FAQs 

Gilbert & Cook differentiates itself from many other firms in the way that we approach holistic, comprehensive financial planning. It is more than just a block-and-tackle investment portfolio or a straight-line financial plan. We truly get to know our clients, form genuine relationships and most importantly, we're able to bring a much more sophisticated approach to financial planning, estate planning, tax preparation and investment planning.

Portfolio construction and diversification are far more than just building a successful portfolio. Diversification also ensures that the results of the portfolio are in line with our prosperity plan, which is what our clients rely on to know that they are on track to live their life of abundance. By being disciplined, having a systematic approach and making intentional investment decisions, we can ultimately help create predictable, strong outcomes that result in favorable outcomes in our financial plans.

Our advice – don’t wait. Start planning before retirement; before your children go to college. Being proactive earlier in life gives you flexibility and more opportunities to build a sustainable, tax-efficient financial plan. Simply put, the earlier you start a financial plan, the more opportunities you have.

There are always things happening in the market that we cannot control. At Gilbert & Cook, we help our clients focus on their long-term perspective. We don't know what's going to happen in the market tomorrow, so we focus on building solid long-term financial goals and a portfolio to support that. And when we build that portfolio to support it, we want to ensure we know why each piece is in the portfolio and how that piece works towards helping each client live their life of abundance.

Every year we see some short-term noise in the market as well as plenty of long-term opportunities. When we zoom out and really look over the history of the S&P 500, U.S. markets and international markets, we see that the majority of the time, markets are positive, especially in the U.S. That's really what leads us to believe the majority of turbulence in the market or market swings really leads to long-term opportunity. 

We're here for the the long haul with our clients. We're building a portfolio to withstand the short-term noise and then truly grow and compound while we take advantage of opportunities the market gives us for the long-term benefit of the client.

A Second Opinion Service is an independent review of your financial situation. 

At Gilbert & Cook, we thoughtfully evaluate your strategy, portfolio, retirement plan and more, to ensure you’re positioned to achieve your abundance goals. Our experienced team identifies overlooked opportunities and potential areas for tax efficiency or risk mitigation, providing clarity and confidence in your financial future.

We believe a fresh set of eyes can see what others may miss, and provide an honest assessment based on facts, not emotions. Our initial Second Opinion Service is offered free of charge for those who may question their own financial situation and security. We provide a non-threatening and non-judgmental opportunity to voice questions about portfolio performance,
fees or financial strategies. 

For more information regarding our specialty services, contact us to schedule your complimentary meeting.

At Gilbert & Cook, constructing an investment portfolio starts with our investment team and lead advisor working closely together to understand a client’s needs, objectives and all relevant factors that influence the portfolio.

Our team listens generously to understand your goals and works collaboratively with you to achieve them. We ask questions like:
•    What is this money going to be needed for? 
•    What liquidity needs do you have? 
•    What is your time horizon? 
•    What is your risk tolerance (ability and willingness to take risk)?

All these factors comprise different variables, which we compile qualitatively and quantitatively. This guides us as we create a customized investment portfolio that best suits you, so you can Live a Life of Abundance®. 

Due to perpetual market unpredictability, portfolio diversification is critical. There's no single asset class or investment that consistently performs optimally year in, year out. When trends reverse or different strategies and asset classes are in favor, we want to ensure our clients have exposure to all of them over time. So, your portfolio should be designed to be resilient, protect capital and withstand downturns, while also compounding wealth over time.  

At Gilbert & Cook, diversification isn't just about avoiding risk. It's about managing it intentionally so our clients can stay invested over the long term and succeed.

A key part of having a diversified portfolio is ensuring that your financial plans remain on track, regardless of what's going on around the world and within your portfolio on any particular day, week, month or quarter.  

Private investments differ from traditional stocks and bonds in several key ways. Unlike public markets, where securities are traded daily and offer high liquidity, private investments – such as private equity, private credit, infrastructure and real estate – are not publicly traded and tend to be less liquid, often requiring longer holding periods. These investments are valued differently and are typically designed for long-term growth or steady income, offering return sources that complement rather than replace traditional investments.

For certain investors, private investments are appealing because they provide access to a broader universe of opportunities beyond the public markets. Private equity, for example, taps into the growth potential of successful private companies, while private credit and infrastructure can offer stable income streams backed by tangible assets or contractual obligations. By incorporating private investments alongside traditional assets, investors may benefit from enhanced diversification, additional growth potential and income stability – especially during periods of public market volatility.

Private market investments, we feel, play a key role in everyone's portfolio.

