Personal Financial Planning for Executives and Entrepreneurs

Michael J. Nathanson is the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of The Colony Group, LLC. He is widely regarded as a leader in the wealth management industry and is committed to sharing his knowledge and experience with colleagues, clients, and the next generation of industry leaders. He is active in many industry-wide organizations and has served on numerous boards, including the Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services Advisor Council and the Schwab Advisor Services Advisory Board. Previously, he served on the Board of Advisors for Boston University's Program for Financial Planners and as Co-Chairman of the Boston Bar Association Tax Section. Previously, Nathanson served as President, Chief Financial Officer, and General Counsel of The Colony Group. Prior to joining The Colony Group, he was a Senior Partner at the international law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, where he held several leadership positions. He earned his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Harvard Law School, an LL.M. in Taxation from Boston University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from Brandeis University, where he was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa and was the recipient of numerous academic honors.

Additional Authors from The Colony Group include:

Jeffrey T. Craig, CFP®

Senior Vice President & Senior Wealth Advisor

Jennifer A. Geoghegan, MBA

Chief of Staff & Strategy

Max B. Haspel

Co-President, Business Owner Services & Senior Wealth Advisor

Nadine Gordon Lee, CPA/PFS, CFP®

Effective financial planning for executives and entrepreneurs is complex, dense, and impossible to reduce to a single, easy-to-understand formula. Designed to emphasize the importance of successful, targeted financial planning, this book begins by telling a story about a fictional, but plausible, power couple and their family who (spoiler alert!) do pretty much everything wrong in securing their financial future. In most cases, they don't do the things needed because they don't know what they are. Using this story as a case study of an executive and an entrepreneur, the book breaks down the case into chapters and offers practical discussions of all the key financial planning components-investment planning, tax planning, estate planning, philanthropic planning, risk management, and equity-based compensation to name a few-with the tools needed to tailor a plan for virtually every circumstance and need. While there is no single plan that works for everybody, this book provides a guide, with technical information alongside general themes, focused on how to build an effective financial plan.

In addition to all the benefits of the first edition, this second edition provides significant new content and insights for the entrepreneur who is planning for a future liquidity event such as a sale. It also provides detail on how to manage concentrated ownership positions and on ESG investment strategies, a rapidly growing investment theme. Finally, the second edition includes tax, estate planning, regulatory, and other updates to reflect changes since the first edition was published.

Chapter 1. The Story of David and Goliath, and Abby and Samson: A Journey with No Direction.- Chapter 2. The Goals of Executive Financial Planning: Peace of Mind and the Five Pillars.- Chapter 3. Understanding and Negotiating Executive Emplyment Agreements for Success.- Chapter 4. The ABCs (and ESPPs, RSUs, SARs, ISOs, and NSOs) of Equity-Based Compensation.- Chapter 5. The Story of David and Goliath, And Abby and Samson: The Aftermath.- Chapter 6. Achieving Financial Independence: Goals-Based Planning.- Chapter 7. Investment Planning in Five Steps.- Chapter 8. Tax Planning and the Ten Commandments.- Chapter 9. Estate Planning and Why It's Really So Important.- Chapter 10. Planning for Philanthrophy and What It Can Do for Everyone.- Chapter 11 Too Much of a Good Thing: Managing Concentrated Holdings.- Chapter 12. Managing Some of Life's Great Risks Through Insurance.- Chapter 13. Five-Pillared Planning for Exits and Other Liquidity Events.- Chapter 14. Finding the Right Advisors.- Chapter 15. The Alternative Story of Delilah, Redemption, and the Promised Land.