Riverstone Wealth Planners | Chester, New Jersey | Serving Morris County and the NJ/NY Metro Area

 

 

These are the questions we hear most often from individuals and families considering working with us. If you don't see your question answered here, we'd welcome a conversation.

 

About Riverstone Wealth Planners

  • Do you do tax planning?

    Yes, though we are not tax preparers and do not file returns. What we do is tax-aware financial planning — meaning every investment, withdrawal, and financial decision we make is evaluated through a tax lens. We coordinate closely with your CPA and think proactively about strategies like Roth conversions, tax loss harvesting, Required Minimum Distribution planning, and income timing to minimize your lifetime tax burden.

  • Do you offer hourly or fee-only financial planning?

    Yes. For clients who want comprehensive financial planning without an ongoing asset management relationship, we offer hourly financial planning engagements. This works well for individuals who have specific questions they want answered or decisions they want help navigating without committing to a long-term advisory relationship.

  • Do you specialize in working with women?

    Yes. A significant portion of our practice involves working with independent women navigating major financial transitions — divorce, the loss of a spouse, inheritance, or simply taking full control of their finances for the first time. These situations require both technical expertise and genuine sensitivity to what someone is going through personally. We understand that financial decisions made during a major life transition have long-lasting consequences, and we take that responsibility seriously.

  • Do you use alternative investments?

    Yes. For qualified clients, we incorporate alternative investments including private credit, private equity, and interval funds as part of a diversified portfolio strategy. These investments offer return streams that are not correlated with traditional stock and bond markets, which can meaningfully reduce overall portfolio volatility and improve long-term outcomes for the right clients.

Working With Us

  • How do you charge for your services?

    Our primary service model is fee-based asset management, meaning we charge an annual advisory fee based on the assets we manage for you. For certain investment strategies including structured notes, we may earn a commission. We are transparent about how we are compensated and happy to walk you through the full picture before you make any decisions.

  • Do you offer hourly or fee-only financial planning?

    Yes. For clients who want comprehensive financial planning without an ongoing asset management relationship, we offer hourly financial planning engagements. This works well for individuals who have specific questions they want answered or decisions they want help navigating without committing to a long-term advisory relationship.

  • How often will we meet?

    We meet with clients at least annually for a comprehensive review and more frequently when circumstances warrant it — a job change, a pending liquidity event, a market disruption, or a major life transition. All meetings are by appointment. We also proactively reach out when something in the market or tax environment is relevant to your specific situation.

  • What does financial planning actually include?

    Comprehensive financial planning at Riverstone covers retirement income planning, tax-aware withdrawal strategies, Social Security optimization, estate planning coordination, insurance analysis, and long-term cash flow modeling. We work closely with your CPA and estate attorney to make sure your plan is coordinated across all dimensions of your financial life — not just the investment portfolio.

  • When should I start working with a financial advisor?

    The earlier the better, but there is no wrong time to start. The clients who benefit most from proactive planning are typically in their late 40s and 50s, when retirement is close enough to plan for seriously but far enough away that meaningful decisions can still be made. That said, we also work with clients who come to us in the middle of a life transition — a divorce, an inheritance, a business sale — where the immediate need for guidance is acute.

Financial Planning

  • What happens to my financial plan during market volatility?

    Your financial plan is built to withstand market volatility, not to depend on smooth sailing. During periods of market disruption, we proactively reach out to clients, review their specific situation, and identify any planning opportunities the volatility may have created — including tax loss harvesting, Roth conversion opportunities, and portfolio rebalancing. We do not make reactive changes to long-term plans based on short-term market noise.

  • What makes your investment approach different?

    Most advisors build portfolios from the same universe of mutual funds and ETFs available on any major platform. We go further. For the right clients, we incorporate custom structured notes, private credit, interval funds, and other alternative investments that provide non-correlated returns, defined risk parameters, and income streams that traditional portfolios cannot replicate. These are institutional-quality tools that most retail investors simply don't have access to through a standard brokerage relationship.

  • What are structured notes and are they right for me?

    Structured notes are customized investment products linked to the performance of a market index, with built-in features like principal protection barriers, defined return caps, and automatic call provisions. They are not right for everyone, but for clients with the appropriate risk profile, time horizon, and liquidity needs, they can provide meaningful advantages — including defined downside protection and enhanced return potential in flat or moderately rising markets. William Clinton has nearly two decades of experience with structured products and holds the CIMA® designation, one of the most rigorous investment management credentials in the industry.

Investment Management

  • Do you use alternative investments?

    Yes. For qualified clients, we incorporate alternative investments including private credit, private equity, and interval funds as part of a diversified portfolio strategy. These investments offer return streams that are not correlated with traditional stock and bond markets, which can meaningfully reduce overall portfolio volatility and improve long-term outcomes for the right clients.

  • How do you manage risk?

    Risk management at Riverstone is not just about asset allocation percentages. It involves understanding each client's specific income needs, time horizon, tax situation, and emotional tolerance for volatility — and building a portfolio that reflects all of those dimensions. For some clients, structured notes with defined barriers provide better downside protection than a traditional bond allocation. For others, diversification across traditional and alternative asset classes is the right approach. We do not apply a one-size-fits-all model.

  • Do you do tax planning?

