Frequently Asked Questions

At most firms, your financial life ends up split between multiple professionals, one person managing your investments, another preparing your taxes. That separation often leads to disjointed advice and missed opportunities unless you spend time coordinating everything yourself.

At New Wave, we bring those pieces together. Led by Greg Meyer, a dual-credentialed CPA and CFP®, we provide integrated financial planning, investment management, and tax strategy under one roof.

Our comprehensive financial advising service includes your tax planning as well as your annual tax return filing, ensuring your investment strategy and tax plan are perfectly aligned.

Yes. We are a fee-only fiduciary firm. This means we are legally obligated to act in your best interest at all times. We do not accept commissions. Our advice is objective and designed solely to help you achieve your financial goals.

Yes — many of our clients work at companies like Google, Meta, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, SpaceX, and other public and private tech companies. We specialize in the equity compensation structures these companies use: RSUs, ISOs, NSOs, and ESPPs. We help clients navigate vesting schedules, concentrated stock risk, and the significant tax planning that comes with high W-2 income and equity awards.

Absolutely. We specialize in working with tech professionals who receive equity compensation and often hold concentrated stock positions. Whether you’re at a high-growth startup or a major public tech company like Google, Meta, or Apple, we help you navigate vesting schedules, AMT considerations, liquidity planning, and diversification strategies aligned with your goals.

Absolutely, liquidity events requires coordinated action across taxes, investments, and financial planning. We help clients prepare before the event, which includes modeling tax scenarios, reviewing withholding, and building a post-liquidity investment and spending plan. We also prepare the tax return so nothing is missed from the planning process.

Concentrated employer stock can create unnecessary risk (especially if you still work at the company). We help you determine the right balance between maintaining exposure and diversifying to protect your long-term goals. Depending on your situation, we may use tax-smart strategies such as:

• Tax-loss harvesting through a direct indexing portfolio

• Charitable giving via a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF)

• Strategic selling based on cash needs, vesting schedules, and risk tolerance

Our goal is to maximize the value of your equity while creating a long-term strategy that reflects your personal priorities.

Yes. Caitlin Meyer, Partner and Director of Business Development, spent 14 years at Google/YouTube working with some of the world's largest creators. We understand the unique financial challenges of creator-economy businesses: irregular income, multiple revenue streams, S-corp structuring, self-employment taxes, and building long-term wealth from a business that may not last forever.

We believe in a modern, transparent pricing model that delivers more value than the traditional 1% AUM model. For comprehensive ongoing advising, our fee is $2,250 per quarter plus 0.35% on assets up to $5m & 0.25% on assets $5m+. This fee includes:

• Comprehensive Financial Planning

• Investment Management

• Annual Tax Preparation (Personal)

• Tax planning

• Equity Compensation Strategy

• Unlimited access to our team year-round

We structure our fees this way to provide a high-touch, white-glove experience without the excessive costs that often come with traditional percentage-based models. By pairing a fixed planning fee with a lower asset-management fee, we keep pricing transparent, client-friendly, and aligned with your long-term success - especially as your portfolio grows.

We design and manage investment strategies tailored to your risk tolerance, goals, and time horizon. Our approach is grounded in low-cost, tax-efficient investing, with a focus on the factors we can directly control:

• Broad-based diversification

• Keeping fees and expenses low

• Ongoing tax-minimization strategies

The One-Time Financial Plan is a standalone engagement, which may be ideal if you want a clear financial roadmap and action plan but aren't ready for ongoing support or investment management.

Ongoing Advising is a comprehensive, continuous relationship that includes investment management, tax preparation, and regular planning meetings throughout the year. Most clients choose Ongoing Advising if they are looking for integrated tax preparation and want ongoing support with their investments.

Yes. Many clients start with the Tax Package to get their tax situation organized, then transition to Ongoing Advising when they're ready for full financial planning and investment management.

We understand that our clients have demanding careers and full lives. Our process is designed to take the tax and financial management administration off your plate. 

We typically hold three structured review meetings per year to keep your plan updated, with unlimited access for questions in between, whether you’re considering buying a home, evaluating a job offer, or navigating a major financial decision.

For added convenience, all meetings are held virtually through Zoom or Google Meet. We also use digital dashboards and modern tools to give you real-time visibility with minimal effort.

We start by gathering your financial and tax information, reviewing your current situation, and discussing your goals. From there, we build a customized plan and roadmap for moving forward. After the introductory call, onboarding typically involves two planning meetings to establish your strategy and ensure every aspect of your tax and financial life is accounted for.

Yes. Since all meetings are held virtually, we workwith clients across the U.S. We are located in Hermosa Beach, California, but we serve clients nationwide.

No, we do not how a minimum asset level to work with a client. We do have a minimum annual fee for Ongoing Advising planning services, but no minimum asset level for investment mangement.