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Fee-only investment management and tax planning

You saved for decades. Don’t give more of it to taxes than you have to.

Atwood Capital Management helps people approaching or in retirement invest their money, plan their taxes, and turn their savings into income.

Michael Labbe sitting on a park bench

Michael Labbe, CFA · Founder

Sound familiar?

The questions that come up as retirement gets closer

Will taxes take a bigger bite in retirement than I expect?

Should I convert part of my IRA to a Roth? How much, and when?

How will required distributions affect my taxes and Medicare premiums?

What happens to my spouse’s taxes if I die first?

Which accounts should I draw from first?

How much can I safely spend each year?

If these sound familiar, we can help.

The problem

The hidden cost of doing everything right

Decades of contributing to a 401(k) or IRA can leave you with a large tax bill in retirement. It tends to show up in three ways.

Withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income

Money leaving a traditional 401(k) or IRA is taxed at ordinary income rates, however it was invested.

Required distributions arrive on schedule

Eventually the IRS requires withdrawals each year, whether you need the money or not. That can push you into higher brackets and raise your Medicare premiums.

A surviving spouse often pays more

After one spouse dies, the other usually files as a single taxpayer, with narrower brackets on much the same income.

The early years of retirement are often the best time to act. After that, it usually costs more.

Our approach to tax planning

Every tax strategy we use comes down to three moves

Type

Converting income from one type to another

Turning ordinary income into capital gains, qualified dividends, or tax-free Roth growth.

Pocket

Shifting income from one pocket to another

Moving income to where it’s taxed least: a different state, account, or person.

Time

Shifting income from one time period to another

Recognizing income in the years it’s taxed least.

This framework is adapted from Taxes and Business Strategy by Nobel laureate Myron Scholes, Mark Wolfson, and coauthors, including Michael’s former Chicago Booth professor, Merle Erickson.

Services

How we help

Investment management

We invest your savings in diversified, low-cost funds built around your income needs and tax plan.

Tax planning

We plan what type of income you receive, which pocket it lands in, and when it’s taxed, years in advance.

Retirement income planning

We create a clear, sustainable plan for turning your savings into income, coordinated with Social Security and any pension.

We coordinate with your CPA so your tax plan and tax return work together.

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Michael Labbe leaning back on a park bench
About

Meet Michael Labbe, CFA

Michael founded Atwood Capital after seeing smart, successful people save and invest diligently for decades while giving little thought to taxes.

Before founding the firm, he spent eight years in investment research, corporate real estate, and investment banking. He works directly with every client.

Read about Michael
How it works

A straightforward process

1

Free review

We start with a phone or video call to look at your accounts, income, and tax picture. You’ll leave knowing whether a multi-year tax plan makes sense for you, whether or not we work together.

2

Your plan

We build your plan for investments, taxes, and retirement income and walk you through it, including the trade-offs, by phone, by video, or in person.

3

Ongoing implementation

We manage your portfolio, implement conversions and withdrawals, and update the plan as tax law and your life change.

Who we work with

You may be a good fit if…

  • You’re retired or within about ten years of retiring
  • You have roughly $1 million or more in investable assets
  • Taxes are one of your largest expenses, now or in retirement
  • You want a plan implemented for you, not just a report
Fees

Transparent pricing

1%

per year of assets managed, billed quarterly in arrears. On $1 million, that’s $10,000 a year. As a fee-only fiduciary, we’re required to act in your best interest, and we never earn commissions or sell products.

Insights

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Find out where you may be overpaying in taxes

The review is free, there’s no obligation, and we meet by phone or video.

Schedule a free review