Investing June 2026
The cost of certainty
Why the safest-feeling portfolio is often the one most exposed to inflation over a thirty-year retirement.
Private wealth advisory · Est. 2009
Wealth, quietly compounded.
A private wealth advisory for families and founders who prefer clarity to noise — disciplined planning, thoughtful investing, and counsel built to outlast market cycles.
Who we serve
Built for those who value discretion.
Sterling & Vale works with a small number of clients by design — families and individuals whose financial lives have grown complex enough to need a single, considered point of view.
01
Founders & executives
Concentrated stock, equity comp and liquidity events need a plan before they need a spreadsheet — we build both.
02
Multi-generational families
Coordinating trustees, heirs and multiple advisors so wealth transfers with intention, not friction.
03
Retirees & legacy planning
Turning a lifetime of accumulation into a durable, tax-aware income you will not outlive.
04
Trustees & foundations
Fiduciary-grade reporting and investment oversight for trusts, endowments and family foundations.
What we do
Four disciplines, one plan.
Planning, investing, estate and tax are rarely handled well in isolation. We coordinate all four under a single strategy — and a single point of accountability.
01
Financial planning
A living plan — cash flow, goals, risk and taxes modeled together — reviewed as your life changes, not once and forgotten.
- Cash-flow & goals modeling
- Risk & insurance review
- Equity comp & liquidity planning
02
Investment management
Evidence-based portfolios built around your plan, priced fairly, and rebalanced with discipline rather than emotion.
- Global, diversified allocations
- Tax-loss harvesting
- Transparent, low-cost implementation
03
Estate & trust
Coordinated with your attorney to make sure the wealth you have built passes exactly as you intend it to.
- Trust & entity coordination
- Multi-generational transfer strategy
- Charitable & legacy structures
04
Tax strategy
Proactive positioning — not April scrambling — across income, gains, gifting and entity structure.
- Roth & withdrawal sequencing
- Gain/loss harvesting calendar
- CPA-coordinated entity planning
$3.1B+
in assets under advisement
17
years advising private clients
94%
client retention, 10-year average
0
proprietary products sold
Our philosophy
Conviction, held quietly.
Evidence over opinion
We build portfolios on decades of peer-reviewed market research, not headlines, hot takes or house-brand products.
Cost is a risk
Every basis point paid in fees or taxes is a basis point that cannot compound. We treat cost control as a discipline, not an afterthought.
Time, not timing
Markets reward patience more reliably than prediction. Our counsel is built to keep you invested through the cycle, not out of it.
Plain English, always
You should understand every recommendation well enough to explain it yourself. If we cannot make it clear, we have not finished the job.
Our approach
A calm approach to growth.
Every plan starts with the right risk profile — not the one that feels exciting, but the one you can hold through a full market cycle. Choose a profile to see how it shapes an allocation and a twenty-year projection.
Growth and stability in measure — our most common long-horizon allocation.
Expected return
7.1%
Volatility
Moderate
- Equities 55%
- Fixed income 35%
- Real assets 8%
- Cash 2%
$1,000,000 invested · 20-year projection
$3,942,661
Illustrative only, assuming steady annualized compounding — not a guarantee or promise of future results.
The team
Two partners, one standard.
Every client works directly with a founding partner — never handed off to a junior associate as the relationship grows.
Marcus Whitfield
Founding Partner, Investment Strategy · CFA
Marcus has guided investment strategy for private clients for over twenty-five years, previously as a portfolio manager at a global asset manager. He believes the best portfolio is the one a client can actually stay in.
Eleanor Rourke
Founding Partner, Wealth Planning · CFP®
Eleanor leads financial and estate planning for founders and multi-generational families, translating complex equity, trust and tax questions into a plan clients can hold in one page.
Insights
Notes on wealth, plainly written.
Planning May 2026
Estate planning is a family conversation
The documents matter less than the conversation that should happen before you sign them.
Markets April 2026
Why we do not chase yield
A look at what "reaching for yield" actually costs investors over a full market cycle.
How it works
A relationship, not a transaction.
Four steps, held to the same unhurried standard from the first call to the twentieth year.
- 01
A private conversation
We start by listening — your goals, your family, your concerns — before a single number is discussed.
- 02
A plan, in writing
A clear, written financial plan mapping your goals to cash flow, risk, taxes and estate — reviewed together line by line.
- 03
A portfolio built for it
Evidence-based investment management implemented to serve the plan, priced transparently, with no proprietary products.
- 04
Ongoing stewardship
Quarterly reviews, proactive tax-year planning and a direct line to your advisor as life and markets evolve.
Start a conversation
Book a private consultation.
A first conversation is complimentary and confidential — no obligation, and no product to sell. Tell us a little about your situation and a founding partner will respond personally.
400 Battery Street, Suite 1800, San Francisco, CA 94111 (415) 555-0198 · enquiries@sterlingvale.com Mon–Fri · 8am–6pm PT · By appointment
What is the minimum to work with Sterling & Vale?
Most client relationships begin at $2M in investable assets, though we make exceptions for founders and executives ahead of a liquidity event.
Are you a fiduciary?
Yes. Sterling & Vale is a fee-only Registered Investment Adviser. We never receive commissions and act as a fiduciary on every recommendation, at all times.
How are you compensated?
A single, transparent fee based on assets under advisement — disclosed up front. We hold no proprietary products and accept no commissions from any provider.
Do you work with clients outside San Francisco?
Yes. While our office is in San Francisco, most client relationships are conducted virtually with clients across the United States.