Nino

What is investment planning?

Investment planning decides how your money should be invested for each goal: how much goes into stocks, bonds, and cash, which account holds each investment, and how to change the mix without an avoidable tax bill.

Book a free consultation Asset allocation calculator

How do you choose an asset allocation?

Your allocation is the split between stocks, bonds, and cash. Goal and timeline come first, then the mix, then the account and tax details.

01

Start from when you need the money

Money you need within a few years generally belongs in cash or short-term bonds, because stocks can fall 30% or more in a bad year. Money for goals decades away can hold more stock.

02

Size the decline you could live through

Match the mix to how large a decline you could live through without selling. A portfolio that is 80% stocks loses about 24% if stocks fall 30% and the rest holds steady.

03

Set the mix per goal, not per account

A down payment due in two years and retirement in twenty can sit in the same household with very different allocations.

04

Rebalance without a tax bill

Rebalance when the mix drifts, ideally with new contributions or inside retirement accounts, where trades do not create taxable gains. The asset allocation calculator compares your mix with a target.

What is asset location?

Asset location is choosing which account holds each investment, after the overall mix is set. The same fund can cost very different amounts in tax depending on where it sits. Location does not change your total allocation. It changes how much of the return you keep.

  1. 01

    Tax-deferred accounts

    Bonds and other interest payers, which are otherwise taxed yearly at ordinary rates.

  2. 02

    Roth accounts

    What you expect to grow most, since qualified withdrawals are tax-free.

  3. 03

    Taxable brokerage accounts

    Stock index funds, taxed at lower long-term rates, and municipal bonds.

How do taxes affect buying and selling?

In a taxable account, every sale has a tax cost. Four rules decide how much.

  1. 01

    Hold more than a year

    Long-term gains are taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20%. Sell sooner and it's ordinary income.

  2. 02

    Harvest losses

    A loss offsets gains plus $3,000 of income a year. See tax-loss harvesting.

  3. 03

    Avoid a wash sale

    Rebuying within 30 days before or after the sale disallows the loss.

  4. 04

    Choose the lots you sell

    Selling your highest-cost shares first shrinks the gain.

What do you do about a concentrated stock position?

When one stock, often your employer’s, makes up a large share of your net worth, a single bad year can hit your portfolio and your paycheck together. These are the common ways to reduce it without one large tax bill.

01

Sell in stages

Spread sales across two or more tax years to keep gains in lower brackets and below surtax thresholds.

02

Start with high-cost lots

Sell the highest-cost lots first and pair sales with harvested losses.

03

Give shares instead of cash

Give long-held shares to charity or a donor-advised fund instead of cash.

04

Stop adding

Send new savings and dividends to the rest of the portfolio.

What does investing cost?

Costs compound like returns. Fund expense ratios are charged every year, and an advisor charging 1% of assets costs $20,000 a year on a $2 million portfolio, rising as the portfolio grows. The AUM vs flat-fee calculator shows the difference over time.

Nino does not manage, hold, or trade your investments, and it does not charge a percentage of assets. Your accounts stay at your brokerage, and you decide whether to make any trade. Nino connects those accounts so you can see the whole portfolio and the tax side of a change in one place.

How Nino helps with investment planning

Investment planning connects what you own with when you’ll need the money. Your account balances are the starting point; your goals, taxes, and ability to handle a market decline shape the decisions. Use Nino’s AI software to explore your portfolio, or add a CFP to help build your investment strategy.

Book a free consultation

  • See your whole portfolio

    Look across your retirement accounts, brokerage holdings, and company stock. Owning several funds can still leave you exposed to the same companies. Nino brings your investment data together so you can ask what you own, where holdings overlap, and how much rests on one employer.

  • Match investments to your goals

    A home purchase next year and retirement decades away put different demands on your money. Compare your mix of stocks, bonds, and cash with each goal’s timeline and the losses you could absorb. With services, your CFP helps turn those tradeoffs into an investment plan.

  • Understand costs before selling

    Before changing investments, consider fund fees, advisory fees, and the tax cost of a sale. In a taxable account, your purchase price and holding period can change the outcome. A lower-fee portfolio may still come with an upfront tax bill if getting there means selling appreciated assets.

  • Make a plan for company stock

    Your paycheck and investments can depend on the same company. Review vested shares alongside future grants and the rest of your assets. Your CFP can help weigh keeping shares against selling gradually to fund goals or reduce the amount riding on one stock.

Guides and calculators

Go deeper on investment planning with Nino’s guides and free calculators.

Frequently asked questions

Explore investments in your financial plan

Talk with an advisorCreate a free account