Who we serve
Planning for the situations we know best
We work with a range of families and professionals, most of them in and around Houston and many of them virtually. These are the situations where our combination of a CFA and a CPA/PFS, CFP® adds the most.
Business Owners
The biggest tax decisions in an owner's life are made years before the sale, and most of them cannot be undone at the letter of intent. We help owners and their CPAs make them early.
- An S-corporation or LLC structure that forfeits the Section 1202 QSBS exclusion on a future sale
- Too much net worth tied up in the business and too little diversified
- A buy-sell agreement that was drafted once and never funded or updated
Expats and Cross-Border Families
U.S. tax rules follow citizens and green-card holders around the world, and foreign accounts, pensions, and businesses each come with their own reporting. We plan around those rules rather than discovering them at filing time.
- Foreign mutual funds (PFICs) and foreign pensions with punitive or unclear U.S. tax treatment
- FBAR and Form 8938 reporting that was never filed, or filed inconsistently
- Retirement savings split across two countries' systems with no coordinated plan
Oil and Gas Professionals
Energy careers pay well and swing hard. We help Houston oil and gas professionals manage concentrated company stock, complex benefits, and the cycle's layoffs and buyouts without betting the household on one commodity.
- Salary, bonus, stock, and 401(k) all tied to the price of oil
- Not knowing which shares to sell first, or what the tax cost would be
- A pension lump-sum versus annuity choice with a deadline
Retirees and Pre-Retirees
The ten years around retirement hold more irreversible decisions than any other stretch of your financial life. We help you make them in the right order, with the tax return open on the table.
- No clear answer to "how much can we spend?"
- Large pre-tax balances that will create a required-minimum-distribution tax problem later
- Concentrated employer stock or an old 401(k) lineup that was never rebalanced
Values-Based Investors
You should not have to choose between your convictions and a low-cost, diversified portfolio. Because Personal Index Portfolios own individual stocks, we can exclude companies, sectors, or practices you object to, and the screens come at no additional cost.
- Specialty ESG or faith funds with higher fees and screens you did not choose
- No way to see, at the holding level, what you actually own
- Worry that screening sacrifices returns
Houston families and professionals
Not in one of the groups above? Most of our clients are Houston-area households who want their portfolio, planning, and taxes handled by one team.
- Fee-only, fiduciary, and independent
- Meetings by video, phone, or in person
- Financial planning included in the investment management fee
Talk with a CFA and a CPA/PFS, CFP® about your situation
A free introductory meeting, no obligation. Financial planning is included as part of the investment management fee, so there is no separate planning charge.