1. Investment Management
At the foundation of our work is disciplined, personalized investment management. We build portfolios designed for the long-term goals and risk tolerance of each family — drawing on Baird’s institutional research, our proprietary investment models, and broad access to individual securities, ETFs, and other investments.
Our team includes CPWA® and CFP® credentialed advisors who take a rigorous, research-driven approach to portfolio construction. We offer accounts for clients seeking a discretionary, fully managed relationship, as well as custom solutions for clients with concentrated positions, highly appreciated holdings, or other complex situations.
Importantly, we invest own capital in the same investment models we use for our clients — a meaningful alignment of interest that reflects our conviction in the strategies we recommend.
- Discretionary portfolio management
- Custom equity and fixed income strategies
- Concentrated stock and options management
- Ongoing monitoring, rebalancing, and tax-loss harvesting
2. Tax Planning & Strategy
Tax planning is not an afterthought at the Wholey Poitras Group — it is built into everything we do. This is a genuine structural advantage: your investment decisions, your estate plan, and your tax strategy are developed in coordination, not in silos.
For high-net-worth families, the difference between a good investment plan and a great one often comes down to tax efficiency. We work proactively throughout the year — not just at tax season — to identify opportunities and minimize liabilities.
- Integrated federal and state income tax planning
- Capital gains management and tax-loss harvesting
- Roth conversion and tax-bracket management strategies
- Business owner tax planning, including entity structure and qualified retirement plans
- Executive compensation: stock option exercise strategies, RSU/ESPP planning
- Multi-state and international tax considerations for clients with multiple residences
- Coordination with your CPA or tax preparer on year-end filings
3. Estate Planning & Wealth Transfer
For families with significant wealth, an estate plan is not a document — it is a strategy. It is the expression of your values, your intentions, and your vision for the people and causes you care about. Getting it right requires coordination between your investment advisor, your tax strategist, and your estate planning team.
We deliver estate planning support that is directly integrated with your investment and tax strategy. For many clients, Baird Trust also provides trust administration, estate settlement, fiduciary services, and charitable giving vehicles.
We also hold the Certified Private Wealth Advisor® (CPWA®) designation — awarded by the Investments & Wealth Institute — which is specifically designed for advisors working with ultra-high-net-worth clients and complex wealth transfer situations. It represents advanced, post-graduate training in estate planning, tax strategy, behavioral finance, and wealth transfer for families with significant assets.
- Revocable and irrevocable trust structures
- Wealth transfer strategies: GRATs, SLATs, IDGTs, and family limited partnerships
- Charitable planning: donor-advised funds, charitable remainder trusts, private foundations
- Estate tax planning and exemption optimization
- Business succession and ownership transfer planning
- Coordination with your estate attorney on document design and execution
- Trust administration and fiduciary services through Baird Trust
The Baird Trust Advantage
Many advisory firms manage investments and refer clients elsewhere for trust and estate services. We do it differently. Through Baird Trust, our clients have access to professional trust administration, estate settlement, and fiduciary expertise — all coordinated directly with their Wholey Poitras Group advisory team. This eliminates the gaps, delays, and miscommunication that often arise when estate planning and investment management are handled by separate firms. This collaboration is one reason that many clients have chosen to work with our team versus an independent firm or multi-family office.
4. Financial Planning
A strong financial plan is the foundation of every decision we make together. Our CFP®-credentialed advisors take a comprehensive approach — starting with a deep understanding of your goals, your family, your timeline, and your values — and developing a plan that integrates every dimension of your financial life.
For new clients, we begin with a thorough discovery process to understand not just your balance sheet, but your family dynamics, your priorities, and the outcomes that matter most to you. For ongoing clients, we revisit and update the plan as your life evolves.
- Comprehensive financial plan development
- Income and distribution planning
- Education funding strategies (529 plans, UGMA/UTMA, trusts for education)
- Insurance analysis and risk management review
- Cash flow and liability management
- Beneficiary designation and titling review
- Annual planning reviews and life-event check-ins
5. Multi-Generational Wealth Planning
One of the most important — and most frequently neglected — dimensions of high-net-worth financial planning is preparing the next generation. Studies consistently show that wealth transfer often fails not because of poor investment performance or bad tax planning, but because adult children are unprepared for the responsibilities that come with inherited wealth.
We take a different approach. We actively build relationships with your adult children — not as a courtesy, but as a core part of our practice. We introduce them to planning concepts, include them in appropriate conversations, and help them develop the financial fluency they will need to be responsible stewards of family wealth.
- Family wealth education and next-generation engagement
- Adult children onboarding as advisory clients
- Family governance frameworks and family meeting facilitation
- Trustee education and beneficiary counseling
- Coordinated family wealth strategy across multiple accounts and generations
- Wealth transfer planning and lifetime gifting strategies
