Carlson Capital Management

Integrated Wealth Management

Menu
  • Our Firm
    • Who We AreFirmly grounded in foundational values, and intensely focused on each client’s well-being, Carlson Capital Management has been redefining partnership for more than thirty years.
    • Our TeamOur approach to wealth management is to surround you with a team of experts who work together to integrate all of the key financial disciplines into one plan.
    • HistoryKey events and milestones since the founding of our firm in 1987.
    • Community CommitmentIn the same way that we value the deep and lasting partnerships we have with our clients, we place a strong value on being partners in our communities.
    • Mission StatementOur team is guided by this mission each and every day. It’s what gets us up in the morning, and sometimes keeps us awake at night.
    • Zero Alpha GroupFounded in 1995, the Zero Alpha Group community is a national network of eight independent investment advisory firms.
    • Close
  • Our Clients
    • Client ProfileOur clients are individuals, families, businesses and foundations with many varying goals and situations, but one thing in common – the need and desire for integrated solutions.
    • Fiduciary StandardsIntegrity, trust, expertise and care are hallmarks of the CCM experience. They are at the root of all we do and the essence of who we are.
    • Fee StructureOur independent, fee-based status allows us to focus on one simple thing: what is in the best interest of our client.
    • Make a ReferralThe majority of new clients come from referrals from current clients. Access information that introduces colleagues and friends to Carlson Capital Management.
    • Close
  • Our Approach
    • Foundational ValuesOur deep commitment to each client we serve is built upon foundational values like honesty, hard work, and a strong sense of personal dedication.
    • Integrated ExpertiseOur unique, integrated approach to wealth management unlocks opportunities that our clients and their families deserve.
    • Disciplined PerspectiveOur long-term perspective provides the patience, guidance and discipline required for steady growth and protection.
    • Independent InsightOur independent, fee-based structure ensures the highest levels of objectivity, integrity, and fiduciary responsibility.
    • Close
  • Services
    • Integrated Wealth ManagementOur Integrated Wealth Management approach surrounds clients with a team who apply their expertise to integrate all of the financial disciplines.
    • Carlson PortfoliosCarlson Portfolios offers a solution for clients whose situations are less complex than a traditional CCM Integrated Wealth Management client.
    • Retirement Plan ServicesComprehensive integrated retirement plan solutions.
    • Institutional Portfolio ServicesInvestment advisory and fiduciary consulting for foundations, endowments and associations.
    • Risk ManagementSome things in life are predictable, while others are random. Managing risk is as important as seeking opportunities.
    • American Center for PhilanthropyWe develop and implement a philanthropic plan that matches your desire to make a difference and leave a legacy.
    • CCM Tax & Trust AdministrationA commonly-held affiliate of CCM that provides tax return preparation services.
    • Carlson TrustProvides trust solutions for clients whose financial, family or business needs require the services of a professional fiduciary.
    • Close
  • News and Resources
    • Recommended ReadingArticles and resources to give you access to our top picks in investment education, timely industry perspectives, interesting data and financial planning insights.
    • Articles and PublicationsA library of topical publications and articles written by CCM team members specifically for our clients.
    • CCM In the NewsA collection of articles, links and press releases featuring CCM, including interviews in publications and features in national industry rankings.
    • Video LibraryShort videos that introduce you to our team, our approach and the CCM story.
    • Women’s InitiativeResources and information related to CCM’s Women’s Initiative: Promoting the Financial Empowerment of Women.
    • Introduce CCM to OthersThe majority of new clients come from referrals from current clients. Access information that introduces colleagues and friends to CCM.
    • Close
  • Contact Us
    • Request a ConversationTake the next step in learning more about our integrated wealth management services by requesting a conversation with one of our advisors.
    • Contact Our TeamEmail one of our team members directly or send a general inquiry to the firm.
    • Client Servicing ContactsFind the CCM team member who can help with your specific question or request.
    • Join a MeetingJoin your scheduled meeting with Carlson Capital Management.
    • LocationsWe always appreciate the opportunity to meet face-to-face in one of our offices or at a location convenient to you.
    • CareersLearn about employment opportunities and apply online.
    • Close
  • Request a Call
  • Client Login

NUA: A Tax Strategy for Retiring With Employer Stock

Benjamin Carlson – Carlson Capital Management
Ben Carlson, CFP®

Associate Integrated Wealth Advisor and Paraplanner Team Lead
952.230.6702
Email Ben

  I enjoy helping clients experience the joy of seeing their money in action.  

