The BIP Wealth team is excited to announce that we have again been named by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of Atlanta’s Best Places to Work. Other honorees include Cox Enterprises, ParkMobile, Mark Spain Real Estate, and many more. We’re honored to rank in the top 3 for Medium-sized companies for fostering an environment that empowers our employees to grow and develop.
The companies were categorized by their size and nominated by their employees. Extra Large (500+ employees), Large (100-499 employees), Medium (50-99 employees), and Small (10-49 employees) companies were selected by the publication based on a number of factors, including employee engagement.
Last year, our team was honored as one of the top Small companies to work for. Backed by our incredible growth over the past year, we moved up into the Medium companies category. This is a huge deal for our team, to say the least.
“At the heart of every great company lies its people. We’re honored to once again be recognized by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of the best places not only to work but truly build a career. Our employees do so much for our clients, and we could not be more proud of the effort they put forth each and every day,” says Bill Harris, CFP®, Co-Founder and CEO of BIP Wealth. “It’s our collaborative spirit that guides our work. We challenge each other to be the best versions of ourselves each and every day and I’m so grateful to our team for always going the extra mile for our clients.”
While in the office, human connection is one of our guiding principles. In the same mindset as our client work, we want our colleagues to feel heard and be successful. To learn more about the award and why our team was recognized, be sure to check out our feature in the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Founded in 2007 with offices in Atlanta, Alpharetta, and Nashville, we help our clients improve their financial lives through highly personalized and differentiated planning and investment strategies. Through comprehensive services which include wealth planning and management, estate planning, insurance planning, and more, we help our clients address their current needs and meet their future goals.
The following values guide our approach:
At BIP Wealth, we guide with humility and respect, committing ourselves to serving the needs and best interests of our many clients. It is through servant leadership that we provide holistic wealth management services that are formulated to help our clients fortify their financial well-being.
We leverage a team-centric mindset to foster an environment of open communication, combining our diverse expertise to create optimal financial strategies for our clients. Our collaborative approach also applies to our clients, where we create regular touchpoints to maintain a fully transparent wealth management process.
As part of our commitment to offer industry-leading services, we hold ourselves accountable to a relentless pursuit of excellence. Our team endeavors to not only guide clients through evidence-based investment strategies but also help them unlock opportunities in private equity, venture capital, and private credit that have historically been reserved for just the ultra-wealthy.
Within our team and among our clients, we do our best to foster a sense of belonging. We extend our family-first ethos to everyone who interacts with BIP Wealth, creating a strong and supportive community.
At BIP Wealth, we’re partners you can trust. To meet the experienced team of financial advisors that drive innovation and personal connections, head over to our Who We Are page. You can also contact us to connect with one of our advisors.
Neither rankings nor recognitions by unaffiliated rating services, publications, media, or other organizations, nor the achievement of any professional designation, certification, degree, or license, membership in any professional organization, or any amount of prior experience or success, should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that the client will experience a certain level of results if the investment professional or the investment professional’s firm is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. No ranking or recognition should be construed as an endorsement by any past or current client of the investment professional or the investment professional’s firm.
BIP Wealth Family,
As many of you know, our very own, Jim Poole, has been suffering from ALS over the last couple of years after being diagnosed in June 2021. It is with a heavy heart to let you know that Jim passed away last night.
His wife Kim was right next to him, holding him in her arms. She said he’s already organized a baseball game in heaven, so I can only imagine all the great players on both sides.
For those of you who didn't have the pleasure of meeting or knowing Jim, he was one of the original investors in Buckhead Investment Partners, which became what you know today as BIP Wealth. He believed in the vision Mark Buffington and I shared and has continued to support us in so many ways over the years.
Jim came to work at BIP Wealth as a Portfolio Manager 14+ years ago with the idea to create a Baseball Division to reach current and former players like himself and their families. Over that time, he’s grown our Baseball Division to what it is today. Not only has he impacted the 100+ clients in our Baseball Division, but there’s another 150+ clients that showed up for the tailgate event we hosted last year, “ALS Night honoring Jim Poole” at the Georgia Tech baseball game.
His alma mater, Georgia Tech, wrote a beautiful tribute to Jim today on their website. You can read their post by clicking on the link below.
Kim and the rest of the Poole family appreciate all of the prayers and support over the last 2+ years, but we can’t stop now. Please continue to pray for the Poole family. Pray for peace, and pray for impact, as they continue to raise awareness about ALS.
If you would like to make a donation in Jim’s memory, Kim asked that contributions be made to the James R. "Jim" Poole Athletic Scholarship Endowment Fund. No amount is too small.
If you want to donate to ALS research, ALS Cure Project and ALS.org of GA are the two organizations that Jim and Kim were most closely aligned.
One more thing…several of us got to visit Jim in Hospice yesterday, which was great to see him before his passing. When I walked into the room, he was sporting a bright red, white, and blue PHILLIES shirt. As many of you know, Jim was a die-hard Philadelphia Phillies’ fan, so in Jim’s honor, even though it pains me to say, “Go Phillies!”
[The Braves play the Phillies tonight in the playoffs, so this game will have special meaning thinking about Jim.]
Thank you for being a part of our BIP Wealth family,
—Bill Harris, Co-Founder + CEO, BIP Wealth
We've also included below a note written by Mark Buffington, CEO of BIP Capital and Managing Partner of BIP Ventures. Both Mark and I were very close to Jim and will continue to think of ways we can honor Jim moving forward...
This morning, I received the sad news that Jim Poole passed away.