You need a team that can analyze and understand these private market investments. And with Gilbert and Cook's in-house investment team, which comprises seven individuals who have the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, we're able to vet, provide rigorous due diligence and ultimately source proper deals to include in portfolios. The benefits over the long term have shown that we can ultimately have better risk-adjusted returns overall.

When we talk about building portfolios, private markets aren't meant to replace your traditional investments. As a complement, these private market investments, over time, are able to drive potentially better outcomes while also minimizing or lowering the overall risk or standard deviation of a portfolio. Because inherently, private markets are valued less frequently, you're not subject to the daily sway or the emotions or the sentimental trades that occur very frequently in the stock and bond markets. As a result, you can have a much smoother time frame over the portfolio. And when you think about this in the context of a financial plan, if we can have similar or potentially better results while also having a much smoother course of return streams, that ultimately also leads to better planning outcomes.

At Gilbert & Cook, we believe everyone needs an estate plan, unless you would prefer the government make decisions for you, which most people don’t. 

Estate planning is essential, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. We’ll work to understand your abundance priorities, focusing on what’s most important to you. We start at the end and work backward, exploring how we can support the future view in the current situation, while building a genuine relationship along the way.

Each year, we review estate roles, responsibilities and distributions to help you answer questions such as:

• Is this still the person you want in this role (e.g., financial power of attorney, medical power of attorney, executor, trustee)? Will this person make decisions in your best interest or theirs?
• Do you still want this person to receive X% of your estate?
• Do you need to create or update a will? A trust? What are you trying to accomplish?
• How important is philanthropy? Would you like part of your legacy to support a charity or community cause?
  

We listen generously to understand your family and relationship dynamics.

Estate planning can be overwhelming. Attorneys use a lot of legalese. The attorneys we work with are very client-centric, and our clients really enjoy working with them – as do we. It’s a very open, honest and easy communication and relationship.

Some estate plans require hands-on management, with certain actions needed every year. We handle the ongoing responsibilities for our clients – things like ensuring beneficiaries remain aligned with their wishes.

Ultimately, our role in estate planning is to clarify the complex for our clients.

At Gilbert & Cook, we don’t see insurance as a product to be sold, but as a potential solution to a client’s unique needs. Our first step is understanding your current situation and what you want to accomplish with insurance. Rather than recommending generic policies, we evaluate the purpose and relevance of any existing coverage, and only suggest options that fit your goals and stage of life. 

Yes. For individuals, we help assess current insurance policies and explore options like life insurance, long-term care or guaranteed income solutions.

For business owners, we assist with specialized needs such as buy-sell agreements and other business-related insurance strategies.  

Unlike traditional insurance salespeople, we’re not focused on selling products or earning commissions. Our advice is centered on your overall well-being. We take a holistic view, reviewing how all the pieces of your financial life fit together, including tax considerations, retirement needs and legacy planning. We also review existing policies to see if they can be adapted to better serve you now, given the many new and evolving solutions in the market.  

At Gilbert & Cook, our tax strategy is holistic and tailored to each client’s unique financial situation. Our CPAs, who are tax strategists, analyze the entire portfolio for tax mitigation, considering strategies like tax loss harvesting, municipal bonds for high-income earners and Roth IRA conversions. We also project future income and tax brackets to assess the impact on Medicare payments and other tax liabilities. 

We work with a wide range of clients, including individuals, families and business owners, to find optimal tax-related solutions that fit within their entire financial picture. 

For business owners, we help develop tax mitigation strategies well in advance of a major event, such as liquidating a business, to optimize their future tax outcomes.

We also stay current on estate planning laws and exemptions, helping clients remain flexible and prepared for changes in tax legislation.  

Our strength lies in our collaborative and coordinated process. We often act as the quarterback, bringing together CPAs, attorneys and other professionals – like community foundations for charitable planning – to ensure every aspect of a client’s tax strategy is aligned.  

Absolutely. We know divorce represents a significant life transition, both emotionally and financially. Our team of Certified Divorce Financial Analysts® (CDFAs) provides ongoing, objective guidance in a judgment-free environment to protect your interests and bring clarity to your future. We’ll help you create a personalized plan to move forward with confidence. 

We’ve created a helpful guide to identify and store your important information both during and after the divorce process. Enter your contact information below to access your free guide.

A CDFA® practitioner aims to provide you with the comfort and security of a trusted partner, as well as saving you time and money through the divorce process and beyond. An individual with the CDFA® designation has gone through an intensive training program to become skilled in analyzing their clients’ situation and providing knowledge related to the sophisticated financial matters of divorce. The primary role of a CDFA® professional is to help both the client and their legal team better understand how the financial decisions made today can impact the client's financial future.