Services
Holistic Financial Planning
Your RSUs, your taxes, your mortgage, your parents in Taiwan and your kids' school are not separate problems. They are one plan, and it should read that way.
Most tech households are not short on financial tools. They have a brokerage account, a 401(k), a few grants of RSUs, a mortgage, and maybe a life insurance policy someone sold them years ago. What they are missing is the layer that connects those pieces. Should you sell vested shares to pay down the house or fund a backdoor Roth? How much cash is enough when your pay swings with the stock price? What happens to the plan if a visa status changes, or a parent in Taiwan needs support?
Holistic financial planning is that connecting layer. We start with your cash flow and balance sheet, then bring in the pieces that usually live in silos: equity compensation, tax strategy, insurance, retirement and education savings, estate basics, and the cross-border realities that many first-generation families carry. The result is a single written plan with clear priorities and a sequence of actions, reviewed as your life changes. You do not need to have everything figured out to start. You need someone who can see the whole picture with you.
What this covers
- Cash flow and balance sheet review, including a right-sized emergency reserve for variable equity income
- Equity compensation integration: how vesting, exercises and sales fit into the rest of the plan
- Tax strategy coordination across the year, in partnership with your CPA
- Insurance review: employer life and disability coverage, gaps, and policies you already own
- Goal planning: home purchase, career changes, sabbaticals, supporting parents, and giving
- Retirement and education savings prioritized alongside near-term needs
- Family and immigration considerations: H-1B and green card timelines, assets in two countries, and what a move would change
- Estate basics: beneficiary designations, account titling and when a trust conversation makes sense
How we work together
- 01
Discovery
We talk through where you are and where you want to go, then gather statements, grant documents, insurance policies and recent tax returns. Bilingual conversations are welcome, and spouses or partners are encouraged to join.
- 02
Analysis
We build your current picture: net worth, cash flow, concentration in employer stock, projected taxes and insurance gaps. You see the trade-offs plainly, in one place, before any recommendation is made.
- 03
Your written plan
You receive a prioritized plan with a clear sequence: what to do this quarter, this year and over the next several years, and how each piece connects to the others.
- 04
Ongoing partnership
Life changes, and so does the plan. We revisit it at vesting dates, job changes, new grants, family milestones and year-end, adjusting as your circumstances evolve.
Why work with an independent advisor
A holistic plan only works if every recommendation inside it is chosen for you, not for a commission. We do not sell insurance, funds or annuities, and we are not paid by any product provider. Our fees are transparent and agreed in advance. That independence lets us review a policy someone else sold you, coordinate with your CPA and attorney, and tell you plainly when the right move is to do nothing at all.
Frequently asked questions
What makes financial planning holistic?
It means the plan starts from your whole life rather than a single account or product. Cash flow, equity compensation, taxes, insurance, retirement, education and family obligations all affect one another. A decision about selling RSUs, for example, changes your tax bill, your cash reserve and your concentration risk at once. We look at those effects together so the recommendations are consistent instead of contradictory.
I am on an H-1B or waiting for a green card. Does that change the plan?
Often, yes. Immigration status affects how much flexibility you have around job changes, how long you should expect to stay, and which accounts make sense if you might leave the US. We plan for the path you expect while keeping options open, so a change in status does not undo years of good decisions. We do not give immigration advice, but we plan around it.
We help support parents in Taiwan and hold some assets there. Can you factor that in?
Yes. Many of our clients send money home, hold property or bank accounts in Taiwan, or expect an inheritance there. These affect your cash flow, your US reporting obligations and sometimes your tax picture. We help you account for them in the plan and coordinate with your CPA on foreign account reporting. We do not prepare foreign filings ourselves.
Do I need to have a lot of money to start?
No. The most valuable planning often happens early, when a first large grant vests or a family is just forming. Our work is fee-based rather than tied to assets we manage, so you do not need a minimum portfolio to get a complete plan. If your situation is simple today, we will tell you so and keep the engagement proportional.
How is this different from your other services?
Tax strategy, equity compensation, retirement, education and asset allocation are each deep topics, and we offer them as focused engagements. Holistic financial planning is the integrating layer that decides how much weight each one gets in your life and in what order. Many clients begin here and then go deeper where their situation calls for it.
Can my spouse or partner join, and can we meet in Mandarin?
Please do. Money decisions are family decisions, and we find plans hold up better when both partners understand them. Meetings can be in English, Mandarin or a mix, and we can prepare summaries in either language so that a parent or family member abroad can follow along too.
Related services
- Proactive Tax StrategyProactive, year-round tax planning so vesting, exercises and bonuses never surprise you in April.
- Asset AllocationA disciplined plan for turning concentrated employer stock into a diversified, tax-aware portfolio you can hold through any market.
- Worry-free Retirement & Lifetime-Income PlanningFrom 401(k) and Roth decisions to early-retirement math and cross-border questions, a plan for the life after the vesting schedule ends.
Ready to turn your uncertainty into certainties?
Start with a complimentary 15-minute strategy session. We will look at your portfolio, your tax picture and your goals, and tell you plainly what we would do next.