Asset Management Overview: Research-Led, Process-Driven
At Summit Retirement Advisors, we believe your financial life deserves the same level of precision and intellectual rigor you bring to your work.
Our clients, professors, researchers, university administrators, and scientific innovators, don’t have the time or interest to micromanage markets or decode complex planning strategies. What they need is clarity, data-backed guidance, and a partner who speaks their language.
That’s where we apply our structured, research-informed approach.
We offer integrated, research-driven asset management for people who value logic, evidence, and long-term thinking. From retirement modeling to benefit optimization and risk scenario planning, we create a framework tailored to your current career phase and future financial needs.
Why Asset Management Is Different for Intellectual Professionals
01.
Institutional Constraints
Your investment options may be limited by university retirement account options, employer-sponsored systems, or
endowment policies or requirements. We
help you optimize within those boundaries.
02.
Whether it’s through consulting, grants, fellowships, sabbaticals, endowed chairs, or administrative appointments, we build
flexible asset strategies that account for career-related income variation.
Non-Traditional Income Sources
03.
We coordinate withdrawals, retirement planning, and investments with an eye
toward tax-efficient decision-making, especially if your income fluctuates or accelerates late career.
Tax Efficiency Across Time
04.
You care about outcomes, not just returns. We incorporate impact investing and
legacy planning strategies aligned
with your values.
Purpose-Driven Investing
05.
Your investment plan should integrate
fully with your employer benefits,
pensions, or deferred compensation
systems, not compete with them.
Coordination with Benefits
06.
From postdoc to tenure to phased
retirement, your career doesn’t
follow a standard path. Your
portfolio shouldn’t either.
Evolving Career Phases
Our Process
01.
Transparent Process
No jargon. No hidden steps. Just clear guidance, even if you don’t know what to ask or where to start.
02.
Analytical Approach
Every plan is built using logic, data, and deep analysis, not generic advice.
03.
Rooted in Reality
Your unique circumstances guide every part of our investment strategy.
04.
No Trend Chasing
We don’t follow trends or hype. Our focus is on stability, structure, and sustainable growth.
05.
No Sales Pressure
We’re here to solve problems, not push products.
06.
Clarity Through Structure
We provide a step-by-step financial strategy designed to reduce uncertainty and support confident decision-making.
Our Offerings
-
As in your own work, identifying outliers and stress points early is critical. We use tools such as Nitrogen, Morningstar and MoneyGuidePro to assess your portfolio’s response to market shocks, inflation, interest rate swings, and personal financial events. We then align the strategy with your quantified risk tolerance, so you can navigate uncertainty with a clear, data-informed approach.
-
Many professionals ignore your largest retirement asset: your work-related retirement accounts such as a 401(k), 403(b) and 457 accounts. We help you optimize this account within the broader scope of your financial picture. That means asset allocation across custodians, tax-aware withdrawal planning, and aligning plan selections with your financial strategy. Whether you're mid-career or approaching separation from service, we design a structured approach around this core asset.
-
Diversification without intention is noise. We design portfolios to include complementary asset classes (from domestic and international equities to preferreds, REITs, commodity based funds and volatility funds) based on valuation, correlation, and income potential. Our Dynamic Income Allocation approach balances growth objectives with strategies aimed at mitigating downside risk, rooted in a top-down framework that adapts to changing markets and evolving academic careers.
-
Employer pensions, RSUs, and deferred compensation plans require analytical depth. We help you compare lump sum vs annuity options, manage concentration risk, and model vesting schedules alongside your broader financial plan. We translate institutional benefits into long-term wealth-building strategies that align with your goals and exit timelines so you can evaluate and optimize the long-term value of your benefits.
-
From primary homes to investment properties, we view real estate through the lens of liquidity, cash flow, and opportunity cost. We help you assess whether to buy, sell, refinance, or hold and how your properties interact with your overall financial plan. Whether real estate is a lifestyle decision, tax play, or wealth-building tool, we bring clarity to the numbers and how they serve your future.