Clear thinking beats clever moves
Most people I work with are doing well on paper.
Strong income. Good careers. Equity, bonuses, solid benefits.
And yet, there’s a persistent tension in the background, not panic, just uncertainty.
Are we actually doing this right?
Not in a survival sense. In an optimization sense.
A sequencing sense. A long-term sense.
Why high income creates different problems
When income rises quickly, complexity follows.
Bonuses land unpredictably.
Equity vests on schedules no one fully explains.
Taxes spike without warning.
Most advice breaks down here.
It’s either:
too generic to handle complexity, or
too fragmented to create clarity
What’s usually missing isn’t effort or intelligence.
It’s an integrated system.
My Approach
I run a fee-only, fiduciary financial planning firm for high-income professionals in leadership roles whose paychecks got big faster than their financial system.
Everything runs through a tax-first lens.
Not because taxes are exciting—but because over a lifetime, they quietly shape nearly every meaningful outcome:
how much wealth you actually keep
when equity should be sold—or not
whether work becomes optional at 55 or mandatory at 65
how confident decisions feel along the way
When taxes are planned intentionally, everything else simplifies.
What working together feels like
This isn’t about stock picking or chasing returns.
It’s about building a plan that holds up.
Clients come to me because they want:
fewer decisions to remake
fewer expensive blind spots
clear tradeoffs instead of guesswork
a plan that adapts as income, family, and career evolve
Nothing is set and forgotten.
Nothing is left to chance.
Daniel M Allgaier, CFP®, is a fee-only, fiduciary financial planner working with high-income professionals navigating taxes, equity compensation, and growing complexity.
My work is shaped by seeing where things go wrong when decisions aren’t coordinated early, and what becomes possible when they are.
I run a fully remote, paperless practice designed to make good decisions easier and unnecessary ones disappear.
If this resonates
If you’re earning well but want to feel more certain, not just comfortable, this may be a good fit.
You don’t need to have everything figured out.
You just need to be ready for a clearer system.
Or, if you’re early in the process:
5-Day Email Course: The Tax-Smart Framework for High Earners