA and estate planning professionals in our network we can bring into the conversation. They're a resource available to you — not automatically added to your plan, but there when your situation genuinely calls for it.