CLEARWATER WEALTH PARTNERS
Client Meeting Transcript
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CLIENT: Chen Household (Sam & Alex Chen)
DATE: December 11, 2024
TIME: 2:00 PM
MEETING: 2024 Q4 Year-End Review
LOCATION: Conference Room A, Clearwater Wealth Partners
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TRANSCRIPT
[0:00] Sarah Chen: Strong year on every dimension. The S&P returned about 23% in 2024
— AI sector strength and the Fed beginning rate cuts. Your portfolio is at
$1,285,000. The estate is fully updated, the NLTK program is complete, and we head
into 2025 with the cleanest financial picture you've had since we started working
together.
[0:04] Alex Chen: It's the first year in a while where I didn't feel like there
was a big financial event hanging over us.
[0:05] Sarah Chen: That's by design. We've been systematically clearing the big
events for years — the trust, the home, the NLTK diversification. 2025 is about
building and refining. The bucket strategy is the centerpiece of next year's
planning.
[0:07] Sam Chen: Before we get into 2025 — can we talk about the fee tier? We're
at $1.285 million. The 0.70% tier starts at $1.5 million. We're not that far away.
[0:09] Sarah Chen: You're about $215,000 from the tier boundary. At your current
portfolio growth trajectory — and 2024's strong returns are not typical — you could
reach $1.5 million in 2025 or 2026. When you cross, every dollar above $1.5 million
is billed at 0.70%, so the blended rate on the full portfolio drops. I'll flag it
when it happens — you don't need to track it.
[0:12] Alex Chen: Good. For 2025 — the bucket strategy. What's the plan?
[0:13] Sarah Chen: Q1 2025 is the execution quarter. I'll re-administer the risk
questionnaire in January — I do that formally every few years and before a
significant structural change. Based on the results, I'll finalize the IPS
amendment. The portfolio allocation percentages stay roughly the same as today —
60/35/5 — but the framing shifts to the three-bucket model. Bucket 1 is 0 to 24
months of spending in cash and short-duration bonds. Bucket 2 is 2 to 7 years in
intermediate bonds and TIPS. Bucket 3 is equities for the long run.
[0:17] Sam Chen: When do we actually start drawing on the buckets?
[0:18] Sarah Chen: Not for 8 to 10 years — but we set them up now so the discipline
is in place. When you do retire, you won't need to sell anything volatile to fund

your first two years of spending. That's what prevents the panic selling in a down
market that destroys retirement plans. We'll also start the Social Security analysis
in 2025 — modeling optimal claiming ages for both of you. That's a major input to the
bucket sizing.
[0:21] Alex Chen: I'd love to see that analysis. We've had no idea when we'd
claim.
[0:22] Sarah Chen: The breakeven analysis is sophisticated now — we run it across
multiple longevity scenarios. I'd target Q3 2025 for that deliverable. On the DAF:
$6,000 in grants were made in 2024 from the Clearwater Giving Fund — school
foundation, food bank, arts organization. For 2025, I'd recommend a $6,000 to $8,000
contribution from appreciated securities. Same strategy as this year.
[0:25] Sam Chen: We'd like to grow the giving amount as the portfolio grows.
Maybe tie it to a percentage of growth.
[0:26] Sarah Chen: That's a beautiful approach — and philosophically elegant. If the
portfolio grows by $50,000 in a year, 10% to 15% of that goes to charitable giving.
We can build that formula into the planning. For 2025, let's say $8,000 given the
strong year we had.
[0:28] Alex Chen: Done.
[0:29] Sarah Chen: Action items: risk questionnaire in January; IPS amendment with
bucket strategy by March 1; Social Security analysis Q3 2025; DAF $8,000 contribution
from appreciated securities in Q1. And a final note — the annual review document
covers all of this in the formal summary that will be in your portal by Friday.
[0:30] Meeting adjourned
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ACTION ITEMS
1. Re-administer risk questionnaire — January 2025
2. IPS amendment (bucket strategy) — target effective March 1, 2025
3. Social Security claiming analysis — target Q3 2025
4. DAF $8,000 contribution from appreciated securities — Q1 2025
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CONFIDENTIAL — For client use only. Not for distribution.
