Navigating the 2026 Illinois Estate Tax Landscape: A Planning Guide for Barrington Families As of 2026, Illinois continues to impose a state estate tax with a $4 million exemption threshold and graduated tax rates that may reach up to 22% on taxable amounts above the exemption. Unlike the federal estate [...]
Mutual Funds vs. Individual Securities: Tax Considerations for High-Net-Worth Investors For high-net-worth investors in Barrington and the greater Chicago area, after-tax outcomes can materially impact long-term portfolio results. While mutual funds are commonly used for diversification and ease of implementation, their structure may introduce tax inefficiencies and additional costs that [...]
Estate Settlement for High-Net-Worth Families: A Fiduciary Guide for Investors Settling an estate is not simply an administrative task—it is a multi-phase financial, legal, and tax process that can materially impact long-term wealth outcomes for beneficiaries. For high-net-worth families in Barrington and the greater Chicago area, the complexity is amplified [...]
Beating the Silent Wealth Killer: Strategic Inflation Planning for Your Retirement For high-net-worth families in Barrington and the greater Chicago area, retirement is often viewed as the culmination of decades of disciplined saving and investing. However, one of the most overlooked risks to long-term financial security is inflation—often referred to [...]
A Decade of Virtue: Ten Years of Lessons on Market Resilience and American Innovation Ten years ago, we opened the doors at Virtue Asset Management with a simple belief: investors deserve more than just a portfolio—they deserve a partner to help them navigate market uncertainty with discipline and clarity. As [...]
2026 First Quarter Market Commentary: Geopolitics, AI Execution, and the Path Ahead The first quarter of 2026 has been a stark reminder that the market path is rarely a straight line. If you’ve been watching your portfolio lately, you’ve likely noticed a shift in momentum. After a period of relative [...]
The Strategic Framework for Reducing RMDs: How to Integrate Roth Conversions with Your Chicago Estate Plan If you’ve spent decades building a significant nest egg in a Traditional IRA or 401(k), you’ve likely benefited from tax-deferred growth. However, for high-net-worth families in Barrington and across the Chicago area, Required Minimum [...]
Do You Really Need a Fee-Only Financial Planner? A Perspective for High-Net-Worth Chicago Families If you live in Barrington or the greater Chicago area, you have no shortage of people willing to call themselves a financial advisor. You may hear from a broker at a national firm, an insurance professional, [...]
Treating Savings as a Non-Negotiable Expense: Lessons from Our Redfin Feature It’s always encouraging when our philosophy on wealth management resonates with a broader audience. Recently, I was featured in a Redfin article focused on a topic that impacts many families: managing monthly expenses. While the article covered a range [...]
Barrington Retirement Planning: Why 401(k) Management Alone Falls Short for High-Net-Worth Families If you live in Barrington, you understand the discipline required to build meaningful wealth. For many high-net-worth (HNW) households, that journey included maximizing employer retirement plans, navigating complex compensation structures, and consistently saving over decades. However, as retirement [...]
