As the year comes to a close, I intentionally slow down to reflect on what the year held — both personally and professionally.

This letter is one way I do that. This year included family milestones, significant progress, and meaningful changes behind the scenes.

Life Outside the Office

One of the biggest highlights in our family this year was Grace making her college decision. She’ll be staying relatively close to home in Minneapolis and continuing her hockey career at Augsburg University. Watching her step into that next chapter has been exciting, a little surreal, and a clear reminder that time moves quickly — whether we’re ready or not.

We also checked something big off my personal bucket list: the three of us took our first trip to Europe and spent spring break in Greece. They both loved the cats in Santorini and the food tour in Athens. Lane did not love the long plane ride, and I’m not entirely confident I’ll be successful at getting him across the pond again anytime soon. Still, I’m incredibly grateful for the chance to create those memories together.

Closer to home, I decided to try a pottery class this year. Creating something with your hands is hard. There’s no optimizing, no shortcut, and no way to “think” your way into better results — just patience, trial and error, and a lot of lopsided bowls. It was humbling… and hard… and while it might remain on my list of things to try again, that will definitely be later. For now, my creativity may need to stay safely tucked inside spreadsheets.

I also started a book club with a group of moms who are all inching toward the empty-nester phase of life. Seven months in, it’s still going strong. It turns out I’m actively (and intentionally) creating the kind of community I crave — and that has mattered more than I expected.

Progress Behind the Scenes

On the business side, we’re now about 18 months into using our newer trading technology — a tool designed to support an internal process that used to be largely manual: minimizing capital gains in taxable portfolios.

Whenever technology replaces a manual process, there are tradeoffs, and this tool is no exception. But in this case, the positives have far outweighed my minor grievances. Most importantly, it’s doing what it was designed to do — nearly automating a very tedious process. It has also delivered on what it promised: helping reduce capital gains in some taxable accounts, which makes tax planning less of a guessing game as we approach year-end.

Alongside that, we’ve continued to reduce exposure to investments that regularly distribute capital gains where appropriate. This work happens quietly in the background, but it plays a meaningful role in supporting thoughtful, proactive planning.

A Longer Arc

This year’s changes didn’t happen overnight. Over the past eight years, we’ve steadily invested in better systems, a strong team, trusted partners, and deeper planning — always with the goal of building something durable and client-centered. That long-term focus is what made this year’s growth and merger possible.

A Year of Big Structural Change

2025 also marked the culmination of nearly a year’s worth of work with coaches, consultants, lawyers, and accountants as Roger Whitney and I worked through the key details of merging our firms.

As of August, it became official.

Some of the other major milestones along the way:

• In February, we became registered with the SEC — a significant behind-the-scenes step that required careful coordination.
• Our partners at Agile Retirement Management successfully transitioned all LPL assets to Schwab — a project that truly takes Herculean effort to execute well.
• Today, we are responsible for over $420 million in client assets, serving approximately 180 families.

These numbers matter — but only because of what they represent: trust, responsibility, and the opportunity to build something enduring.

The Team That Makes It Work

2025 also brought steady progress within our team.

LauraLee is now halfway through her CFP® training and has been sitting in on all client meetings — getting to know everyone and ensuring there’s more than one person who truly understands your plan, your priorities, and your story.

We’re also incredibly grateful for Natalia, who joined the team and immediately made an impact. She led the effort to combine benefits, payroll, tools, and technology across the newly merged firm — no small task — and has been instrumental in keeping the business side of things running smoothly so we can stay focused on you.

Looking Ahead

This year brings two major initiatives.

The first is a brand redesign, where both Roger’s firm and mine will retire our legacy brands and rebrand as one new firm. Roger will be leading that charge — which will surprise absolutely no one who knows us. As many of you know, branding is not my favorite thing. I haven’t updated a photo on my website since 2017… though I’m told being eight years younger in those photos may no longer be a compelling argument.

The second initiative is process unification — creating one consistent onboarding experience for new clients, while thoughtfully integrating the best ideas from both firms into how we serve long-time clients. This includes aligning our planning processes and clearly defining the key workflows that support our work together.

As we move forward, we’ll continue leaning into our complementary strengths. My specialty is strategy and execution — I have a knack for details and an obsession with follow-through. Roger is a true visionary and catalyst who naturally creates environments people want to be part of. Clients, team members, and podcast listeners are inspired by his message every day.

Why This Matters to You

You might be wondering how all of this impacts you — and that question has been top of mind for me.

Growth and change can easily become distractions if they’re not handled thoughtfully. Our goal with this merger is the opposite. It’s about continuity, depth of service, and making sure the kind of relationship-based advice you value can continue — not just while I’m here, but as long as this firm exists.

In the coming year, we also hope to introduce another team member who will help with service items like scheduling, address changes, withdrawals, and account updates. As LauraLee transitions further into an Associate Advisor role, your “team” will grow to three people instead of two. My priority is making sure this adds support — not distance — and that you always feel known when you reach out.

With Gratitude

I wouldn’t be here without the trust you’ve placed in me over the years. I take that responsibility seriously and will continue doing my best to honor it.

As always, please reach out if you have questions, feedback, or concerns. I’m grateful to be on this journey with you.

Warmly,

Tanya