I love bridges!
Twenty years ago, I lived near the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and enjoyed watching the construction of the second span. As a boy, I lived about 50 miles from what I think is the most beautiful bridge in the world, the Golden Gate. My family lived to the north and my favorite uncle and his family lived in San Francisco, and we drove across the Golden Gate countless times.
The Day the Span Bowed
A few years back I arrived early for a conference in San Francisco and took the opportunity to walk across the nearly two miles of the bridge; there’s a sidewalk and always scores of people doing it. However, for the 50th anniversary of the bridge in 1987, they actually closed the bridge deck to vehicles for 4 hours to allow pedestrians to walk the bridge.
Reports vary from 20,000 to 80,000 as the number expected by officials; the actual attendance was estimated by the California Highway Patrol as 800,000! There were 300,000 people on the span itself for much of this time, and the characteristic convex shape of the bridge was actually flattened by seven feet at mid-span!
People reported the bridge groaning in the wind, but engineers subsequently determined the bridge was not in danger of failure. (Despite this, I note the past 40 years haven’t seen any more mass celebratory walks scheduled across the Golden Gate!)
Bridges are symbols of optimism, of work to create connections, of the possibility of collaboration.
Connections That Serve You
Yes, we love bridges! This fall, our planning focus is on tax management, a planning discipline that rewards connections and collaboration—between advisor and client, between client and tax preparer, and between advisor and tax preparer.
and Client
and Tax Preparer
and Tax Preparer
Good bridges between you and members of your professional advisory team are vital.
Our advisors stay very current on tax law and see tax management as a key piece of financial planning. A couple of us are CPAs and one is so nerdy as to actually have a master’s degree in taxation. Yet, we believe it is critical that you complement our counsel by having a strong relationship with a competent and responsive tax preparer.
We have no doubt that you are best served when the bridge between us and your tax advisor is strong, reflecting a spirit of professional collaboration and shared intent to serve you well as a team. If you have questions about this relationship or suggestions for us, we welcome your input so this bridge can be strong.