First Carolina Wealth: A Better Approach
Partner2 Banking
First Carolina Bank partners with First Carolina Wealth to be a better partner with clients, offering a superior menu of solutions that serves all financial needs and desires throughout a client’s entire life cycle. We are more than your lender or your investment manager – we are your partner!
What We Do Better
Life Planning
- Multi-generational goals-based life planning
- Individual and business tax and transition tax planning
- Application of financial and legal tools and expertise to achieve clients’ life goals and dreams
Risk Reduction
- Insurance and risk planning, asset protection
- Proper use of insurance and other tools to efficiently mediate risk and preserve wealth
Investments
- Customized strategic and tactical asset allocation
- Open architecture due diligence, selection, monitoring, and documentation of investment strategies
Private Banking with First Carolina Bank
Wealth Administration
- Budgeting, cash management, consolidated reporting, and secure client portal for information
- “Quarterback” function with clients’ outside professionals
Estate and Fiduciary
- Education, development, administration, and monitoring of estate plan and wealth transfer opportunities
- Trust planning and implementation strategies with our user-friendly corporate trustee services
Philanthropy
- Strategic philanthropic tax and structural planning
- Foundation governance and management
- Next generation involvement and focus
Family Education and Governance
- Key to multi-generational wealth survival
- Succession planning and administration
- Family meetings, understanding, and interaction
Peace of Mind and Sense of Belonging
- FCW is in place to handle the “what keeps me awake at night” issues
- Clients enjoy membership in a “club” of similarly positioned families with common issues, interests, and goals
- Client families are part of the larger FCW family, receiving attention and responsiveness due a family member
- FCW relieves clients from the worries of their wealth, freeing them to enjoy the benefits of their wealth
The First Carolina Way
We are skilled at, and chartered to provide, all wealth-related services. The difference from our peers is our ability to serve as a partner with you, rather than as a vendor to you.
Life Planning Hierarchy
Life planning is the natural advancement of financial planning and its Monte Carlo projections, spreadsheets, and cash flow analyses. These financial tools are applied to each individual client’s resources, needs, and goals to best effectuate a life of abundance and fulfillment. This effort extends well beyond projecting whether your assets of $W will last for your life expectancy of X years if you take an annual distribution of $Y and earn an annual return of Z% on your investments.
Three Lanes of the Life Planning Process
Life planning involves every stage of a family’s financial journey. Most planning offerings involve only a single approach, such as investments, ignoring the complexities of each family’s unique financial situation. We guide you down each of the three lanes toward a life of financial and personal success.
Lane 1 - Investment Management
Lane 2 - Personal & Business Planning, Asset Protection, Buy/Sell & Succession Planning, Family Empowerment
Lane 3 - Tax Management, Retirement Planning, Estate Tax Minimization
First Carolina Wealth Team
Managing Director - First Carolina Wealth
John has over 45 years of experience in the trust, securities, and financial planning industries, including: CEO of a North Carolina independent trust company, General Counsel and Investment Advisor to Gordon P. Getty Family Trust, and Corporate Attorney in one of the nation’s largest law firms. He holds a Master of Laws degree in Taxation from Georgetown University Law School; an MBA in Finance and Investments as well as a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University; and an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Marquette University. He is a columnist, speaker, CLE lecturer, expert witness, and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Finance for the Love School of Business at Elon University. Additionally, his experience includes being a past Chair of the Trust and Investment Services Subcommittee of the ABA’s Banking Law Committee and the Legislative and Uniform Trust Code Committees, as well as a Council member of the NC Bar Association’s Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law Section. He is also a member of the Wake Estate Planning Council.
Wealth Administrator - First Carolina Wealth
Bishop holds a Business Management degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and has over six years of industry experience. In his role as Wealth Administrator for First Carolina Wealth, Bishop assists with the management of day-to-day team operations, supports the ongoing growth of the First Carolina Wealth business portfolio, and provides excellent service to First Carolina Wealth clients.
Capital Investment Companies Partnership
A Strategic Partnership for Wealth Solutions
First Carolina Wealth focuses on expert planning advice, responsive client service, and superior fiduciary management. We partner with Capital Investment Advisory Services, LLC (CIAS) of Raleigh, NC, an SEC-registered Investment Advisor, for asset management and support functions. Founded in Raleigh in 1984 and privately owned, Capital Investment Companies* has grown to be one of the largest independent registered investment advisors and brokerage firms in the Southeast. Additionally, BNY Mellon, through its affiliate, Pershing Advisor Solutions, provides state-of-the-art custody and online account access.
*Capital Investment Companies is a marketing name for the following affiliated firms: Capital Investment Brokerage, Inc., Capital Investment Group, Inc., and Capital Investment Advisory Services, LLC.
Asset management services offered through Capital Investment Advisory Services, LLC, a SEC-registered Investment Adviser.
Securities offered through Capital Investment Brokerage, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC
100 E. Six Forks Road, Suite 200; Raleigh, NC 27609 (919) 831-2370 FINRA BrokerCheck
Notice: About Our Relationships with Capital Investment Brokerage, Inc. and Capital Investment Group, Inc.:
Capital Investment Brokerage, Inc. and Capital Investment Group, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "Capital Investment") entered into an agreement with First Carolina Bank to provide services at First Carolina Bank locations. Registered Representatives, independent contractors and employees of Capital Investment are not associates of First Carolina Bank, nor do they sell or otherwise represent bank products.
