The Anchor Process.
The Anchor Process is our planning framework. It turns scattered finances into a clear, coordinated strategy you can rely on through market cycles and life changes. Instead of reacting to headlines, we anchor each decision to your values, your goals and your long-term plan.
All aboard.
We start by listening: your values, what you want the money to do, and the full picture of where it is today. Then we look at the tax exposure, how the income is structured, the estate considerations and the cash flow ahead, so the plan is built on the real numbers.
What this looks like.
- A review of income, assets, liabilities and spending.
- Tax returns, investment statements and insurance details, gathered in one place.
- Your non-negotiables, your worries and your long-term priorities, said out loud.
Take your bearings.
Next we turn the information into insight. We go through the portfolio, the tax documents, the insurance and the goals, and work out what is working, what needs adjusting and what is missing.
You walk away with.
- An assessment of the strengths and the risks in your current setup.
- The tax openings that would improve your position.
- A direction for your retirement, your income and your protection plan.
Chart the course.
This is where it comes together. We write a plan that reflects your goals and your comfort with risk, and keeps taxes, timelines and the transitions ahead in view. It is written down, and it has a name: the Anchor Blueprint.
Your Anchor Blueprint may include.
- A coordinated investment and allocation strategy.
- A retirement income and cash-flow plan.
- A risk and insurance review.
- Tax-aware savings and withdrawal strategies, scheduled year by year.
Cast off.
We put the plan into motion, efficiently and in the open, so the momentum does not stall. Accounts get opened or consolidated, investments reallocated and beneficiaries aligned, and each step is coordinated so the process stays smooth and clear.
What gets done.
- Accounts opened, consolidated or transferred.
- The money moved and the portfolio set to the plan.
- Beneficiaries and titling brought in line with the estate plan.
- Your CPA and attorney looped in where the plan touches their work.
Hold fast.
A financial plan is a living strategy, not a one-time document. As life changes and markets shift, we stay close: meeting regularly, reviewing progress and suggesting updates before they are urgent.
Stewardship includes.
- Ongoing progress reviews.
- Adjustments for tax law changes and life events.
- Coordination with your CPA, attorney and other professionals when needed.
- A call before there is a problem, not after.
Every client relationship begins with a plan. Investment management comes after it, not instead of it.
How far out are you?
The five steps are the same for everyone. What we do inside them depends on how far out you are.
20+ years.
If retirement still feels far away, this is your unfair advantage. Twenty years is a long tax window, and most of what compounds in it is time. We use it to build the savings, set the portfolio up for growth, and take the tax moves that only work while there is time left to make them.
- Make the most of a long tax window: Roth conversions, capital gains timing, and staying ahead of IRMAA.
- Build savings that have decades to compound.
- Set up the portfolio for growth without overpaying Uncle Sam.
10+ years.Red Zone
You are close enough to see the target and far enough away to change the outcome. This is the Red Zone, where the decisions matter most. The retirement paycheck gets designed now, the portfolio gets its final shape, and the taxes that would be locked in for life get shrunk while they still can be.
- Design the retirement paycheck: what comes from which account, and in what order.
- Get the portfolio to the right mix of growth, income and downside protection.
- Shrink future taxes before they are locked in for life.
Already retired.
Now the savings have to become the paycheck. The withdrawals have started, and every one of them is a tax decision. We set the order, keep enough cash aside that a bad year does not set the timing, and line up Social Security, Medicare and the required distributions so they work together.
- Turn savings into a paycheck: which account to draw from first, and how much cash to keep on the side.
- Time Social Security, Roth conversions and Medicare so they work together instead of against you.
- Required distributions handled on schedule, and reduced ahead of time where a conversion makes sense.
How we work.
- Long term first. The portfolio is built for the plan's timeline, not the next quarter, and a bad year is no reason to abandon a plan built to expect one.
- Keep it simple. Stocks and bonds, broadly diversified, in a mix set by the plan, and nothing in the account we cannot explain to you in a sentence.
- At least one review a year, and another at every life change, so a new job, a sale or a new retirement date shows up in the plan before it costs you.
How we are paid.
St. George Wealth Management is a fee-based practice. Planning is a flat fee in one of three tiers, Harbor, Mariner or Admiral, and investment management is a percentage of the assets we manage. The figures are on the pricing page.
Questions about the process.
How the five steps run, what you walk away with, and what happens after the plan is written.
See every questionWhat is the Anchor Process?
It is how we build a plan: five steps, from the first conversation to a written plan with a name, the Anchor Blueprint, and the years after it. We listen first, work out where you stand with the taxes included, write the plan, put it into motion, and then keep watch and call before there is a problem.
What do I actually walk away with?
A written plan, the Anchor Blueprint. Depending on what your situation needs, it holds a coordinated investment strategy, a retirement income and cash-flow plan, a risk and insurance review, and the tax moves and account changes scheduled year by year. It is written down so you can read it again next year and see what changed.
Do you invest the money before the plan is done?
No. Every client relationship begins with a plan, and the investment management comes after it, not instead of it. The plan decides the mix, the accounts and the order of the moves, so the portfolio has something to carry out.
What happens after the plan is delivered?
Every tier is a twelve-month engagement that includes guided implementation, so the recommendations get carried out rather than filed. After that, annual renewals are available for ongoing support, and if we manage your investments, the reviews and the fall tax planning continue as part of that relationship. Either way the fifth step, Hold fast, is the point: a review at least once a year and whenever life changes, and a call before there is a problem, not after.
Will you work with my CPA and my attorney?
Yes, and honestly we prefer it. The tax analysis goes to your CPA for the final say, the estate documents go through your attorney, and the plan is written so the three of us work from the same numbers. If you need one, we can introduce you to people we work with.
Will I actually hear from you, or do I call and sit on hold for 45 minutes?
You will hear from us, and not because there is something to sell. Nick checks in every quarter about what is going on in your life, and he calls before a problem instead of after. Expect a full review at least once a year and whenever life changes, and tax planning every fall, when there is still time to act on it.
Work with Nick and Rachel.
Nick won a stock-market game in grade school with a thank-you share of Disney and IBM from his grandparents. That turned into a finance degree, the designations after his name, and a practice built on honest conversations that last for decades, not a cookie-cutter plan with tax surprises in it. Nick's style is direct, friendly, and free of jargon.
Let's talk about where things stand.
Thirty minutes by phone, video or at the office. We'll go through where you are and whether we're the right fit, with nothing to sign and nothing to bring.
- A written plan first, then the investing.
- Your tax return read every year, not just filed.
- A call before there is a problem, not after.
- Straight answers on how we are paid.
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