Early fall (September or October) is a valuable window for high-net-worth individuals to reassess their financial picture before the year-end. It's the perfect time to review your portfolio, implement tax-efficient strategies, and ensure your estate and legacy plans align with your current goals. This fall financial planning checklist highlights key actions to help you close the year with clarity, control, and confidence.

1. Investment Portfolio
   • Analyze Investment Performance: Evaluate your entire investment portfolio, including stocks, bonds, private equity, hedge funds, real estate holdings, cash, etc. Assess performance against benchmarks and your long-term goals and objectives.
   • Consider Strategic Rebalancing: Market volatility or geopolitical shifts may warrant periodic adjustments to your asset allocation. Consult with your wealth professional on whether adjustments are needed to maintain your target risk/reward balance.
   • Optimize Taxes with Loss Harvesting & Gain Deferral: If you've realized capital gains this year, consider selling underperforming investments to harvest losses that can help offset those gains. Also consider deferring some gains until next year, depending on your overall tax strategy. For substantial portfolios, even small tax efficiencies can lead to significant capital preservation.
   • Review Your Liquidity Strategy: Ensure sufficient liquid assets are available to cover expected spending, taxes, and opportunistic investments without having to sell long-term assets at an inopportune time. This means planning for cash needs, making sure your portfolio includes some liquid assets, and setting aside a buffer for unexpected expenses.
2. Retirement & Tax-Advantaged Accounts
   • Optimize Tax-Deferred Accounts: Maximize contributions to tax-advantaged retirement plans such as 401(k)s, traditional IRAs (if eligible for deductions), SEP IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs. If you're age 50 or older, take advantage of catch-up contributions where available to boost retirement savings and potentially reduce your taxable income. For 2025:
     • 401(k) plans: Additional $7,500 catch-up (total contribution limit: $30,500 for those 50+).
     • Extended 401(k) catch-up (ages 60–63 only): Up to $11,250 if eligible, subject to income limits.
     • Traditional and Roth IRAs: Additional $1,000 catch-up (total contribution limit: $8,000 for those 50+).
     • SEP IRAs: Total contribution limit; $70,000.
     • SIMPLE IRAs: Additional $3,500 catch-up (total contribution limit: $19,000 for those 50+).
   • Review Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plans: Assess your current deferral elections, payout schedule, and distribution timing options. Consider whether adjustments could improve multi-year tax efficiency while aligning with your liquidity needs and long-term retirement goals.
   • Review Roth Conversions: Assess the potential benefits of converting traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs based on your current tax bracket and expected future tax scenarios.
3. Tax Planning & Income Management
   • Estimate Tax Rate: Work with your tax advisor to update your projected effective tax rate for 2025 and uncover opportunities for effective tax planning strategies.
   • Optimize Your Charitable Giving Strategy: Review your philanthropic priorities and consider advanced strategies such as donating appreciated securities to avoid capital gains tax, bunching contributions to exceed the standard deduction, or using donor-advised funds (DAFs) to enhance long-term flexibility. These techniques can amplify your charitable impact, generate meaningful tax benefits, and support multi-generational wealth transfer goals.
   • Defer Income Strategically: If possible, structure bonuses, equity compensation, and other income sources to manage your tax liability across multiple years. When appropriate, deferring income to the next tax year can reduce your current-year tax burden and support broader financial and retirement planning goals.
   • Multi-State Tax Planning: If you maintain residences or earn income in multiple states, work with your advisor to navigate residency rules, allocate income appropriately, and optimize state and local tax strategies. Proactive planning can help maximize deductions and prevent unexpected tax liabilities.
4. Estate & Legacy Planning
   • Review Estate Planning Documents: Confirm all legal instruments including your will, trusts, healthcare directives and powers of attorney reflect your current wishes, family circumstances and any recent regulatory changes. If you don't have these documents in place, now is the perfect time to meet with your wealth professional to get the process started.
   • Update Beneficiary Designations: Confirm that all retirement accounts, insurance policies, and other financial assets have up-to-date beneficiaries that align with your current estate plan and intentions.
   • Consider Annual Gift Tax Exclusion: Take advantage of the $19,000 annual exclusion (per recipient, per donor) to make tax-free gifts to family members or others. This strategy can reduce the size of your taxable estate over time.
   • Update Family on Estate Planning Changes: Keep your family informed about any updates or changes to your estate and wealth transfer plans to ensure everyone understands your intentions. Open communication can help prevent misunderstandings, ease the administration process, and provide peace of mind for your heirs.
   • Philanthropy & Impact Investing: Reflect on your current and future charitable giving plans and explore ways to align your investments with causes that matter to you, combining purpose with potential financial benefits.
5. Debt & Risk Management
   • Optimize Your Debt Strategy: Whether you're working to eliminate high-interest debt or considering strategic borrowing, your approach should align with your financial situation and goals.
     • For High-Cost Debt: Prioritize paying down high-interest consumer debt that erodes wealth (credit cards, high-interest personal loans).
     • For Wealth-Building Debt: Strategically maintain and leverage favorable debt that can enhance your financial position (mortgages, investment property loans, business financing).
     • For Tax-Advantaged Debt: Consider the complete financial impact, including potential tax benefits of certain loans (mortgage interest, business loans, education loans).
   • Double Check Your Risk Protection: Review your insurance coverage to ensure it adequately protects your health, income, and assets. Consider policies for health, life, long-term care, disability, identity theft, and any high-value property you own or rent. For life insurance, a good rule of thumb is to have enough coverage to replace each income earner's lifetime earning potential, helping to safeguard your family's financial security in the event of an unexpected loss.
6. Major Life Events & Expenditures
   • Plan for Education & Family Support: Review plans for funding private school tuition, college tuition, or family trust distributions to ensure your support matches your current priorities and cash flow.
   • Review Home & Luxury Asset Management Costs: Budget for expected expenses related to your primary residence, vacation home, or other valuable/luxury assets, making sure these costs fit within your overall financial goals. Examples include property taxes, maintenance, insurance and utilities.

Early fall is a critical to review your financial strategy and implement year-end tactics that protect and grow your financial legacy. By proactively addressing investment allocations, tax planning, estate structuring, and liquidity needs, you can help enter a new year with confidence clarity and control. If you're unsure of where to begin, a wealth professional from FNBO Wealth can help you develop a personalized financial strategy tailored to your evolving goals and financial circumstances.