Non-deposit investment and insurance products and services that are offered by Capital Investment and/or related agencies are:
- NOT INSURED BY THE FDIC
- NOT DEPOSITS IN OR OBLIGATIONS OF FIRST CAROLINA BANK
- NOT GUARANTEED BY FIRST CAROLINA BANK
- SUBJECT TO RISK, INCLUDING THE POSSIBLE LOSS OF INVESTMENT PRINCIPAL
Wise Wealth
In 2024, we had no major income tax overhauls and relatively tame inflation, so the inflation adjustments for tax year 2025 were a minor +2.75% (compared to +7% in 2023 and +5.4% in 2024). All eyes are focused on what direction the new administration and Republican Congressional majorities will take in terms of the 2017 tax cuts sunsetting at year-end. Here, we discuss a few 2025 considerations in the meantime. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
We tend to focus on taxes at year-end, but it is full-year endeavor, if performed profitably. We will focus on two strategies today: Tax Loss Harvesting and Tax Bracket Management. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
Reviewing tax proposals from President-elect Trump's campaign. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
Answering questions about the Qualified Charitable Distribution. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
Many investors find self-directed IRAs appealing—no professional management fees paired with the opportunity to invest in whatever appeals to you. While this may sound great, it often is wrong for numerous reasons. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
As the Trust Department for First Carolina Bank, we at First Carolina Wealth (FCW) eat and sleep trusts. We cannot get enough of trusts; we live for trusts, EXCEPT sometimes when trusts are the beneficiaries of decedents’ IRAs.Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
We all remember the ‘good old days’ when we inherited an IRA from our father and had our entire life expectancies to take distributions from the IRA. In recent years, we have realized significant gains in the number of inherited IRAs, unfortunately from our deceased former clients. The increase in volumes has resulted in an increase in attention from our lawmakers and regulators. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
We undertook last time to delve more into the nuances of Roth IRAs. Backdoor Roths are fairly nuanced. Initially, let us dispatch any confusion between a Backdoor Roth and Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 cinematic masterpiece Rear Window. Our pursuits pale in the face of amateur sleuths Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stuart, but we persevere, nevertheless. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
When confronted with life’s quandaries, such as whether to fund a Traditional or a Roth IRA, I find it useful to consult the Bard for guidance. Unfortunately, in this case, Hamlet has identified the question but is a little light on answers. Fortunately, we have recent IRS regulations and various interpretations to plumb for wisdom. We will delve into the nuances between Traditional and Roth IRAs in future issues, but today, we address the fundamental decision points. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
I am sure many of you readers share my quadrennial depression at the end of the Summer Olympics. Regardless of the historic level of U.S. success, I mourn the passing of binge-watching the world’s youth performing astonishing feats of physical prowess. Fortunately, the IRS foresaw this sudden vacuum of entertainment and issued the final Required Minimum Distribution regulations in mid-July. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
Should I put an annuity into my IRA? Today, we consider an easy question with a complex answer. There has always been a split opinion between brokers—who apply a suitability standard—and registered investment advisors/trust officers—who apply a fiduciary standard requiring all recommendations be in the client’s best interests. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
Taking a break from our quest for IRA understanding, we address something today of great importance, that your humble scrivener has recently encountered personally. The heavily used, but not heavily understood or implemented, mantra that “Everyone needs a will” is not simply a business development tool for estate planning attorneys, it is something everyone should do for those they love. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
Remember a few issues ago when we discussed the SECURE Act, the SECURE Act 2.0, and the proposed regulations issued by the IRS. Late last week, the IRS issued a few hundred pages of Final Regs on Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), in large part adopting the Proposed Regs as presented. Your author has not enjoyed the opportunity to dissect these Final Regs yet, but preliminary conclusions follow. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
We take a brief respite from our expedition through the IRA jungle to consider a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that may be of great importance to you. If not, come back next time. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
Last time, we examined the breadth and depth of today’s IRA marketplace. Today, let us look at the fundamentals of IRAs, both from a practical and tax planning focus. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
As we lounge on the beach in the searing heat, our minds wander to thoughts of our retirement plans, specifically our IRAs. Today we start a journey into the intricate world of IRAs, a world we all must live in regardless of our interest or skills in it, or knowledge of it. Over the next several sessions, we will cut the IRA behemoth up into digestible pieces and discretely review each. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
Continuing our investigation of President Biden’s 2024 Budget Proposals, consider the end of the favorable 20 percent income tax rates on Qualified Dividends and Long-Term Capital Gains. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
Continuing our investigation of President Biden’s 2024 Budget Proposals, we address the often under-appreciated, but incredibly useful, preferential long-term capital gains rate maxing at 20%. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
Continuing our discussion of tax changes contained in President Biden’s new Budget Proposal. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
Known as “The Green Book,” the President issues a budget proposal for the next fiscal year around this time each year. President Biden has made significant proposed changes in the past and the divided Congress has failed to implement them. Will this continue? Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
Now that we have filed our 2023 returns or extensions, we will examine some tax benefits available for the taking, starting with the Electric Vehicle (EV) Credit as passed in August 2022. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
Hooray for Tax Day! It is our honor to address you on this most important day. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
We offer a few last-minute reminders and tips as the tax filing countdown is on. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
We have discussed before the importance of having receipts to justify amounts claimed on our Form 1040s for deductions or credits. Here, we revisit the topic and points of focus. Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
Tax time is here! Do not dread the experience...learn from it! Also includes weekly economic insights from our investment managers.
As we prepare for our annual exercise culminating with filing on Monday, April 15, 2024, let us review some tips and traps on the Audit Avoidance journey.
Persistent inflation and high interest rates have driven up the costs of operating the charity of your choice. Taking an efficient, tax-smart approach to maximizing donor impact and benefit is of ultimate importance in 2023. In this article, John Slayton, Managing Director - First Carolina Wealth, offers a few smart considerations for your charitable giving.
John Slayton, Managing Director - First Carolina Wealth, provides "a peek behind the fiduciary curtain at the workings of First Carolina Wealth."
