Counterweight Private Wealth

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Counterweight Private Wealth Nick Murphy, CFP® | Tax-Forward Retirement & Business-Exit Planning | Fee-Only Fiduciary

Our firm is an independent, fee-only, advisory practice whose mission is to help align your wealth towards your purpose. We act as your experienced, authentic guide to help you understand your ultimate goal and how to get there. Our team works as your counterweight, to help you achieve financial stability so that you can make the best life choices. Counterweight Private Wealth is a DBA of TCWP LLC, a registered investment advisor.

The word “fiduciary” has become a key buzzword in the financial advisor industry. But here's the part that I don't think...
10/02/2026

The word “fiduciary” has become a key buzzword in the financial advisor industry. But here's the part that I don't think the public realizes. Many advisors are only fiduciaries part of the time.

Let me help you spot the difference.

When I meet people, inevitably, someone asks, “What do you do?”

Many times, the moment I say I run a wealth management firm, they’ll mention a massive national brand or a local radio-ad giant and say, "We work with so and so. We appreciate their fiduciary approach."

My heart sinks a little every time because statistically, their advisor is probably only a fiduciary some of the time.

The other time? They're a salesperson.

And the salesperson half can be the expensive half. Let me explain.

It boils down to whether your financial advisor is a fiduciary... ALL OF THE TIME.

Last year, I kept hearing people talk about one firm in particular that does a spectacular job of marketing. In fact, it loudly markets itself as a "fiduciary." So I finally pulled its publicly available disclosures (Form ADV) to get the real story.

That firm is a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA), which means yes, part of the time, it really is held to a fiduciary standard. So they're not wrong, exactly.

They're just only half right.

Because that same firm's own filing plainly admits that when it sells you an insurance product (such as an annuity) it is no longer acting as a fiduciary. And guess what, they sell a TON of annuities.

Wait... what??

Yes, that’s right. Sometimes they are a fiduciary, sometimes they’re not. Often with the same client, in the same conversation! Don't believe me? Their own disclosure filing says it flatly. Here's a direct quote:

"Because [the firm] is a registered investment advisor, we are obliged always to act in the best interest of you, our client. When you buy an insurance product from us, however, our obligation as licensed insurance producers is to ensure that the product is suitable for your needs. These two standards are different."

So, here's my suggestion for your own financial advisor:

1. Pull their Form ADV: It’s free and public. Read Item 5 (Compensation) and Item 10 (Other Affiliations). If insurance licenses or commissions appear anywhere, you are dealing with a “fee-based” advisor, not a "fee only" advisor who may not always be acting in a fiduciary capacity.

2. Force them to say the word "Only": "Fee-based" is a trap. Ask if they are "fee only". If they hedge, hesitate, or offer a lengthy explanation, you have your answer. And if they say they are “fee-only” read their disclosure document to see if they are being truthful.

3. Ask what they earn on the recommendation: A true fee-only fiduciary will answer instantly: "Nothing outside of the fee you pay me." Trust them, but verify by reading their disclosures.

4. Ask the ultimate question: "Are you a fiduciary, one hundred percent of the time, on every piece of advice you give me and every product you offer me?"

09/30/2026

If you’re making large scale financial decisions based on information you heard/read on social media, just be aware that a unique wrinkle in your situation may affect (and derail) your strategy.

Also, even highly reliable sources can make mistakes.

My thoughts in today’s Wednesday walk.

09/28/2026

The closer people get to freedom, the more they realize:

They never practiced being free. Here's what I mean.

Everyone treats retirement like an event. A finish line you cross with a glass of ch*****ne and a LinkedIn post that says, “On to the next chapter.”

Most of us only concern ourselves with our own retirement. But our team has been involved in many, many retirements.

The truth is it’s not a finish line.

For your entire career, you’ve lived inside structure. Meetings. Deadlines. Metrics. People who needed you. You had a system that told you when to show up, where to focus, and how to feel useful.

Then one day, that system disappears. Nobody needs a meeting with you at 9AM. Nobody sends you a problem to solve. The noise fades, and what’s left is space.

That space feels like freedom, for about a month. Then it starts to feel like falling.

The mistake isn’t retiring. It’s waiting until retirement to practice your freedom.

A lot of you won't like hearing this, but freedom is a skill. You learn it the same way you learned everything else, with repetition.

You've got to train for it. Start now and future you will be grateful.

09/25/2026

Selling a law firm (or any business) isn’t just about finding a buyer and agreeing on a price.

There’s also the question of what that sale means for the owner, their family, and the financial life they’ve spent years building.

I recently sat down with Tom Lenfestey with The Law Practice Exchange to talk about the financial planning side of a law firm exit, some of the potential blind spots along the way, and why a wealth planning team should be part of the conversation.

If selling your firm is somewhere on the horizon, give it a listen.

Available wherever you get your podcasts.

https://theexchangewithtomlenfestey.buzzsprout.com/2556471/episodes/19778639-episode-eleven-planning-the-financial-side-of-your-law-firm-exit-with-nick-murphy

09/23/2026

Been thinking about this a lot.

Starting a new series… the Wednesday Walk. Will be articulating various thoughts that come from working with clients throughout the week.

And for the 3 or 4 people who may actually watch this….

If there’s a question or concept you want me to discuss, comment below.

09/21/2026

Money conversations aren’t about money.

