Writing, podcasting, and resources on planning, process, and how decisions get made.https://www.vialucecapital.com/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/tax-strategy/agi-is-the-new-tax-bracket/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/tax-strategy/agi-is-the-new-tax-bracket/Everyone watches their tax bracket, but AGI now quietly decides how much you keep — controlling your deductions, Medicare premiums, and how much Social Security is taxed. Why managing AGI is a multi-year game you have to play before December 31.Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTTax StrategyBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/investment-process/owning-different-things-isnt-diversification/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/investment-process/owning-different-things-isnt-diversification/A portfolio can hold twelve funds and still behave like one bet. Real diversification is measured by the correlation between return drivers — not the number of holdings.Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTInvestment ProcessBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/retirement/sequence-of-returns-risk/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/retirement/sequence-of-returns-risk/Two retirees can earn the same 30-year average return and still end up in completely different places. Why sequence-of-returns risk makes the first five years of retirement carry the most weight — and the planning levers that reduce it.Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTRetirementBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/institutional/the-reserve-portfolio-problem/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/institutional/the-reserve-portfolio-problem/Most institutional reserves are managed by default, not design — and 'keep it conservative' quietly trades market risk for inflation risk. Why reserves need a defined mandate and an investment policy statement, and why that's a board's governance job, not an investment pick.Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTInstitutional InvestingBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/estate-planning/the-step-up-trap/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/estate-planning/the-step-up-trap/Gifting appreciated stock or the family home to your kids while you're alive can hand them a bigger capital-gains bill than doing nothing. How the step-up in basis works — and why holding low-basis assets until death is often the more tax-efficient plan.Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTEstate & Wealth TransferBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/exit-planning/what-drives-business-value/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/exit-planning/what-drives-business-value/Two businesses with the same profit can sell for double the difference — the gap is the multiple, not the earnings. What drives it: owner dependence, recurring revenue, customer concentration, a real management team, and clean financials, all buildable years ahead.Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTExit PlanningBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/exit-planning/exit-readiness-buyers-market/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/exit-planning/exit-readiness-buyers-market/Six million businesses are projected to change hands by 2035, and buyers get to be selective. Why exit readiness — business, financial, and personal — is the negotiation, and why the credible runway is three to five years.Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTExit PlanningBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/estate-planning/preparing-heirs-great-wealth-transfer/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/estate-planning/preparing-heirs-great-wealth-transfer/The great wealth transfer is a $124 trillion event, and most families have the documents but not the preparation. The three layers of readiness — structure, information, and stewardship — that determine whether a transfer succeeds.Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTEstate & Wealth TransferBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/tax-strategy/roth-conversions-after-obbba/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/tax-strategy/roth-conversions-after-obbba/OBBBA made tax rates permanent and killed the "convert before rates rise" pitch. The better case survives: bracket arbitrage across gap years, RMDs, survivor rates, and heirs — plus the new senior deduction wrinkle for 2025–2028.Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTTax StrategyBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/tax-strategy/salt-cap-phase-down-trap/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/tax-strategy/salt-cap-phase-down-trap/OBBBA's $40,000 SALT cap phases down above $500K of income, creating an effective 45.5% marginal rate in the $500K-$600K band. Who hits it, why bonuses and Roth conversions trigger it, and the planning levers that manage it.Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTTax StrategyBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/retirement/social-security-2032-question/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/retirement/social-security-2032-question/The 2026 trustees report projects Social Security's retirement fund depletes in late 2032, paying 78% of benefits. Why the right response is a three-scenario stress test — not a prediction, and not claiming early out of fear.Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTRetirementBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/financial-planning/trump-accounts-real-math/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/financial-planning/trump-accounts-real-math/Trump Accounts launched July 4 with a free $1,000 for kids born 2025–2028. Claiming it is easy — but the tax fine print says the next $5,000 usually belongs elsewhere. How the account compares to 529s, custodial Roths, and taxable accounts.Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTFinancial PlanningBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/estate-planning/beneficiary-designations/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/estate-planning/beneficiary-designations/Your will controls only probate assets — your 401(k), IRA, life insurance, and POD accounts pass by beneficiary designation and override it. The most common, most preventable estate mistake, and how to fix it.Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTEstate & Wealth TransferBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/tax-strategy/california-rsu-trap/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/tax-strategy/california-rsu-trap/RSUs are taxed as ordinary income at vesting — and flat withholding rarely covers it. The bigger trap: California keeps taxing the share you earned here even after you move to a no-tax state.Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTTax StrategyBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/tax-strategy/charitable-bunching/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/tax-strategy/charitable-bunching/Three OBBBA changes reshaped charitable giving in 2026: a 0.5%-of-AGI deduction floor, a 35% cap for top earners, and a break for non-itemizers. Why bunching, donor-advised funds, and QCDs matter more now.Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTTax StrategyBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/investment-process/concentrated-position-planning/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/investment-process/concentrated-position-planning/When one holding becomes most of your net worth, you face two risks at once — concentration and illiquidity. A disciplined, tax-aware path to diversification for founders, business owners, and families.Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTInvestment ProcessBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/retirement/irmaa-cliff/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/retirement/irmaa-cliff/Medicare's IRMAA surcharge is a cliff — one dollar over a threshold raises your premium for the whole year, based on income from two years ago. Why it surprises retirees, and the levers that keep it in check.Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTRetirementBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/investment-process/rebalancing-rule-vs-gut/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/investment-process/rebalancing-rule-vs-gut/Left alone, every portfolio drifts toward more risk than its owner chose. Why a rules-based, tax-aware rebalancing discipline beats acting on instinct — and what rebalancing is actually for.Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTInvestment ProcessBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/retirement/widows-penalty/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/retirement/widows-penalty/When a spouse dies, the survivor files single — narrower brackets, half the standard deduction, lower IRMAA thresholds. Why the same income gets taxed harder, and how to plan ahead while both spouses are alive.Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTRetirementBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/investment-process/asset-location/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/investment-process/asset-location/Two investors can own the identical portfolio and still keep different amounts after tax. The reason is asset location — which account each holding sits in — and how getting it right leaves more of the same return in your pocket.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTInvestment ProcessTax StrategyBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/exit-planning/exit-is-won-before-the-sale/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/exit-planning/exit-is-won-before-the-sale/A business is usually an owner's largest, least liquid, least planned-for asset. Most that go to market never sell, and most owners who sell regret it within a year. Why the exit is won years before the sale.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTExit PlanningBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/institutional/fiduciary-investment-manager/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/institutional/fiduciary-investment-manager/An institution is a fiduciary — judged on the process it follows, not the outcome. Why a documented, rules-based investment process is a governance asset, and what an investment committee should demand from a manager.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTInstitutional InvestingBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/financial-planning/preparing-heirs/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/financial-planning/preparing-heirs/An estimated $124 trillion is changing hands — and a 20-year study found most transfers fail by the second generation. The reasons are almost never tax or legal. They're about whether the family was prepared.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTFinancial PlanningBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/retirement/retirement-income/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/retirement/retirement-income/The 4% rule was never an income plan — even its creator has revised it twice. Why the safe withdrawal rate isn't a constant, the two real threats to retirement income, and how rules-based guardrails hold up.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTRetirementBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/tax-strategy/roth-conversion-timing/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/tax-strategy/roth-conversion-timing/The Roth conversion deadline everyone was racing just disappeared — the 2025 tax law made today's brackets permanent. Why the real conversion window is personal, not on the tax calendar, and why it's open right now.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTTax StrategyBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/investment-process/rules-based-portfolio-construction/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/investment-process/rules-based-portfolio-construction/A portfolio isn't what you own — it's the decisions that shape it. How rules-based construction defines those responses in advance, made for consistency across market cycles instead of improvising under pressure.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTInvestment ProcessBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/estate-planning/step-up-in-basis/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/estate-planning/step-up-in-basis/OBBBA made the estate-tax exemption $15M and permanent, so most families will never owe it. The focus shifts to income tax and the step-up in basis — and why gifting appreciated assets can cost heirs more than letting them inherit.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTEstate & Wealth TransferBrent Rupnowhttps://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/investment-process/why-prediction-based-investing-fails/https://www.vialucecapital.com/insights/investment-process/why-prediction-based-investing-fails/Market forecasts arrive with confidence and precision, but the future they describe can't be reliably known. Why prediction-based investing fails — and what a disciplined, rules-based process does differently.Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTInvestment ProcessBrent Rupnow