03/11/2026
Imagine one of those days when the market just keeps dropping.
It can get stressful quickly. Even if you’re a seasoned investor.
But here’s the bigger question:
When volatility hits, what actually guides decisions in your plan?
Is it just market performance?
Or is it a coordinated strategy that accounts for your investments, your taxes, and your future income?
This is where an Investment Policy Statement (IPS) becomes far more than a document about asset allocation.
In a tax-first framework, an IPS should define how investment decisions interact with:
- Your long-term tax strategy
- How and when income will be generated
- Withdrawal sequencing across account types
- Equity compensation decisions
- Rebalancing with tax impact in mind
- Risk tolerance in the context of after-tax outcomes
At Grove Wealth Solutions, we build an IPS for every client… but not just as an investment playbook.
It’s a coordination document.
It outlines how portfolios are managed *and* how those decisions connect to tax planning and income strategy over time. Because none of these - the markets, taxes, or your retirement income - are isolated from each other.
That way, when the stock market tests your conviction, the IPS gives us something objective to return to.
It isn’t impacted by emotions or headlines. It’s simply a framework we can follow.
→ Advisors: Do you believe an IPS should address taxes and income strategy, or just investments?
→ If you’re working with an advisor, have you seen a written framework that connects all three?