As a fiduciary financial advisor in New Smyrna Beach, Holland Capital helps you turn retirement accounts, Social Security, taxable investments and your home into one plan: what to spend, which account pays for it, and how to keep the tax bill down. We plan those decisions first and invest to carry them out.
The saving part is behind you.
It took decades. Contributions every payday, a rollover when you changed jobs, a brokerage account that grew larger than you expected. The house is paid for, or close to it. By any fair measure, it worked.
What you have now is a collection. An IRA or two. A taxable account with gains in it. Social Security, already started or about to be. Perhaps a pension. Cash in more than one bank. Each piece was set up at a different time, for a different reason, and none of them was set up to work with the others.
Holland Capital puts those pieces into one plan. We decide how they work together, which account pays the bills and when, and what those choices do to your taxes. Then we manage the investments to that plan.
The Money Has a Different Job Now
While you were working, the rules were simple. Put money in, keep it invested, leave it alone.
In retirement, money comes out. The questions are about order and timing. Which account do you draw from this year? How much? What does that withdrawal do to your tax bill, and to next year’s?
The answers depend on each other. Money from an IRA is taxed as ordinary income. Money from a brokerage account may be taxed only on the gain, and sometimes at a lower rate. Money from a Roth account is usually not taxed at all. Once required minimum distributions begin, the IRA also sets part of your income whether you need the money or not.
Medicare adds its own wrinkle. Your premiums are based on your income from two years earlier. A large IRA withdrawal or a big capital gain in one year can raise what you pay for Medicare two years later.
So we plan the withdrawals several years at a time. Some years it may make sense to take more from the IRA, or convert part of it to Roth, while your income is lower. Other years the taxable account may carry more of the load. Our guide to Roth conversions explains that trade-off, and retirement planning shows how the rest of the plan is built.
The Taxable Account Nobody Planned
The brokerage account may have started as extra savings and quietly become one of the largest things you own.
It may hold stocks or funds you have owned for years, with gains large enough that selling them is no longer a simple investment decision. Changing the portfolio can change the tax bill too.
That account can do things an IRA cannot. You can choose which shares to sell and how much gain to recognize, and coordinate those decisions with IRA withdrawals, Roth conversions and charitable giving. Those choices are planned across several years, so the accounts work together.
What you spend and what you keep can matter too. Under current law, investments your heirs inherit generally receive a new cost basis at your death, so an asset that looks expensive to sell today may look different when you consider the whole plan. Our guide to capital gains tax planning covers the choices in more detail.
The House Belongs in the Plan Too
The house does not show up on an investment statement. It still shapes the plan.
It costs money every year: property tax, insurance, upkeep, the roof that will need replacing eventually. It also holds value you may use one day. You might stay for good. You might sell and move somewhere smaller, or closer to family. You might keep it so it passes to your children.
Each of those choices changes how much the rest of your savings has to do. We do not ask you to decide now. We show what each path would mean for your income, your taxes and what you leave behind, so the decision is ready when you are.
Investing to the Plan
Once the plan is written, the portfolio has clear instructions.
We put those instructions in a written investment policy statement: what your savings have to provide, the level of risk the plan can live with, and the tax treatment of every account. The portfolio is then run to that policy. The goal is to keep as much of the return as possible after tax, without taking more risk than the plan needs.
Where each investment is held is part of the work. An investment that throws off taxable income may belong in the IRA. One you expect to hold for many years may belong in the taxable account or the Roth. Our guide to asset location explains why the same holding can leave you with a different result after tax.
Your current holdings are the starting point. A holding with a large gain is not sold just to make the statement look tidy. The tax cost of selling is part of the decision. Our investment management carries out the plan from there.
Working with Holland Capital
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.
Nothing has to be sorted before we talk. A recent statement from each account, your Social Security figures and last year’s tax return are enough to begin. We look at what you have, what you spend and what you want the money to do for you and your family.
Then we tell you what we see, what we would change first and what we would leave alone. Your CPA and estate attorney keep their roles, and we work with them when the plan reaches your tax return or your documents.
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.
Our offices are in Charlotte, North Carolina and Winter Park, Florida. We work with clients in New Smyrna Beach primarily by video or phone. When an in-person meeting makes sense, we meet by appointment at the Regus center at 444 Seabreeze Boulevard in Daytona Beach, about 25 minutes north.
For clients whose investments we manage, accounts are held directly at Charles Schwab in the client’s own name. Holland Capital manages the investments but does not take custody of client assets. If a client ever needs in-person assistance from Schwab, the closest branch is in Ormond Beach at 1414 West Granada Boulevard.
We work with clients throughout Florida. You can see the other Florida 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
What Does a Fiduciary Financial Advisor Do Once You Are Already Retired?
Most of the work shifts from growing the money to drawing it down well. That means setting a spending level, choosing which account pays each year, timing Roth conversions and capital gains, and keeping the investments in line with the plan as markets move.
As a fiduciary, Holland Capital is required to act in your best interest when providing financial planning and investment advice. If a recommendation would change what we are paid, we tell you before you decide.
Can We Give to Charity Directly From an IRA?
Yes, once you are 70½ or older. A qualified charitable distribution goes from your IRA straight to a charity. It is not included in your taxable income, and once required minimum distributions have begun, it can count toward them.
There is an annual limit, which the IRS adjusts for inflation, and the money must go directly from the IRA to the charity. The IRS explains the rules in Publication 590-B.
If We Sell the House, Will We Owe Tax on the Gain?
Often not much. If you owned the home and lived in it as your main home for at least two of the five years before the sale, you can generally exclude up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly.
Gain above that amount is taxable. The IRS explains the rules in its guide to selling your home. We look at the sale alongside the rest of that year’s income, since a large gain can also affect your Medicare premiums two years later.
Do I Need a Fiduciary Financial Advisor Based in New Smyrna Beach?
No. Withdrawal plans, tax projections and portfolio reviews all work well by video or phone, with your statements on the same screen for both of us.
When a meeting in person is more useful, we meet by appointment at the Regus center on Seabreeze Boulevard in Daytona Beach.
Photo: Niranjan Arminius / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.