    Yes, though we are not tax preparers and do not file returns. What we do is tax-aware financial planning — meaning every investment, withdrawal, and financial decision we make is evaluated through a tax lens. We coordinate closely with your CPA and think proactively about strategies like Roth conversions, tax loss harvesting, Required Minimum Distribution planning, and income timing to minimize your lifetime tax burden.

  • What is a Roth conversion and should I do one?

    A Roth conversion involves moving money from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, paying taxes now in exchange for tax-free growth and withdrawals in the future. Whether it makes sense depends on your current tax bracket, expected future income, Medicare situation, and time horizon. It is one of the most valuable — and most misunderstood — strategies in retirement tax planning. We have written extensively about this in our Tax Planning Series on the Riverstone blog.

Tax Planning

  • How can I reduce taxes in retirement?

    Reducing taxes in retirement requires coordinating withdrawals across different account types — taxable brokerage accounts, traditional IRAs, and Roth accounts — in a sequence that minimizes your marginal tax rate over time. It also involves managing Required Minimum Distributions, understanding how Social Security income is taxed, and being aware of how income levels affect Medicare premiums. This is one of the highest-value planning areas we work on with clients approaching and in retirement.

  • Do you specialize in working with women?

    Yes. A significant portion of our practice involves working with independent women navigating major financial transitions — divorce, the loss of a spouse, inheritance, or simply taking full control of their finances for the first time. These situations require both technical expertise and genuine sensitivity to what someone is going through personally. We understand that financial decisions made during a major life transition have long-lasting consequences, and we take that responsibility seriously.

  • What is the Widow's Tax Penalty and how can it be avoided?

    The Widow's Tax Penalty refers to the higher tax burden a surviving spouse often faces after the death of a partner. Because they must file as a single taxpayer starting the year after the death, their income is taxed at compressed single-filer rates, which can result in significantly higher taxes on the same income. With advance planning — including Roth conversions, Social Security timing, and coordinated withdrawal strategies — much of this impact can be reduced or managed. We have written a detailed article on this topic in our Tax Planning Series.

Independent Women and Life Transitions

  • I recently went through a divorce. How can you help?

    Divorce involves some of the most consequential financial decisions a person makes — dividing retirement accounts, evaluating pension options, understanding tax implications of asset transfers, and rebuilding a financial plan as a single person. We work with women at every stage of this process, from helping evaluate settlement proposals to building a comprehensive plan for what comes next.

  • Do you work with business owners planning to sell their company?

    Yes. Helping business owners navigate the financial complexity of a company sale is one of the areas we are most passionate about. The period leading up to and following a business sale involves significant decisions around tax planning, investment of proceeds, estate planning, and retirement income strategy. We have firsthand experience quarterbacking liquidity events and work closely with investment bankers, M&A attorneys, and tax advisors to make sure our clients are well-positioned before, during, and after the transaction.

  • When should a business owner start thinking about exit planning?

    Ideally 3-5 years before a planned exit. The planning decisions made in the years before a sale — including how the business is structured, how proceeds will be invested, and what tax strategies are available — can have an enormous impact on the net outcome. Waiting until a deal is on the table significantly reduces your options.

Business Owners and Exit Planning

  • What happens to my wealth after I sell my business?

    The period immediately following a business sale is one of the most critical and often overlooked phases of financial planning. You may have more liquid wealth than you've ever managed, significant tax obligations, and decisions that need to be made quickly about where and how to invest the proceeds. We help clients build a comprehensive post-sale financial plan that addresses investment strategy, tax efficiency, income planning, and estate considerations.

  • Do you work with pharmaceutical and biotech executives in New Jersey?

    Yes. New Jersey is home to some of the world's largest pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, and we work with executives at many of them on the financial complexity that comes with senior-level compensation. This includes restricted stock units, non-qualified stock options, employee stock purchase plans, nonqualified deferred compensation plans, and concentrated stock positions.

  • What should I do with my RSUs when they vest?

    Restricted stock units create a taxable event at vesting regardless of whether you sell the shares. From that point forward, any appreciation is treated as a capital gain. The decision about what to do with vested RSUs — hold, sell immediately, or develop a systematic selling plan — depends on your overall financial picture, your concentration in company stock, your tax situation, and your view of the company's prospects. This is a decision that benefits from careful analysis rather than a default approach.

Executive Compensation

  • What is concentrated stock risk and how do I manage it?

    Concentrated stock risk occurs when a significant portion of your net worth is tied to a single company's stock — often your employer. This creates a risk profile that most financial plans are not designed to handle. Strategies for managing concentrated stock include systematic diversification, hedging strategies, exchange funds, and charitable giving vehicles. The right approach depends on your tax basis, your timeline, and your overall financial goals.

  • Is the initial conversation free?

    Yes. The initial conversation is completely complimentary and carries no obligation. It is simply an opportunity for us to learn about your situation and for you to learn about how we work. If it's a good fit, we'll talk about next steps. If it isn't, we'll tell you honestly and point you in the right direction.

Getting Started

  • What should I bring to our first meeting?

    A general sense of your current financial picture is helpful — account balances, income sources, any specific questions or concerns you have. You don't need to bring formal documents to an introductory conversation. We'll tell you exactly what we need once we've decided to move forward together.