Stephen Nelson, CFA®, CFP®

We assist high-net-worth families in managing their wealth.

Over the years that we’ve been helping families, we’ve experienced strikingly similar questions and concerns of wealthy families:

• How can we reduce the risk of a lawsuit eliminating our assets?
• How much should we give our children so the money doesn’t undermine their motivation, well-being, or self-esteem?
• How can we live a life of purpose and meaning?
• How might we minimize the risk and divisiveness that money can bring to family unity?
• How can we steward our resources, finding the balance between personal enjoyment and sharing?

We work with families with assets typically between $5 - 25 million who are looking for the highest level of thinking, planning, and execution. For clients with assets beyond these thresholds, we serve them through our multi-family office.

Not all “flat fee advisors” are interchangeable. It’s the difference between seeing a general physician and going to a specialist who deals with your exact situation every day. When the decisions are meaningful, the expertise behind them matters more. At your level, a single good decision, or avoided mistake, can be worth hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions.

I am a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) Charterholder and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional who has spent my career in investment management and financial planning. I received a Master of Science in Finance and a B.B.A. in Finance from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. I serve families throughout San Diego and across the country.

Each year I write an ‘Annual Letter,’ which best illustrates the firm's character.

Birchwood's asset minimum is $3 million.