Professional Biography
Ben Carlson is an Associate Integrated Wealth Advisor and Paraplanner Team Lead at Carlson Capital Management. As part of the Advisory Team, Ben collaborates with clients and advisors across the firm on all aspects of planning and portfolio management. He is responsible for facilitating client meetings, preparing presentation materials and assisting with portfolio management. In addition, Ben engages with newly hired Paraplanners to mentor them in CCM's approach to integrated wealth management and culture of care, and is responsible for a strong working knowledge of and leveraging of firm technology to best serve clients.

Ben graduated magna cum laude from St. Olaf College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and History with a concentration in Finance. While at St. Olaf, Ben participated in four years of varsity tennis, served as team captain and was selected to the all-MIAC team for three years. In his junior and senior years, he participated as a peer tutor in principles of Accounting. Pursuing an entrepreneurial spirit, and after winning a start-up grant, Ben founded and operated Jolly Fly Fishing, LLC for three years, guiding summer fly fishing expeditions in western Wisconsin. Prior to joining CCM, Ben worked as an account representative for a large Twin Cities reinsurance brokerage company. Ben holds the Certified Financial Planner™ certification granted through the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.

When not at work, Ben continues to enjoy fly fishing, playing tennis, and going to the cabin. He also enjoys being involved in the community and serves as a volunteer coach for an inner-city tennis program for their “Super Saturday” programs and is a member of the Rotary Club of Prior Lake. Ben grew up in Hastings, Minnesota and now lives in Prior Lake.

Personal Thoughts
At CCM, we take a great deal of care in learning about the personal background and financial goals of the clients we work with. As a part of this process, a question we often ask is, “Tell us about your first memory of money.” My first memory of money goes back to the lemonade stand I had when I was five years old. The house where I spent my childhood was situated in an oddity of city planning, the double cul-du-sac. One day, I decided to have a lemonade stand at the end of my parents' driveway. Needless to say, it was not very successful being tucked away in the back of a cul-du-sac. Somewhere along the line, I decided to put the lemonade stand on my red wagon and move it to the nearby street corner and out of the cul-du-sac. With the increased car and foot traffic on an actual road coupled with the generosity of passersby and an overly enthusiastic five-year-old attitude, my revenues increased substantially. I tucked every dollar bill away into an old leather wallet my grandfather passed down to me. The wallet was so old all the dollar bills stored inside the folds came out smelling like an antique store. At the end of the summer, I had had put $144 into that wallet, a number I still remember. One day, I asked my parents to bring me to Hastings Family Service (the local food shelf), where I plopped on the counter the entire sum I had made that summer.

When I think about this first money memory, for me it's reflecting on what I decided to do with it, and also about seeing money in action and experiencing the joy of hard work coming to fruition. With busy lives, we can all fall into thinking of money as strictly a financial, quantitative asset that we have worked hard to accumulate. While quantitative elements are of course, very important, part of the delight of working at CCM for me is experiencing the qualitative aspects of our approach to integrated wealth management. In looking at financial assets not only relative to their quantitative value, but as a tool to accomplish our goals in life, it helps our clients to experience the joy of seeing their money in action. And while I have grown and aged since my lemonade stand days, my enthusiastic attitude and passion in my approach to work has not.

Ben Carlson
Ben Carlson, CFP®
Associate Integrated Wealth Advisor and Paraplanner Team Lead

Individuals nearing retirement have many timely decisions to navigate. For those who hold shares of their employer’s stock in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a profit-sharing plan or an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), it’s an opportune time to determine how to best leverage the appreciated stock by exploring net unrealized appreciation (NUA) tax strategies to support your long-term financial goals.

