Bespoke Wealth Solutions for Corporate Executives
Senior corporate leaders—such as CEOs, CFOs, and Managing Directors—operate in a highly demanding corporate environment where professional responsibilities often leave little time for personal wealth management. Furthermore, executive remuneration is highly complex, typically comprising a mix of base cash salaries, performance-linked bonuses, fringe benefits, and equity-based Employee Share Schemes (ESS) or share options. At Executive Advisors, our Executive Wealth desk structures comprehensive financial blueprints from our office in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, designed to optimize your compensation and build long-term wealth.
We work in alignment with your corporate schedule to coordinate your personal tax planning, debt structures, insurance policies, and investment portfolios. By managing concentrated shareholding risks and utilizing tax-effective salary packaging, we help you translate your corporate success into a secure, diversified personal balance sheet that protects your family's future.
"Executive wealth management is not simply about picking investments. It requires aligning your corporate remuneration, equity incentives, and personal tax structures to build a highly diversified, tax-optimized estate."
Managing the Complexities of Executive Remuneration
We advise senior executives on the key financial challenges associated with high-income salary packaging, concentrated corporate equity, and long-term asset protection.
1. Salary Packaging & Fringe Benefits Optimization
High-earning executives face a top marginal tax rate of 45.0% (plus a 2.0% Medicare Levy) on incomes exceeding $190,000. We design optimized salary sacrifice arrangements that package concessionally taxed benefits—such as novated car leases, professional memberships, and laptops—reducing your overall taxable income and managing Division 293 superannuation tax exposures.
2. Concentrated Shareholder Risk & Equity Diversification
A significant portion of an executive's net worth is often tied up in the shares or options of their employer company. This concentrated holding exposes you to significant volatility and risk. We design structured diversification strategies, utilizing tax-effective share sale programs and coordinating with company trading windows to build a balanced, multi-asset portfolio.
3. High-Value Insurance Architecture
Your income is your most valuable asset. Standard group life insurance policies held within corporate superannuation funds are rarely sufficient for high-earning executives. We design bespoke personal insurance frameworks—including high-value Income Protection, Life Cover, and Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) policies—underwritten outside of superannuation to secure your lifestyle and family commitments.
4. Debt Recycling & Investment Structuring
For executives with significant home loan debt, we implement structured debt recycling strategies. By converting non-deductible home loan debt into tax-deductible investment debt, we accelerate your mortgage repayment timeline while building a tax-effective investment portfolio, utilizing discretionary family trusts to distribute investment earnings.
The Executive Wealth Lifecycle
We guide senior corporate leaders through a structured, four-phase wealth management roadmap designed to build, diversify, and transfer wealth.
Remuneration & Package Audit
We conduct a thorough audit of your current employment agreement, salary packaging, superannuation contributions, and equity vesting schedules. We identify immediate opportunities to improve tax efficiency and cash flow.
Equity & Risk Diversification
We analyze your concentrated shareholdings and design a structured exit plan. We align share sales with corporate trading windows and model tax outcomes to transition equity into a diversified portfolio.
Asset Protection & Trust Structuring
We establish discretionary family trusts or corporate beneficiary companies. This structure isolates personal investments from business trading risks, protects assets from potential liabilities, and allows tax-effective income splitting.
Succession & Transition Planning
We draft comprehensive estate plans—including testamentary trusts, power of attorney documents, and binding superannuation nominations—ensuring seamless wealth transfer and preparing you for a clean retirement transition.
Remuneration & Investment Component Profiles
Balancing the cash flow, tax profiles, and structural risks of your assets is essential to maximize your long-term net wealth.
| Remuneration / Asset Component | Primary Wealth Purpose | ATO Tax Treatment | Concentration Risk Level | Recommended Structure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base Salary & Bonus | Meet immediate lifestyle needs, mortgage service, and savings. | Marginal rates up to 47.0% (PAYG withholding). | Low; paid in cash. | Optimize via salary sacrifice to superannuation and novated leasing. |
| Employee Shares & Options (ESS) | Capital growth and alignment with company performance. | Tax-deferred under ESS rules until vesting event. | High; dependent on single company stock performance. | Establish a structured sale plan to reinvest in diversified asset classes. |
| Discretionary Family Trust | Hold non-company investments and protect family assets. | Taxed at the beneficiary level based on marginal rates. | Very Low; diversified holdings. | Use corporate trustee for superior asset protection and continuity. |
| Bespoke Income Protection | Protect lifestyle cash flow against illness or injury. | Premiums are tax-deductible; benefits taxed as income. | None; acts as risk hedge. | Owned personally outside of superannuation for maximum definition coverage. |