Wealth Strategies
Cornerstone guides on the decisions we help families make: taxes, income, investing and retirement. Start with the Sporos Doctrine, how we think about all of it.
The Sporos Doctrine: How We Think About Your Money
The beliefs behind every plan we build: goals as the scoreboard, taxes planned before the year ends, a portfolio built to fund your goals, two ways to pay, and both advisors at the table for the long run.
Read the Doctrine →- › The Asset Location Junk Drawer: How Pre-Retirees Lose Money to the Wrong Accounts
- › Continuity of Care: The Question to Ask Every Advisor You Interview
- › Grafting: How Roth Conversions and Tax-Loss Harvesting Work Together
- › Tax-Location Alpha: What the Wrong Account Wrapper Costs Over 30 Years
- › The Sporos Client Review Cadence: Why Annual Is the Wrong Default
Goals and taxes
What the money is for, and keeping more of it.
401(k) Rollover: A Complete Guide to Moving an Old Retirement Account
When to roll over an old 401(k), the four options (and how to choose among them), the rules that catch people off guard, and how to avoid the most common mistakes.
Read the strategy →- › 401(k) Force-Out Distributions: What Happens If You Leave a Small Balance
- › 401(k) Loans Before Rollover: The Default-on-Separation Trap
- › After-Tax 401(k) Money: Splitting It at Rollover for a Tax-Free Roth
- › Direct vs. Indirect 401(k) Rollover: The 60-Day Rule and 20% Withholding Trap
- › How to Find Old 401(k) Accounts You Forgot About
- › How Long Do I Have To Rollover My 401k After Leaving?
+ 7 more
- › In-Service 401(k) Withdrawals: The Overlooked Option for Business Owners Over 59½
- › Inherited 401(k)s and the 10-Year Rule
- › Roll Over to an IRA or Stay in the 401(k)? A Decision Framework
- › Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA): When Company Stock Changes the Rollover Math
- › Roth 401(k) Rollover: How Roth IRA and Roth 401(k) Rules Differ
- › The Rule of 55: Penalty-Free 401(k) Withdrawals Before 59½
- › Transfer 401(k) To IRA While Still Employed
Equity Compensation: A Practical Guide to RSUs, ISOs, and NSOs
How RSUs, ISOs, and NSOs are taxed, the AMT trap that surprises tech employees, why default withholding almost never covers the bill, and how to manage concentrated stock positions without a tax bomb.
Read the strategy →- › 10b5-1 Plans: How Executives Sell Stock Without Insider-Trading Risk
- › Concentrated Stock Position: Diversifying Without a Tax Bomb
- › ESPP Tax Traps: Qualifying vs. Disqualifying Dispositions and the Spread You Didn't See Coming
- › ISOs and AMT: The Tax Surprise Most Tech Employees Get
- › ISO Exercise Strategy: Timing Your Incentive Stock Options to Minimize the Tax Hit
- › ISO Vs NSO Tax Treatment
+ 5 more
- › ISO Vs RSU: Which Is Better
- › NSO Exercise & Hold vs. Exercise & Sell: Which One Makes Sense
- › RSU Vesting: Why Default Tax Withholding Almost Never Covers the Bill
- › The 83(b) Election: Why Founders and Early Employees Have 30 Days to Act on Restricted Stock
- › When to Exercise ISO Stock Options: Timing, AMT, and the Decision Framework
Roth Conversion Calculator and Bracket Guide
Run your own numbers by tax bracket, then work through the watchouts (ACA, IRMAA, the 5-year rule) that decide whether a conversion pays off.
Read the strategy →- › Backdoor Roth IRA: How High Earners Bypass the Income Limits
- › Converting IRA To Roth After Age 72
- › Mega Backdoor Roth: Maxing the After-Tax 401(k) Loophole
- › The Pro-Rata Rule: Why Your IRA Balance Can Wreck a Backdoor Roth
- › Roth Conversion After Retirement
- › Roth Conversion Calculator
+ 11 more
- › The 5-Year Rule(s) on Roth Conversions Explained
- › Roth Conversion Ladder: How Early Retirees Bridge to 59½
- › Roth Conversion Strategies For 65 Retired Person
- › Roth Conversions vs. Roth Contributions: Which One Should You Prioritize?
- › Roth Conversions and IRMAA: The Medicare Premium Cliff Most Retirees Miss
- › Roth Conversions in a Down Market: Why Volatility Is a Tax Opportunity
- › Should High Income Earners Do Roth Conversions?
- › Should I Convert $120,000 Per Year To A Roth To Avoid RMDs?
- › Should I Do A Roth Conversion Calculator
- › Spousal Roth Conversions: How Married Couples Coordinate the Strategy
- › State Taxes and Roth Conversions: When a Move Changes the Math
Tax-Loss Harvesting: How to Turn a Down Market Into Real Tax Savings
How tax-loss harvesting works, the wash-sale rule that catches people off guard, when it's worth doing, and how to combine it with Roth conversions for the largest combined tax benefit.
Read the strategy →- › Harvesting Losses in a Taxable Account That Holds Mutual Funds: The Hidden Embedded-Gain Problem
- › Is Tax-Loss Harvesting Worth It
- › TLH and the $3,000 Ordinary-Income Offset: Compounding Tax Savings Over a Decade
- › Tax-Loss Harvesting in Direct Indexing Accounts
- › TLH + Roth Conversion = Grafting
- › The Wash-Sale Rule in Plain English
Retirement and legacy
Drawing income, and what comes after.
RMDs and QCDs: The Required-Distribution Rules That Shape Retirement Income After 73
How Required Minimum Distributions are calculated, the SECURE 2.0 changes, the inherited-IRA 10-year rule, and how Qualified Charitable Distributions let charitably-minded retirees skip the tax.
Read the strategy →- › Bunching RMDs: How to Satisfy Two Years' Distributions Without Doubling Your Tax Bill
- › How Can I Reduce RMD Taxes After Age 73?
- › The Inherited IRA 10-Year Rule (and the 2024 Final Regs)
- › What Happens If You Miss an RMD: The 25% Penalty and How to Fix It
- › QCDs: How Charitably-Minded Retirees Skip the RMD Tax
- › RMD Age Changes Under SECURE 2.0: What Pre-Retirees Need to Know
Social Security Claiming Strategy: When to File and Why It Matters More Than You Think
The math behind claiming at 62, full retirement age, or 70. How spousal and survivor benefits work, the earnings-test trap, and why this decision shapes 30 years of retirement income.
Read the strategy →- › Can My Wife Take Social Security At 62 And Then Switch To Spousal Benefit
- › Coordinating Social Security with a Pension After the WEP and GPO Repeal
- › Social Security and Divorce: What a 10-Year Marriage Unlocks for Divorced Spouses
- › The Earnings Test: How Working Before Full Retirement Age Affects Social Security
- › Social Security Strategies For Married Couples Calculator
- › Spousal and Survivor Benefits: How Couples Coordinate Social Security