Proprietary process
The PILOT Process™
Five layers, run in order, on every plan we build. Investment, tax, longevity, ownership and risk, examined together, because separately is exactly how they go wrong.
- Layers
- Five, in order
- Run on
- Every plan
- Starts with
- A Clarity Map Session
Why it runs in order
Each layer changes the numbers the next one uses.
A portfolio review that happens before the tax picture is understood will optimize for the wrong thing. A tax plan built before anyone has stress-tested longevity will assume draws that the plan cannot actually sustain. An estate structure designed before either is settled will be titled around yesterday’s answer.
So the five layers are not five services you can buy individually. They are one pass, in a fixed order, where each answer becomes the next question’s input. Most families arrive having had three of the five done well, years apart, by people who never compared notes.
Layer 1 of 5
Portfolio Positioning
Portfolio Positioning asks whether your investments still match the job they now have. A portfolio built to grow during your working years may be wrong for a stage where income, liquidity and risk tolerance have all changed.
Most portfolios are built with one objective: growth. That objective was correct once. But a portfolio designed for accumulation is rarely the right one for distribution, so we evaluate alignment to your current objectives, not past performance.
What we actually look at
- Allocation strategy against stated objectives
- Risk exposure versus current tolerance
- Liquidity needs over the next five years
- Income considerations once the paycheck stops
- How the investments integrate with tax, estate and protection
Layer 2 of 5
Income & Tax Strategy
“What you earn matters. What you keep matters more.”
Without thoughtful tax planning, families lose substantial wealth over time, and it isn’t bad luck. It’s the result of investment decisions and tax decisions being made by people who never compare notes.
We look at how income is generated, where assets are held, and how future distributions will be taxed. The objective isn’t just a smaller bill this April. It’s a strategy designed to improve tax efficiency across every remaining stage of your life.
What we actually look at
- Where income is generated, and from which account type
- Asset location across taxable, deferred and Roth
- How future distributions will be taxed
- Multi-year sequencing rather than single-year filing
The questions this settles
- Which account do I pull from first?
- When should we take Social Security?
- What happens at 73, when withdrawals become mandatory?
Layer 3 of 5
Longevity & Life Event Stress Testing
A strong financial plan should be able to adapt. Markets fluctuate. Tax laws change. Health events happen. Businesses transition. Families evolve.
So we stress-test the strategy against a range of scenarios to see how it holds up under pressure. The point is that you understand the impact of a major life event before it arrives, rather than after.
What we actually look at
- Market volatility and sequence-of-returns risk
- Changes in tax law
- Healthcare and long-term care expense
- Inflation and longer life expectancy
- Business transition
The questions this settles
- How do we cover health insurance before Medicare?
- What if the market drops 30% next year?
Layer 4 of 5
Ownership & Control
Building wealth is only part of the equation. Protecting and transferring it properly is equally important, and that is where uncoordinated plans quietly fail.
Many families hold accounts, wills, policies and beneficiary designations created independently, years apart, never coordinated. The result can be unnecessary complexity, avoidable taxes, probate exposure, or plans that no longer reflect current wishes. Because our team includes both estate planning attorneys and financial service professionals, we align the legal and financial sides into one strategy.
What we actually look at
- How each account is titled
- Whether the trust is actually funded
- Beneficiary designations against the estate plan
- Probate exposure
- Whether the plan still reflects what you want
Layer 5 of 5
Transfer of Risk
Certain risks are simply part of building long-term wealth. Others have the potential to create significant financial disruption if left unaddressed.
We help identify which is which: what can be mitigated, what is better transferred to an insurer, and what should be managed deliberately rather than insured against.
What we actually look at
- Risks worth mitigating in the plan itself
- Risks better transferred to an insurer
- Risks to manage deliberately and consciously
Plain answers
What people ask about the process.
What is the PILOT Process?
PILOT is the five-layer review Advocate Wealth Solutions runs on every plan: Portfolio Positioning, Income & Tax Strategy, Longevity & Life Event Stress Testing, Ownership & Control, and Transfer of Risk. It brings investment management, tax strategy, estate planning and risk management into one integrated framework rather than five separate opinions.
Why does the order matter?
Each layer changes the inputs of the next. Where your income comes from decides what it is taxed at; what it is taxed at decides how much has to be drawn; how much is drawn decides whether the plan survives a bad decade. Run in the wrong order, every layer is solving against out-of-date numbers.
What does the PILOT Process cost?
It carries a fee, and we quote it before any work begins. The Clarity Map Session that precedes it is free and carries no obligation. You can see what the process would examine before you decide whether to pay for it.
How long does it take?
It depends on how much is already documented and how many accounts are involved. What we will not do is start work before you know the fee, or hand you a plan you have to interpret on your own.
Before the process
You do not have to buy the process to see what it would look at.
The Clarity Map Session covers the first pass of layers I and O: where your income comes from, what tax is owed on it, and whether your documents and titling agree. It is free, and the fee for anything beyond it is quoted before work starts.
30 minutes · No cost · No obligation