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A disciplined framework for aligning your investments with your goals — balancing risk, diversification, and performance to help your portfolio work harder over the long term.
ALIGN FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS
She Retired Early. Here's What We Did Before the Stock Dropped 40%.
She came in with $1.4M in one stock. Twenty years of holding it — through the ups and downs — and it had done well. Selling felt like leaving a bigger gain on the table. We built a divesting plan across three tax years to manage the capital gains hit. Sold in layers. Reinvested into a portfolio built around her retirement income needs. She didn't know the drop was coming. Neither did I. But I ran the scenario — showed her exactly what a 40% hit would do to her retirement picture. That's how we made the case to act. Eighteen months later, the stock dropped 40%. Had we waited, her net worth takes that hit. Here's the question I ask every client sitting on a concentrated position: what happens if that drop hits during your distribution stage? You're not just watching a number fall — you're selling shares at the bottom to fund your life. That math doesn't recover. The stock may bounce back. But her retirement wasn't built to wait on it. She retired early. On her terms.
LPL FINANCIAL LLC
The S&P 500 isn't nearly as diversified as most people think
INVST, LLC
Tax‑Loss Harvesting: What It Is and Why It Matters
Tax‑loss harvesting is a strategy that uses temporary investment losses in taxable accounts to reduce your tax bill and strengthen long‑term results. When an investment falls below what you paid, you can sell it, realize the loss, and reinvest the money in a similar (but not identical) investment to stay on track. Those realized losses can offset capital gains, reduce up to $3,000 of ordinary income each year, and carry forward to future years. The IRS wash‑sale rule prevents claiming a loss if you repurchase the same or substantially identical investment within 30 days, but you can choose a comparable alternative to maintain your market exposure. Investors use this strategy because it lowers taxes, supports long‑term compounding, and turns market volatility into an advantage without changing their overall plan.
INVST, LLC
Good news: you don't need a fortune to build one. Small money can grow fast with the right guidance!
SUMMIT PLACE FINANCIAL ADVISORS, LLC
Indexing is not diversifying!
While buying an S&P 500 index fund has traditionally been the gold standard for immediate diversification, the index's market-capitalization-weighted structure has quietly evolved into a highly concentrated investment portfolio. Some investors might appreciate that “bet” and have the time horizon to tolerate the risks in such a focused portfolio. For most index investors, a better choice today is an equal-weighted index investment in which all positions are held in the same % exposure. This approach provides true diversity across the market and economy and reduces concentration risks. In today’s momentum market, an equal-weighted portfolio assures investments in under-valued sectors that may be poised to provide protection or even future growth if the market rotates away from big-tech.
SUMMIT PLACE FINANCIAL ADVISORS, LLC
Listen to our Strategist, Chris Gula, CFA, discuss the concentration risk in today's market.
LIGHTSQUARE WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC
Don't let emotions get in the way of making wise investments!
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