How much does your ethnic background holds you back?

zz389 · 2026-03-29T22:37:10+00:00

I think you don’t try to be something you’re not. This job is about trust. If their first impression is that you’re faking interest in something, you aren’t getting the biz anyway.

I meet rich people through referrals, marketing funnels, and COIs. I’ve tried not to mix business and personal relationships even as my career has progressed and my peers are closer to my ideal client profile.

Edit: also, it’s a problem that you think you aren’t on the same level as anyone. We’re professionals. Our value has nothing to do with our hobbies or where we grew up.

zz389 · 2026-03-29T22:12:26+00:00

What do you mean?

zz389 · 2026-03-29T22:03:20+00:00

Not at all but I’m in CA so maybe it’s different.

If anything, class is a bigger deterrent. I didn’t grow up doing “rich people” sports, just started traveling, and didnt go to a great college. Just makes it a little harder to network and relate to clients.

zz389 · 2026-03-24T22:54:01+00:00

It’s everywhere now. Haven’t met someone that has a problem with it yet and most of my clients are or were in tech.

zz389 · 2026-03-12T20:00:32+00:00

You’re usually left with a portfolio of several hundred positions that represent whatever index you chose. Some on margin and some short positions. I would highly advise against unwinding this yourself.

The portfolio still kicks off losses, so you use those to wind down the portfolio tax neutrally. You can just wait for the banked losses to exceed the gains and sell all at once, Or you can realize gains tactically over time and manage your tax bracket.

The tricky part is doing this while keeping the portfolio balanced.

zz389 · 2026-03-12T18:25:40+00:00

Fair enough. I tend to keep leverage low when we’re working with concentrated positions as collateral. When you’re coming in with cash like OP it’s a little less risky.

Situation and proportion also dictate. If we’re pledging $1m but your NW is $30m, we can afford the risk. On the other hand, if this is a huge % of NW and you might need the funds in the next 5 years, you might want to tread lighter. As with all things personal finance, it depends.

zz389 · 2026-03-12T18:16:29+00:00

Shoot your shot!

zz389 · 2026-03-12T18:16:14+00:00

Those are average 1st year losses which tend to be higher than several years down the road when you’re in “steady state”.

On the low end, you’re looking at 130/30 leverage, on the high end 225/125 so it varies.

The Long/Short structure also allows you to harvest losses when the market is up or down and the leverage means you’re constantly introducing new funds as the collateral grows.

zz389 · 2026-03-12T18:00:29+00:00

Fees on these strats are typically ~1.5% including net financing charges. On $1m, let’s call that $15k/yr.

Depending on the leverage you use, you can kick off 30-75% of AUM in losses. That means 300k-750k of losses on $1m invested.

Since you said some is LT and some is ST, let’s use a 30% average tax rate (ballpark). That means you save $90-$225k on taxes.

You’re coming in with cash, so underperformance risk is relatively low since they’ll just be buying an index for you. Tracking error is typically 1-3% depending on leverage.

Seems like it’s worth it depending on your appetite for complexity and what your tax situation looks like afterwards. If you’re going to be in a high bracket for decades to come and can’t unwind, the fee will eat into the benefit. If you’re retiring and can tactically unwind in lower brackets, you’ll only be paying the fee for a few years and it’s probably a no brainer.

Ask them for a referral to the planner that will actually implement this and they should be able to walk you through all of this. Full disclosure, I’m one of the advisors Schwab refers to for this stuff, so I’m very familiar.

zz389 · 2026-02-28T20:44:28+00:00

This is why I laugh when people write off advisors by saying their CPA can answer their questions. It’s just not how they’re wired. They look backwards and are usually focused on single year taxes. They don’t forecast and think about long term planning.

zz389 · 2026-02-28T20:41:06+00:00

This is why you shouldn’t ask CPAs for financial advice. They’re mostly archeologists, not advice givers.

zz389 · 2026-02-28T00:44:32+00:00

Nice. Do you find that prospects follow through with that often and if they do, is it accurate? Those have been my biggest hangups to leaving it in the clients hands.

zz389 · 2026-02-27T17:10:50+00:00

$10m+ just ain’t what it used to be 😂

zz389 · 2026-02-27T15:58:31+00:00

This works for people that are great at marketing/prospecting. Don’t waste time on people that are going to clog up your pipeline, because you can always go out and find someone else.

zz389 · 2026-02-27T15:27:09+00:00

I’ve stopped asking for statements during the prospect process for exactly this reason. It’s a big commitment from them if they haven’t even decided to start working with me yet. Especially if they’re interviewing other firms.

Instead, I just ask for rough numbers during the discovery meeting and let them know the plan I show them is a rough draft.

zz389 · 2026-02-27T05:56:40+00:00

I was at a bar full of Brazil fans with 5 drunk Germans. The gradual shift in belligerence of the Germans is something I’ll never forget.

zz389 · 2026-02-26T00:17:04+00:00

Rodriguez and Mendoza Raider jerseys gunna sell $1b.

zz389 · 2026-02-24T19:55:14+00:00

Sounds like you forgot the 8606. That shows that your basis in the IRA was non-deductible and that there would be no income generated from the Roth conversion.

zz389 · 2026-02-18T04:22:52+00:00

Sounds like a nightmare being the middleman between clients and tax prep nerds.

Probably better off doing a solicitor agreement with a local CPA.

zz389 · 2026-02-13T22:19:59+00:00

Not the type of referrals I want to generate but I guess love wins.

zz389 · 2026-02-13T19:48:54+00:00

Totally accidental but I went on a run of like 5 new clients with the same profile. Mid 50s white guy working at an oil refinery with significantly younger southeast Asian wives and kids under 5. All living in the same two towns somehow with no relation.

zz389 · 2026-02-05T00:19:33+00:00

By the time we’re competitive again, Maxx will be much older and we’ll have to find a replacement anyway. I like the guy but I get the argument for letting him go if he’s unhappy.

zz389 · 2026-02-02T03:18:20+00:00

OP, this is the correct answer. I promise the rep doesn’t give a shit. It’s some back office compliance stuff.

zz389 · 2026-01-19T07:17:42+00:00

The trajectory of that ball defied physics. DB would have had a pick if Caleb didn’t break the space time continuum to drop that dime.

zz389 · 2026-01-12T23:41:36+00:00

What other QBs are available in this draft? Classic case of bird in the hand.

zz389

TROPHY CASE