The Four Seasons of Planning
Fall: Investment & Account Reviews
Why This Season Matters
Fall is when we take a careful look at every account that makes up your wealth — what you own, how it's invested, and how it's working together. We confirm your risk tolerance, match it to the right model, review performance, and pull every account into one clear picture. With year-end approaching, we also act on tax-smart opportunities.
What You'll Walk Away With
- ✓A clear understanding of our investment process — from philosophy to risk tolerance to model selection.
- ✓A review of your current portfolio and what new models I'd like you to rebalance into.
- ✓A year-end action plan covering performance figures, capital gains budgeting, and tax-loss harvesting strategies.
📅 Our Meeting Agenda
When we sit down together, here's what we'll work through:
📈 Investments
We'll walk through Our Investment Process together.
↓ See the seven steps detailed in the next section below.
🔍 Account Reviews
- Review your historical performance against your planning benchmark
- Walk through your model breakdown at both the household and account level
- Inventory your outside investments and spot gaps, overlaps, or risk mismatches
- Tour your portals: Flourish Cash, Schwab Alliance, and your 401(k) site
- Build a capital gains budget and harvest tax losses before year-end
- Link your 401(k) and other held-away accounts to my Pontera platform so I can manage them directly
📋 Our Investment Process
1
Review our investment philosophy
2
Take our unique risk tolerance questionnaire
3
See our Model Overview guide
4
Discuss our model description piece
5
See our allocation frameworks
6
Review the Charting the Course guide
7
Check out our Schwab Guide
🎯 Our Goal-Driven Models
Every investment model has a unique job and purpose in your overall portfolio. That's why my models are organized into three clear buckets. We pick a combination based on your risk tolerance in order to give you non-correlated investment exposures.
4
Models
🌱 Grow
Equity-driven exposure to build long-term wealth for goals on a longer time horizon.
4
Models
🛡️ Protect
Capital preservation and income strategies for stability and money you'll need first.
5
Models
⚖️ Diversify
Other non-correlated strategies to help diversify you through full market cycles.
🔄 When to Revisit Your Investment Plan
“
I'm a firm believer that the portfolio should serve the plan. And that plan should reflect your dreams, hopes, and aspirations.
— David Warshaw, CFP®
These are the changes that should drive portfolio updates — not macro events, politics, or whatever apocalypse you're hearing about on the nightly news.
New job or income change
Marriage, divorce, or new child
Approaching or entering retirement
Inheritance or windfall
Selling a business or home
Big shift in goals or time horizon
The Big Idea This Season
The clients who do best aren't the ones who picked the perfect stock or timed the perfect entry. They're the ones who knew their risk tolerance, picked a model that matched it, and stayed disciplined through the cycles.
📊 Survey Insight
Russell Investments' annual "Value of an Advisor" study estimates a working advisor relationship can add roughly 5% in net value annually — with behavioral coaching through volatile markets being the largest single contributor. — Russell Investments, Value of an Advisor Study
Questions to Think About Before We Meet
If the market dropped 25% next month, how would you actually feel — and would you stay invested? Your honest answer is the foundation of your risk tolerance.
When you look at all your accounts together — 401(k), IRAs, brokerage, your spouse's accounts — do they feel like one coordinated portfolio, or a patchwork?
Do you actually know how your portfolio performed this year, or just have a vague sense? How do you determine success?
Are there gains worth harvesting, losses worth using, or contributions worth making before December 31? What are you leaving on the table?
How to Prepare
-
Retirement Account StatementsMost recent statement for each: 401(k), 403(b), 457, IRA, Roth IRA, & SEP IRA.
-
Brokerage, Trust, & Annuity StatementsIndividual, joint, and trust brokerage accounts, plus any annuities.
-
Education & Family Accounts529s, UTMA/UGMA, & Newborn Savings Accounts.
▶ Watch before our meeting (optional)
The Foundations of Successful Investing → My investment philosophy explained.
Model Portfolios & Strategies → A closer look at how each of my 13 models is built.
Model Portfolios & Strategies → A closer look at how each of my 13 models is built.
📎 Send your statements securely before the meeting
Encrypted upload — files go directly to David.
Tools & Technology Powering This Season
Charles Schwab
Your account custodian — where investments are held, traded, and reported. Schwab Alliance is your home base for statements and account access.
Pontera
Lets me directly manage your 401(k) & other held-away accounts — securely linked, no password sharing required.
Flourish Cash
High-yield cash management for emergency funds, short-term reserves, or capital waiting to be deployed.
Panoramix
Provides a clear and transparent view of how each account is performing and allocated across our models.
Ready to Make the Most of This Season?
Let's review your portfolio, accounts, and tax picture before year-end. A focused conversation now sets the stage for a stronger year ahead. Book your Fall meeting below.