Household and intake
What Marcus and Dana told us on the call, and what the statements confirm.
Household
Five-question intake
- Goals
- Retire around 2029 at roughly $180,000 a year in spending, cover what’s left of college for Emma and Jack, and avoid a downturn resetting the timeline.
- Current advisor situation
- Self-directed at Schwab for twelve years. This is the first time Marcus and Dana have considered paying for advice.
- Tax bracket
- Self-reported around 32% federal. Illinois resident.
- Life event
- Corrigan Industrial was acquired by Vantage Point Industries this year. Marcus has to choose between an 18-month retention package and immediate severance by September 2026.
- Statements on file
- Two of at least four accounts. A Schwab joint taxable brokerage statement and Marcus’s Schwab Roth IRA statement, both dated July 31, 2026. His 401(k) from Corrigan and Dana’s SEP IRA came up on the call but aren’t on file.
At a glance
Four numbers from the two statements on file.
In the live product, a citation like this one opens the source statement or the call notes. Here it’s just a label.
The acquirer stock in their brokerage account is where this conversation should start.
It’s the same equity tied to the retention decision Marcus has to make by September, and it’s worth raising before performance or fees come up.
Where the money sits
The two accounts we have, down to the fund level.
| Account | Custodian | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taxable brokerage, JTWROS | Schwab | $612,418 | On file |
| Roth IRA (Marcus) | Schwab | $198,150 | On file |
| 401(k), Corrigan Industrial (Marcus) | n/a | n/a | Not on file |
| SEP IRA (Dana) | n/a | n/a | Not on file |
| Total on file | $810,568 | 2 of 4+ accounts |
| Holding | Account | Expense ratio | Value | % of assets on file |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vantage Point Industries stock | Taxable, JTWROS | n/a | $147,480 | 18.2% |
| Broad U.S. equity fund, Class A | Taxable, JTWROS | 0.86% | $289,660 | 35.7% |
| International developed-markets fund, Class A | Taxable, JTWROS | 1.05% | $67,930 | 8.4% |
| Intermediate-term bond fund, Class A | Taxable, JTWROS | 0.62% | $48,993 | 6.0% |
| Cash sweep | Taxable, JTWROS | n/a | $58,355 | 7.2% |
| Growth fund, Class A | Roth IRA, Marcus | 0.78% | $198,150 | 24.4% |
| Total on file | 0.62% weighted | $810,568 | 100.0% |
Weighted fund cost across assets on file comes to 0.62%, about $5,054 a year in underlying fund expenses. Vantage Point stock and the cash sweep carry no expense ratio of their own. Trailing twelve months of statement activity show two dividend reinvestments in the taxable account and no new contributions to the Roth.
Findings
Four things the statements and the call turned up, each tied to a source.
1. Concentration in the acquirer’s stock. Vantage Point Industries stock accounts for $147,480 in the joint brokerage account, 18.2% of the $810,568 on file and above Meridian’s 10% single-position guideline. It’s also the equity tied to the retention package Marcus has to decide on before September. Evidence: Schwab joint taxable brokerage statement, Jul 31, 2026.
2. Allocation ahead of the stated timeline. Stock sits at 86.8% of the assets on file, including a Roth IRA that holds one single growth fund. On the call, Marcus and Dana said they want to retire around 2029 and worry a downturn could reset that timeline. The allocation and that timeline haven’t been reconciled. Evidence: Schwab statements, Jul 31, 2026, and the Jul 29 discovery call.
3. A fee they may not know they’re paying. The four funds on file carry a weighted cost of 0.62% of assets, about $5,054 a year in underlying fund expenses. Marcus has managed this money himself at Schwab for twelve years, and the discovery call was the first time he’d considered paying for advice. Evidence: fund expense ratios on the Schwab statements, and the Jul 29 discovery call.
4. Twelve months with almost no activity. The past year of statement activity shows two dividend reinvestments in the taxable account and no new contributions to the Roth. Marcus and Dana named retirement savings as a priority on the call, with three years left on the timeline they described. Evidence: trailing twelve months of account activity, Schwab statements, and the Jul 29 discovery call.
Open questions
Not findings. Things the statements and the call left open.
Structure and titling. The taxable account is titled Marcus J. Kessler and Dana L. Kessler, JTWROS, confirmed on the statement. Whether that structure matches any estate plan they have isn’t something we know yet.
Planning coverage. No will, trust, power of attorney, or health care directive came up on the discovery call, so there’s nothing on file to confirm either way.
Cash position. $58,355 sits in the cash sweep inside the taxable account. Whether that’s parked on purpose ahead of the September decision, or just sitting there, is worth asking.
Checks we skipped
Skipped rather than estimated, because the inputs aren’t on file.
Overlap check. Comparing holdings across accounts for overlap needs the 401(k) and the SEP IRA on file, and neither one is yet. We’re skipping the comparison rather than estimating it.
Asset location check. Deciding what belongs in which account type depends on the same two missing accounts. Same treatment, skipped rather than estimated.
Questions to ask
Going into the August 12 follow-up call.
- Does the JTWROS titling on the brokerage account match an estate plan, and should it?
- What’s inside the Corrigan 401(k), and has it been touched since the acquisition closed?
- Does Dana’s SEP IRA overlap with the Schwab accounts, and roughly what’s the balance?
- Does the retention package add more Vantage Point stock on top of what they already hold?
- Is there a will, trust, or health care directive, and when was it last updated?
- Is the $58,355 cash sweep intentional given the September deadline?
What we could not verify
Stated as open, not filled in.
- The two accounts not on file. Holdings, cost basis, and beneficiaries on the Corrigan 401(k) and Dana’s SEP IRA are unknown until we see statements.
- The overlap and asset-location checks. Both are skipped, not estimated, because the missing accounts would decide the answer.
- The retention package terms. We know the September deadline from the discovery call. We don’t know what’s inside the offer itself.
- Any estate documents. Nothing on file confirms a will, trust, power of attorney, or health care directive exists.