Qualifying Events

When certain qualifying events and triggers are met, the IRS allows for a more favorable capital gains tax rate on the NUA of the employer stock you hold in your retirement plan when the sale of the stock is in a brokerage account.1  Qualifying events include retirement (separation from service), attainment of age 59½, death, or disability. In addition, it must be a complete distribution from the employer-sponsored retirement plan and the shares must be distributed in-kind. Due to the unique rules and triggers around NUA, it is important to discuss this strategy before taking any action to avoid disqualifying yourself from taking advantage of NUA.

Determining NUA

To determine the cost basis of your employer stock, you can reference your annual statement or call your plan administrator. The cost basis is the purchase price of the stock within the plan; the net unrealized appreciation is the gain on the stock.

A Layered Tax Strategy

For many of our clients, we find it most beneficial to distribute their shares of company stock to a brokerage account and non-employer stock to an IRA. The key to understanding the benefits to this strategy lies in the difference in taxation between brokerage accounts and IRA accounts. This NUA strategy can help optimize your tax and retirement cash flow situation because the sale of company stock in a brokerage account will be subject to long term capital gains rates of either 0%, 15%, or 20% on the federal side, which is lower than the ordinary rate on the same level of income on similar amounts distributed from an IRA. Furthermore, it will reduce future required minimum distributions (RMDs) at age 72, which are based on balances in your IRA account.  

Additional Planning Strategies

Recognizing the opportunity for an NUA strategy is only one aspect of consideration when making a decision to execute on it. The following factors can help determine whether or not to pursue it:

Other Sources of Income and Retirement Timeline
If you retire with few other sources of income, it can be an opportunity to utilize the 0% federal capital gains tax bracket, especially if there is a longer timeline before starting Social Security or RMDs.

Risk Tolerance and Concentration
The amount of employer stock relative to your other assets and your risk tolerance regarding this stock can help inform whether or not to pursue NUA. A large percentage of your overall assets in company stock in a brokerage account may take a few tax years to fully diversify away from at an attractive tax rate.

Amount of Unrealized Gain
Due to the tax treatment of the basis of the stock on distribution, NUA tends to work well in situations of highly appreciated employer stock.

Charitable Intent
Highly appreciated and highly concentrated stock can open some charitable planning strategies with charitable remainder trusts (CRTs) and donor advised funds (DAFs).

Access to Funds
Since separation from service is one of the triggers for NUA, this can be a strategy to gain access to funds for things like education, early retirement, or real estate purchases prior to age 59½ with potentially less tax implication and early withdrawal penalties compared to an IRA.

When to Speak With Your Advisor

Each NUA situation is unique and requires careful consideration alongside your individual financial planning goals. To better understand your options when it comes to pursuing NUA, speak with your CCM advisor any time. The optimal time to review this strategy is in the year leading up to retirement or age 59½.


  1. https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc412

NOTE: The information provided in this article is intended for clients of Carlson Capital Management. We recommend that individuals consult with a professional adviser familiar with their particular situation for advice concerning specific investment, accounting, tax, and legal matters before taking any action.

PLEASE SEE IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION.

  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Published September 28, 2022 Topics: Capital Gains Tax, IRAs, Retirement Planning, Tax Planning

DO NOT DELETE

News & Resources

  • Articles and Publications
  • CCM In the News
  • Recommended Reading
  • Video Library

Topics

Active Management Alternative Investments Annual Returns Bond Portfolio Brexit CCM Women's Initiative Charitable Giving Dimensional Fund Advisors Discipline Diversification Economy Estate Planning Financial Advisors Financial Planning Financial Planning for Women Inflation Integrated Wealth International Investing Investment Insight Investor Returns IRAs Market Conditions Market Volatility Politics and Markets Portfolio Management Rebalancing Retirement Planning Tax Planning Tax Reform Women and Investing

Contact Us

Contact us for a complimentary discovery meeting or for a second opinion on your current financial plan.

Contact Us

Email Updates

Sign up here to receive CCM articles and updates by email:

Subscribe

Our Clients

Client Profile

Fiduciary Standards

Integrated Wealth Management

Carlson Portfolios

Our Firm

Our Team

News and Resources

Locations

Careers

Compliance

Important Disclosure Information

Privacy Notice

Form CRS

Form ADV Part 2A

Contact Us

Request a Conversation

Contact Our Team

952.230.6700

© 2023 Carlson Capital Management, LLC, d/b/a Carlson Capital Management.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.