CLEARWATER WEALTH PARTNERS
Client Meeting Transcript
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CLIENT: Chen Household (Sam & Alex Chen)
DATE: March 11, 2025
TIME: 2:00 PM
MEETING: 2025 Q1 Quarterly Review
LOCATION: Conference Room A, Clearwater Wealth Partners
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TRANSCRIPT
[0:00] Sarah Chen: Big milestone today. The IPS amendment implementing the bucket
strategy is effective March 1st — we're officially operating under the new framework.
The risk questionnaire results came in, the restructuring is complete, and I want to
walk you through exactly how the portfolio is organized now. Markets have been
volatile year-to-date — the S&P is roughly flat, with some sharp moves in both
directions. Portfolio is at $1,305,000.
[0:04] Sam Chen: Walk us through the buckets as they actually look now.
[0:05] Sarah Chen: Bucket 1 is ACCT-CASH plus STBIX — short-duration bonds. Together
they represent about $65,000, or 5% of AUM. That covers approximately 18 to 24 months
of your projected retirement spending. It will sit there earning modest yield until
you need it — or until we replenish it by selling from Bucket 2.
[0:08] Alex Chen: And Bucket 2?
[0:09] Sarah Chen: Bucket 2 is UCBIX — the intermediate bond fund — and UTIPX, the
TIPS fund. About $430,000, or 33% of AUM. This is the 2 to 7 year bridge layer. When
Bucket 1 gets depleted in retirement, we sell from Bucket 2 to replenish it. The
bonds in Bucket 2 are more interest-rate sensitive than Bucket 1, but they have
higher expected returns.
[0:12] Sam Chen: And Bucket 3 is the equities?
[0:13] Sarah Chen: Correct — UECIY, IDEIY, REITX, and the remaining NLTK shares.
About $810,000, 62% of AUM. This is the growth engine. It doesn't need to be touched
for 7-plus years from today, which means it can ride out multiple market cycles
without any forced selling.
[0:15] Alex Chen: The risk questionnaire — you said Alex scored 58 and I scored
52. What does 58 mean exactly?
[0:16] Sarah Chen: On a 0 to 100 scale, 58 is Moderate with a slight growth tilt —
consistent with someone who has a 20-plus year investment horizon but is starting to
think about income replacement. Sam at 52 is squarely Moderate. The 60/35/5 target
allocation is appropriate for both of you. The questionnaire also confirmed your
preference for the bucket framework — which we've now implemented.

[0:19] Sam Chen: The market volatility year-to-date — is the bucket structure
changing how we experience it?
[0:20] Sarah Chen: That's the real test, isn't it? Tell me — has the volatility in
January and February felt different?
[0:21] Sam Chen: Actually, yes. I keep reminding myself Bucket 1 is fully funded
and I don't have to sell anything.
[0:22] Sarah Chen: That's the psychological value of the bucket strategy. The math
hasn't changed — but the experience is completely different. You're watching Bucket 3
fluctuate and it doesn't feel threatening because you know it doesn't need to be
liquidated for 7-plus years.
[0:24] Alex Chen: The billing reconciliation — you mentioned you'd do a full
review. Any update?
[0:25] Sarah Chen: In progress. I've pulled all quarterly fee statements from July
2021 through Q4 2024 — that's 14 quarters. I'm cross-referencing against the tiered
schedule in DOC-FeeAmendment-2021-001. I expect to have the written reconciliation
report to you by April 30th. If there's any discrepancy, I'll flag it immediately and
make it right.
[0:28] Sam Chen: We appreciate you being proactive about that.
[0:29] Sarah Chen: It's the right thing to do. Action items: written billing
reconciliation report by April 30th; DAF $8,000 contribution — I'll identify
positions and execute in April; Social Security analysis underway — target Q3. 529
check: Maya is at $26,400, Eli at $25,800. Maya is now 5 years from college.
Age-based shift toward bonds continuing.
[0:30] Meeting adjourned
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ACTION ITEMS
1. Deliver written billing reconciliation report (July 2021–Q4 2024) — by April 30
2. Execute DAF $8,000 contribution from appreciated securities — April 2025
3. Social Security claiming analysis underway — target Q3 2025 delivery
4. 529 accounts on track — Maya at $26,400, Eli at $25,800; confirm age-based
allocation shift
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CONFIDENTIAL — For client use only. Not for distribution.
