Wealth Management

While we believe investing our clients’ money intelligently and prudently is our first responsibility, there are numerous other ways in which we seek to provide value to them that go beyond their portfolios.

The following are a few of the many examples of how we’ve helped various clients address financial issues, plan for the future, and improve their overall quality of life.

Education

  • Assisted numerous clients with the development of funding strategies to pay for their children’s college expenses.

Retirement Planning

  • Helped a client’s daughter establish a Roth IRA to receive gift contributions from her parents.
  • Advised a client whether to take a lifetime pension or roll the lump sum into a rollover IRA.

Estate Planning

  • Supported a client in developing a charitable gift strategy including the funding of a major memorial gift to her husband’s alma mater and the selection and establishment of a donor-advised fund at a local community foundation.
  • Provided advice regarding family gifts where one of the children was going through a divorce.
  • Helped a recently widowed client navigate the estate settlement, including the retention of foreign legal counsel to assist with assets located outside of the United States.

Other

  • Assisted a client in securing a margin loan through our portfolio custodian to bridge a home purchase. This alternative provided an easy, low-cost solution for the client.
  • Consulted with two daughters on when and how to take control of their ailing father’s finances, care and living situation.

How We Work With You

At its best, the relationship between a financial advisor and his or her clients is a very personal one, and it has to be.

To serve you well, we need to know a great deal about you – who you are, what you do, what you care about and value, your family dynamics, your current and future financial prospects, and so on. Only by being aware of and understanding these things can we construct a strategy for you based on clearly defined goals and objectives.

Because we’ve discovered that there’s no substitute for your having the direct attention of one of our partners, that’s how we’re structured. You’ll work directly with a Principal, who in turn will have another Principal backing him or her up.

It’s worth noting that Birch Hill is a Fee-Only Registered Investment Advisor. Our compensation is based only on the fees we receive for the assets we manage, and that in turn means we always operate in our clients’ best interest. After all, if we are able to help you grow your wealth, our fees grow as well. We are incentivized both emotionally and financially to deliver for you.

Our Process

  • We start by developing an individual strategy reflecting your growth objectives, overall risk tolerance and income needs.
  • We coordinate with your lawyer, tax advisor and other professional advisors to ensure that we are collectively addressing your personal financial goals in the most efficient manner.
  • We work with you to establish charitable and family gift strategies.
  • We serve as trustee for many of our clients, where our understanding of your financial circumstances and our independent role can be valuable.
  • Our broad management experience allows us to provide guidance to you on a range of personal financial decisions.