For those who don’t know, Jim was one of the first to invest in Bill Harris and me in 2007 when we started Buckhead Investment Partners (now BIP Wealth). He was one of 10 people who believed in our vision and wrote a check to help us get started.
Jim wasn’t just an investor; he was deeply involved in BIP’s success from the outset.
I will miss Jim. I have missed him over the last year as the effects of ALS limited his ability to interact. But I am somewhat comforted by the fact that he is no longer suffering.
To me, Jim Poole will always be royalty at BIP. He took a chance on us and then nurtured our success. We should all try to emulate the example he set.
Godspeed, Jim.
And to the Poole family, my sincerest condolences.
Mark Buffington
CEO, BIP Capital
Managing Partner, BIP Ventures
This quarter's theme is, "How to Prepare for Market Disruptions." Listen in as BIP Wealth's Chief Investment Officer, Eric Cramer, covers what's going on in the financial markets and how we're advising our clients.
It’s one thing to have a vision for your wealth. But, in our complex financial landscape, where things can change in a heartbeat, it's just as important to have a plan in place that takes a comprehensive approach. This is where the concept of holistic financial planning comes into play. Beyond taking a traditional view of finances—one that focuses solely on single aspects like investments, savings, or retirement—holistic planning has a more human approach and embraces a person’s lifestyle, priorities, and goals. It weaves together every financial thread of their life—from tax planning to investments to insurance needs—ultimately aligning each aspect with their unique financial circumstances. Because of this, holistic planning can not only enhance financial decision-making but can also help to foster peace of mind in the long term, knowing that every part of your financial life is working in harmony to potentially achieve long-term goals.
So, why might holistic wealth management be important to your success? In this blog, we’ll break down the top five reasons to implement a holistic financial strategy in navigating toward a secure, prosperous financial future.
For many, financial planning means more than just short-term stock returns. Perhaps you’re hoping to buy your dream home or car. Maybe you want to fund your child’s college education. You may even want to start a small business. Whatever the case may be, holistic planning can help you align with those goals in a more efficient way.
Now, what happens if your goals change? As you get older or the financial markets evolve, can holistic planning adapt to your new situation? Yes. Holistic wealth management from a firm like BIP Wealth can provide clients with a plan that is prescribed to be resilient to sudden changes such as dips in the stock market or higher taxes. Through these personalized plans, clients have the opportunity to establish a more resilient portfolio and lifestyle that can adapt to their evolving needs.
As life and the financial markets change with time, so should your wealth planning. A key value of holistic planning is its versatility, allowing both advisors and clients to make constant changes to target specific goals if needed. This flexibility is especially important for analyzing the global markets. The below graphic takes a look at the percentage of annual returns across a number of the world’s key markets, solidifying the need for a broadly diversified portfolio that can adapt to changing conditions.Source: Dimensional
Through a holistic financial plan, you may be able to achieve higher or more consistent returns as you focus on diversifying your portfolio to be more flexible. A study from Dimensional, a financial investment firm, found that from 1990-2020, investors looking to yield higher returns from global equities as well as global intermediate government and credit bonds would have performed better with holistic planning in most instances.
While thinking about your dream retirement or financial future can be an exciting time, it is also important to keep in mind the many risks that are associated with investing. Say you have a large chunk of your money invested in a single stock. At any given moment, that stock’s value could plummet, taking your hard-earned capital with it. That’s why a core element of a holistic planning philosophy should hold a somewhat pessimistic projection of the future. By actively thinking about how to properly react to inevitable market fluctuations, tax increases, or unexpected life shifts such as job loss, relocation, or injury, you can potentially limit your overall risk and set your portfolio up for a more robust future.
While it can be tempting to pursue high-risk, high-reward investments with quick payouts, holistic planning takes into account several other factors, especially when focusing on a sustainable, long-term gain, including one’s desire for a comfortable retirement or generational wealth transfer. Think of this like sitting in rush hour traffic, for example. You may quickly switch to a lane that is going faster only to find yourself at a standstill soon after. Although you might have temporarily moved ahead of some cars, they may end up beating you in the long run.
Holistic wealth management can include comprehensive plans that are built around passive income sources that drive a client’s retirement years or figure out the best way for them to enjoy their current lifestyle without having to continue their working days. By considering a client’s complete financial situation, holistic wealth management may help them accomplish more than just simple returns. Over the course of years, this system may help turn that dream retirement into an actual reality.
Finally, a component of a comprehensive holistic plan may aim to manage, control, and reduce your tax liabilities wherever possible. This is very important for estate planning and generational wealth transfers, as figuring out areas to reduce your tax burden can make a major difference over the years.
Our holistic planning formula blends Nobel Prize-winning empirical research with savvy integrations of alternative investments. Through our carefully-personalized plans, we’ve helped our clients unlock financial opportunities in both private and public markets that have historically been reserved for the ultra-wealthy.
At BIP Wealth, you’ll have access to a team of experts who will be with you and your family at every step of your financial journey. If you’re looking for a unique approach to holistic wealth planning, you can browse our offerings—from private equities, private credit offerings, public market investment plans, and covered call strategies.
What is holistic wealth planning?
Holistic wealth planning does not focus solely on singular investments, instead determining a person’s current financial situation, lifestyle, and ultimate goals to create a long-term plan for retirement, estate planning, investments, and more.
Why is holistic planning important?
From potentially limiting financial risk to better aligning with personal goals, holistic planning is important for those who are looking for more than just short-term investment returns.
