As a fiduciary financial advisor in Charlotte, Holland Capital helps you bring salary, bonus, company stock, deferred pay and retirement accounts into one written plan, decide when work can become optional, and manage the investments to that plan. We work with clients by video and phone, and meet in person by appointment at our office in Ballantyne.
You saved in the 401(k) every year. You opened a brokerage account. You left a plan behind at an old job because moving it meant one more form. Somewhere in a drawer there is a will, and a beneficiary form you signed a long time ago.
What you may not have is one picture of how it all fits. Or a clear answer to the question under all of it: when is this enough?
The Plan Comes First
We start with dates and dollars, not products. When would you like work to become a choice instead of a requirement? What will the household spend in the first year after that? What will Social Security pay each of you, and when should each of you claim it?
Are you saving enough, and in the right accounts? Pre-tax, Roth and taxable dollars behave differently when it is time to spend them. The best mix depends on your income now and what it is likely to be later.
North Carolina taxes IRA and 401(k) withdrawals at its flat income tax rate. It does not tax Social Security benefits. That difference affects which dollars you draw first. Our retirement planning page shows how the pieces connect.
When Your Pay Arrives in Several Forms
If you work at one of Charlotte’s banks or financial firms, your salary may be the most predictable thing you earn.
The bonus comes once a year and is never quite the same twice. Restricted stock vests on its own calendar. A deferred compensation plan asked you, months ahead, how much pay to put off and when to take it. And the shares you already hold may belong to the same company that writes your paycheck.
Each piece raises its own question. Should vested shares be kept or sold, and what would selling cost in tax? When should deferred pay come out, given what else you will earn that year? How much of your net worth now rides on one employer?
There is no standard answer. It depends on what you spend, what else you own and where your tax bracket is headed. We read the actual plan documents before recommending anything. If your employer is Bank of America or Truist, our guides cover the benefits in more detail.
When one stock has grown into a large share of what you own, reducing it has a cost in tax as well as a benefit in risk. Our guide on concentrated stock walks through ways to do it over time.
RETIREMENT ENGINEERING™
The Order Matters
Five retirement decisions and why timing matters.
Managing the Portfolio to the Plan
Once the plan is settled, we write an investment policy statement. It says what each part of the money is for, when you expect to use it, how much volatility the plan can absorb and how each account is taxed.
We then build and manage the portfolio to that document. We treat company stock, a 401(k) you cannot move while you still work there and a brokerage account with large gains as parts of one portfolio. That remains true even when we do not hold an account directly. Where an investment is held changes what you keep after tax, which our asset location guide explains.
We begin with what you already own and change only what the plan calls for. For us, investment management is the ongoing work of keeping every account pointed at the same plan.
How We Work with Clients in Charlotte
Holland Capital Management is an independent registered investment adviser and a fiduciary. M. Chad Holland, CFA, CFP® works directly with clients and is responsible for the planning and advice.
Chad is a Charlotte native. Before Holland Capital, he spent more than 20 years working in the banking industry, most recently as a senior vice president and wealth management advisor at a regional private bank. Over his career, he has worked through dozens of bonus, stock and deferred pay decisions, for clients and for himself.
You do not need a finished spreadsheet for the first meeting. A recent pay statement, your benefits summary and one statement from each account are enough to start.
From there, we tell you what we see, what we would handle first and what can wait. Your CPA and your estate attorney, if you work with them, keep their roles. We work alongside them.
The first conversation is free. If there is work worth doing after that, we will define the scope and cost before you decide whether to move forward.
Holland Capital is based in Charlotte. Most of our work with clients happens by video or phone. When an in-person meeting makes sense, we can meet by appointment at our office at 15720 Brixham Hill Avenue, Suite 300.
Map and directions: Holland Capital Management, 15720 Brixham Hill Avenue, Charlotte.
We work with clients throughout North Carolina. You can see the other North Carolina communities we serve here.
Our what we do page explains how a planning engagement works.
RETIREMENT ENGINEERING™
The Order Matters
Five retirement decisions and why timing matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Are You Paid, and Do You Earn Commissions?
Advisory work is paid by fee: financial planning is offered for a fixed fee once the scope is clear, and investment management is an advisory fee based on the assets we manage. The firm is also licensed to provide insurance solutions, and when a client purchases an insurance policy, the firm may receive a commission. We are not fee-only. We act as a fiduciary when we give planning and investment advice, and you see the cost in writing before you decide anything.
Does Your Fiduciary Duty Cover Advice on Company Stock and Deferred Pay?
Yes. When we advise you on whether to keep or sell vested shares, how to elect deferred compensation or what to do with a 401(k) when you leave, that advice is part of our financial planning and investment advice. Holland Capital acts as a fiduciary when providing financial planning and investment advice, so the recommendation has to be made in your interest.
Some recommendations would also change what we earn, such as moving a rollover into an account we manage. When that is true, we say so before you decide.
Is My Charlotte Plan Prepared by a CFP® Professional?
Yes. M. Chad Holland, CFA, CFP® prepares the plan and gives the advice. It is not passed to a junior planner.
You can check his certification with CFP Board’s verification tool.
Do I Have to Come to Your Charlotte Office to Work with You?
No. Most planning meetings happen by video or phone, which can fit more easily around a workday.
When you would rather sit at the same table, we meet by appointment at our office at 15720 Brixham Hill Avenue.
Photo: Chris Hunkeler / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped.
