Year-End Wealth Management Planning for High-Net-Worth Individuals

Your wealth deserves attention throughout the year. As your investments, family circumstances, or financial priorities change, regular conversations with your advisor help keep your strategy aligned with your goals.

At Beese Fulmer, these discussions are part of an ongoing wealth management relationship. If you haven’t had those conversations this year, now is a good time to begin. Reviewing your situation before year-end gives you time to address required withdrawals, evaluate charitable giving opportunities, and prepare for upcoming financial needs.

Here are five areas worth reviewing as the year comes to a close.

1. Your Portfolio and Upcoming Cash Needs

Start with what has changed. Investment growth, a business transaction, or an equity award may have left more of your wealth concentrated in a single investment. Your financial needs may also have shifted.

An important part of year-end wealth management planning is evaluating whether your investment portfolio continues to support your long-term financial objectives. Review whether your current holdings still reflect your intended allocation and risk exposure. Then look ahead to expenses that could require access to cash.

For example, take a family that is planning a substantial home renovation next spring. If that money remains invested in stocks, a market decline could force them to sell at an unfavorable time. Identifying the expense now gives them time to decide what to sell and how much cash to set aside.

Review realized gains and available losses in taxable accounts. Tax-loss harvesting uses investment losses to offset capital gains, subject to applicable rules.

Watch for wash-sale restrictions, which can disallow a loss when substantially identical securities are purchased within 30 days before or after the sale.

Let investment objectives guide any sale. Tax savings should not be the sole reason to sell, and avoiding gains should not leave you taking excessive concentration risk.

2. Evaluate Retirement Contributions and Required Withdrawals

Retirement accounts deserve a separate review because contributions and withdrawals follow different rules. As part of your year-end financial planning, confirm that your retirement accounts remain aligned with your income needs and long-term goals.

• Contributions: Review your year-to-date retirement contributions against your goals and available cash. If you want to adjust payroll-based 401(k) contributions, contact your benefits team before the final eligible payroll. Business owners should confirm their plan’s specific requirements and deadlines.
• IRA deadlines and eligibility: Contributions generally can be made until the federal tax return filing deadline, excluding extensions. Income and workplace plan coverage can affect Roth IRA eligibility or Traditional IRA deductibility.
• Required withdrawals: Confirm any Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) still due. The deadline is generally December 31, although a first RMD may be delayed until April 1 of the following year. That delay can mean two RMDs in one year. Review inherited account requirements separately.
• Roth conversions: Evaluate the resulting taxable income, immediate tax cost, and potential effect on income-based Medicare premiums before proceeding.

3. Review Your Charitable Giving Plans

Begin with the organizations you want to support and the commitments you have already made. Then decide which assets and giving methods best fit those intentions.

For high-net-worth individuals, charitable giving can be an important component of year-end wealth management planning, particularly when coordinating philanthropic goals with broader tax and estate planning strategies.

• Appreciated securities: Donating securities held for more than one year to an eligible charity may avoid realizing capital gains and provide a fair market value deduction, subject to applicable limits.
• Donor-advised funds: An irrevocable contribution now allows you to recommend grants to charities over time.
• Qualified charitable distributions (QCD): Eligible IRA owners age 70½ or older may transfer funds directly to an eligible charity. Subject to applicable requirements and limits, a QCD can count toward an RMD while remaining excluded from taxable income. An excluded QCD cannot also be claimed as a charitable deduction.

For 2026, itemizers may deduct charitable contributions only to the extent they exceed 0.5% of adjusted gross income, subject to other limitations. Higher-income taxpayers may also face additional limits on itemized deductions.

Ask your CPA how these rules affect your gifts and whether concentrating contributions in one year warrants consideration.

Confirm transfer requirements early, particularly for securities or complex assets. Allow processing time and retain the required acknowledgments and records.

4. Review Family Gifts and Estate Arrangements

Year-end provides a natural opportunity to review gifts you intend to make to children, grandchildren, or other family members. For families with significant assets, coordinating gifting decisions with an overall wealth management strategy can help ensure those decisions support long-term financial and estate planning goals.

For 2026, the federal annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient, per donor, for qualifying gifts. Larger gifts may require a gift tax return and use part of your lifetime exemption without necessarily triggering an immediate tax payment. Complete transfers within the calendar year to use this year’s exclusion.

The choice of asset also matters. Giving appreciated securities can transfer the associated cost basis to the recipient, which can affect taxes if the recipient later sells. Review that tradeoff alongside your own need for income and liquidity.

Beyond gifts, consider whether a marriage, divorce, birth, death, or business change has made your estate arrangements outdated. Ask your attorney to review relevant documents, beneficiary designations, and trust funding where appropriate.

There is no need to rewrite an estate plan simply because December has arrived. The key question is whether it still reflects your wishes and current circumstances.

5. Establish Your Financial Priorities for the Year Ahead

Once immediate requirements are addressed, look beyond the remaining weeks of the year.

An approaching retirement, business sale, major purchase, or increased family support may change your liquidity needs, income requirements, and capacity for investment risk.

Effective wealth management planning requires looking beyond year-end deadlines to anticipate how upcoming life events and financial decisions may affect your overall strategy.

Identify a few priorities and the preparation each requires. A business sale may call for planning before negotiations begin; retirement may require a clearer withdrawal strategy and cash reserve.

This gives your next review a purpose and helps your wealth strategy evolve with your life.

Wealth Management Planning With Beese Fulmer All Year Long

At Beese Fulmer, we build and actively manage a strategy around your goals and financial circumstances throughout the year. We stay attentive to changes in your life and work alongside your tax and legal professionals when their expertise is needed.

If you have approaching deadlines or changes on the horizon, schedule a private consultation with Beese Fulmer to discuss your year-end wealth management priorities and prepare for the year ahead.

This content is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, legal, or tax advice. Please consult your tax and legal professionals regarding your individual circumstances. Beese Fulmer Private Wealth Management is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.