John-Mark Young Earns CPWA® Certification

Whitaker-Myers Wealth Managers is pleased to announce that John-Mark Young, President and Chief Investment Officer, has earned the Certified Private Wealth Advisor® (CPWA®) certification from the Investments & Wealth Institute. It is an advanced credential built for advisors who serve families with complex financial lives, and John-Mark pursued it for one reason: to bring sharper, more complete advice to the families we serve.

Many of you have trusted us with more than a portfolio. You've brought us business transitions, stock options, inheritances, charitable goals, and the question of how to pass what you've built to the next generation well. This certification was a deliberate investment in being ready for those conversations.

What the CPWA® certification covers

The CPWA® is the Investments & Wealth Institute's credential for advisors working with high-net-worth clients, and its curriculum is built around the issues those families actually face. Earning it required completing a graduate-level education program delivered through Yale School of Management, passing a comprehensive four-hour certification exam, documenting at least five years of experience in financial services, and agreeing to the Institute's Code of Professional Responsibility.

The coursework covers four areas:

• Human dynamics — behavioral finance, family dynamics across generations, and how wealth affects relationships and decision-making

• Wealth management strategies — advanced tax planning, portfolio construction and after-tax returns, and risk management and asset protection

• Client specialization — planning for executives with equity compensation, owners of closely held businesses, and families with concentrated stock positions

• Legacy planning — charitable giving strategies, estate planning, and the tools for transferring wealth efficiently

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If that list sounds like a description of the questions our clients bring us, that's exactly why John-Mark chose this program. Learn more about the CPWA® certification.

What this means for you

The most immediate benefit is better questions. The CPWA® curriculum goes deep on the situations where good planning makes the biggest difference, and the ability to recognize those situations early is often what separates a sound outcome from a costly one.

A few examples of where this training sharpens the advice John-Mark can offer:

• If you hold stock options or restricted stock, there are real differences in how incentive and non-qualified options are taxed, when an 83(b) election makes sense, and how to diversify a concentrated position without triggering an unnecessary tax bill. Timing and sequencing matter, and the rules are easy to get wrong.

  
  

• If you own a business, the structure of a sale — to family, to employees, to an outside buyer — changes the tax result dramatically. Buy-sell agreements, ESOPs, installment sales, and the provisions that let an estate defer tax on a closely held business are all areas the CPWA® covers in detail.

  
  

• If you're planning your estate, John-Mark is better equipped to work alongside your attorney on tools like grantor retained annuity trusts, spousal lifetime access trusts, and generation-skipping planning, and to make sure your investment plan and your estate plan are pulling in the same direction.

  
  

• If giving is part of your plan, the choice between a donor-advised fund, a charitable remainder trust, and a private foundation depends on your income, your assets, and what you want to accomplish. Matching the vehicle to the goal is where the tax efficiency lives.

  
  

• If you simply want to keep more of what you earn, the program's emphasis on after-tax returns, asset location, and the alternative minimum tax applies to nearly every household we serve.

  
  

None of this replaces the work of your CPA or your estate attorney. What it does is make him a more capable partner to them, and a better translator for you, so that the advice you receive from every corner of your financial life fits together.

A commitment to keep learning

The CPWA® is not a one-time achievement. Maintaining it requires 40 hours of continuing education every two years, including ethics coursework, and ongoing adherence to the Institute's standards. John-Mark considers that a feature, not a burden. Tax law changes, markets change, and your life changes. The advice you receive should keep pace.

This certification joins the CFP®, AIF®, RICP®, RMA®, and Enrolled Agent credentials he already holds, among others. Each one was chosen because it fills a specific gap in what our clients need. You can see the full list and what each one covers on his team page.

As John-Mark puts it: "Stewarding what you've been entrusted with starts with stewarding my own skills. Continuing to study is how I honor the trust our clients have placed in this firm."

Let's talk

If any of the situations above describe something you're facing now, or expect to face, John-Mark would welcome the conversation. The best time to plan for a business sale, an option exercise, or a wealth transfer is well before the decision is upon you.

Thank you for your trust. It is the reason John-Mark keeps learning, and a responsibility he doesn't take lightly.