Has your financial advisor ever asked to see your tax returns?

As unorthodox as it sounds, we ask all of our clients.

It's a long story.. but it's the foundation for how we serve our clients at Sherman Private Wealth.

In 2004, I started working as a Financial Advisor at the Private Bank. Clients of the bank typically had lending relationships with the bank, so their tax returns were readily available.

I started to review them as part of my due diligence process before taking on a client.

And boy did I learn a lot.

As my client base grew, my regular reviews of their tax returns became a habit. I started to see trends with overlooked tax liability.

For those who were nearing retirement, no one was paying attention to what would be the biggest expense once they got there: taxes.

Of course, that makes sense because most financial advisors want nothing to do with taxes, and most CPAs are not getting paid to plan for the future.

But the huge population of people nearing retirement still needed to be served, and the current market wasn't accounting for what they needed most.

Which was a tax-first approach to their financial planning, focused on minimizing lifetime tax liability so they didn't overpay the IRS and could maintain their quality of life into and throughout retirement.

That means using financial strategies such as:

- Roth IRA Conversions

- Qualified Charitable Distributions

- Harvesting Long-Term Gains or Losses

- Etc.

This is why we ask for your tax returns - even if it’s unorthodox.

It allows us to create a holistic financial planning strategy that will aim to help clients achieve clarity in the long run.

It’s helped us create our distinct approach to financial planning, distinct to only us.

Any questions? Contact us.

Sherman Private Wealth Management and LPL Financial does not offer tax advice or tax preparation services.