Think about it:

When you sit down to talk about money, you’re not just reviewing numbers.

You’re unpacking childhoods and how people grew up thinking about money. Years of conditioning.

You’re hearing how each person learned what “security” means.
Why one partner saves obsessively and the other wants to live a little.
Why one checks balances daily and the other avoids it entirely.

Money doesn’t create tension in and of itself. It exposes what's underneath.

That’s why the best financial planning sometimes looks more like therapy.

Please.

If you’ve ever had a money conversation that felt uncomfortable, that’s not a bad sign. It’s a sign you’re actually doing the work.

Lean into it.

09/17/2026

How I knew it was time to go out on my own.

Years into my career, I realized my job had two sets of rules. One was about serving clients. The other was about meeting a firm’s profit goals. Those two didn’t always line up.

At first, I tried to ignore the gap.

But it kept showing up in small ways. Things that had nothing to do with what families actually needed.

I started Counterweight because I wanted to be accountable to one voice, our clients sitting across the table.

Going independent wasn’t about walking away. It was about standing up.

Today, every decision begins in the same place: what would we do if this were our own family?

We try not to forget that here.

09/16/2026

Inertia is a real thing folks. That’s why you

- Have 12 bank accounts you haven’t closed yet
- Are sitting on cash you haven’t invested yet
- Still work a job you should have left 2 years ago
- Haven’t signed the wills the attorney drafted 6 months ago
- Are avoiding that difficult conversation with your spouse
- Never started the workout routine you pledged to 3 weeks ago

And on, and on, and on...

One of the biggest values a great advisor can bring, is not giving inertia a seat at the table.

Because inertia is real. And it’s robbing you of your future.

I want to share a quick story about William... In 18 years of working with a financial advisor, William’s advisor NEVER ...
09/15/2026

I want to share a quick story about William...

In 18 years of working with a financial advisor, William’s advisor NEVER asked to see his tax return.

He would later say... “It never dawned on me that in reality, I only had a portfolio manager, not a financial advisor.”

The hard truth? Many people don't realize there's a difference.

I see it constantly... Successful professionals. Business owners. Pre-retirees sitting on $2M+. Most of them working with large household-name firms.

William, a 58-year-old medical executive had a $4.2M portfolio and his traditional advisor told him he was "in great shape."

Here's what Williams’s experience looked like:
🔹His investments were placed into a pre-built, non-custom portfolio
🔹Every meeting consisted of recycled talking points and “Global Outlook”
🔹His “financial plan” consisted of a few charts showing how much his assets would be throughout retirement.

Meanwhile, nobody asked him:
🔹"What does your W-2 actually say?"
🔹“How will your deferred comp plan integrate with your retirement income”
🔹“What are the most optimized ages to begin social security?”
🔹“How can we structure your income in ways that minimize your lifetime tax burden?”

What they never showed him:
🔹His tax strategy was creating huge tax bomb in his later retirement years.
🔹Through the right planning he could create high cash flow, while only a small percentage of it would be taxable.
🔹His consulting income could be restructured in a more tax advantageous way.

William didn't need another pie chart. He needed someone who would actually look under the hood.

Here's the reality: Many advisors aren't willing to do the deep work.
- They manage investments.
- They gather assets.

But if you're 3–5 years from selling your business, taking your company public, or stepping away from a decades-long career?

Generic advice is expensive and you deserve better.

At Counterweight Private Wealth, we are VERY different. We start with the real stuff.
🔹Your tax return.
🔹Your pay stubs.
🔹Your estate docs.
🔹Your actual life.

Because comprehensive wealth management isn't about beating the S&P. It's about answering the questions that keep you up at 2 a.m.:
🔹"Can I really retire early without running out?"
🔹"Am I paying more in taxes than I should?"
🔹"What happens to my family if something happens to me?"

If you're a high-net-worth individual (ages 50–65) facing a major financial transition and want a partner who sees the whole picture not just the portfolio?

It might be time that we talk.

09/10/2026

The most expensive word in retirement planning.

Want to know what it is?

It's “someday.”

Most of the families I work with built their wealth quietly. They saved in 401(k)s, bought the house they could afford, lived below their means.

They’re doing well, but the key is they’re BUSY.

And busy people love that one dangerous word: someday.

In your 30s:
“Someday I’ll start investing when I feel like we have extra money.”
You’re focused on career, mortgage, maybe kids.
You figure there’s time, and there is. But everyone older than you is secretly jealous of how much time you have.

In your 40s:
“Someday I’ll move those old 401(k)s and check our insurance.”
Now the money’s real, but so are the distractions. College, parents, work.
Your finances become a junk drawer. Useful stuff, just unorganized.

In your 50s:
“Someday I’ll get serious about retirement planning.”
This is the danger zone.
You’ve built wealth, but you haven’t built a strategy. Taxes, sequence risk, RMDs. They start to matter a lot more, and the window to fix them is shrinking.

In your 60s:
“Someday I’ll simplify everything for the kids.”
But someday usually comes after a health scare or market drop.
And by then, simplifying is a real struggle.

These aren’t rare. They’re normal.

The truth is, most retirement mistakes aren’t about greed or bad luck.

They’re about delay.

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Services Available Nationwide. Offices Located In Raleigh, NC And Wilmington
Raleigh, NC

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Tuesday 8am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8am - 4:30pm
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