Financial Planning in Rockland County
Hudson Companies is a fee-only financial planning practice in Pearl River. Chris Conover founded it in 2008 and still leads it. Rockland families usually come to us when their money has reached the point where one decision affects the others. Retirement, the portfolio, the house, a gift to the children, a parent who needs help, a business interest, and taxes that have to fit all of it.
Fee-only means you pay us, and nobody else does. We take no commissions and have no products to sell. The office is at 1 Blue Hill Plaza, 1st Floor, in Pearl River. You can sit down with Chris there, or start on a call and come in later.
Schedule a conversation, or call (845) 920-1600.
Who we work with
Most Rockland households who call us have outgrown the stage where one account and a rule of thumb will do. They have a retirement date to settle. Their savings are spread across a 401(k), a couple of IRAs, a brokerage account, and maybe a pension. The house has become a large share of what they own. They have people they want to help. Some own part of a business. Many already have a good accountant and a good attorney, and have noticed that the two rarely talk to each other.
They are not looking for another product. They want one person in Pearl River who will look at the whole picture, tell them plainly what he would do, and stay with it as things change.
How a fee is different from a commission
An advisor paid by commission gets paid when something is sold, whether that’s an annuity, a fund, or an insurance policy. The advice and the sale happen together. That doesn’t make every commissioned advisor wrong. It does mean some of the most useful answers pay them nothing. Keep the cash. Pay down the mortgage. Leave the portfolio alone this year. Don’t buy that policy.
A fee-only firm is paid by the client and by no one else. At Hudson, your fee is the only money we receive. Nobody pays us to recommend their product, because we don’t recommend products for pay. Chris is a fiduciary, which means he has to put your interest ahead of his own. Being paid only by you makes that simple to keep.
It’s fair to ask any advisor how they get paid, in every way. The answer should be short. Ours is one sentence: you pay us. We will explain the fee plainly before you decide anything.
Pearl River is where you sit down. The county is who the work is for.
Families in New City, Upper Nyack, or Wesley Hills sometimes ask whether they should find someone closer to home. The work is the same no matter how far you drive. A family across the county has the same questions as a family two streets from the office, and Pearl River is still the right place to bring them.
Some families come in for every meeting. Others meet in person the first time and do the rest by phone or video. Either works, and you can change your mind later.
What the work includes
Hudson’s work is your household’s plan and the portfolio that carries it out. In practice, that covers:
- Retirement. When you can stop working, what you can spend, when to claim Social Security, what to do about a pension choice, and which accounts to draw from first. The aim is a reasonable tax bill across your whole retirement, not just in one year.
- Investments. A portfolio built to pay for the plan, not to beat a neighbor. That includes which investments sit in which accounts, how to reduce a large position in a former employer’s stock, and when to rebalance.
- Tax-aware planning, with your accountant. Roth conversions, when to take gains, charitable gifts, required distributions, and estimated payments. These get decided before the year ends, not discovered when you file.
- Estate decisions, with your attorney. Who inherits, how accounts are titled, whether your beneficiary forms match the will and any trust, and what a gift to your children now does to the plan later.
- Family. Care for an aging parent, college, a child’s first house, and the harder talk about how much to give and when.
- A business interest. What the business means for your plan, what a sale or handoff would do to your retirement and estate, and how to keep the family’s whole future from resting on one thing.
We don’t sell insurance or annuities, lend money, keep books, or raise capital. Our job is the advice, and keeping all of its parts in agreement.
Do you prepare my taxes? Do you replace my lawyer?
No, and that’s on purpose. Your accountant prepares the return. Your attorney drafts the will and any trust. Hudson’s work is the plan and the portfolio, and making sure your accountant and attorney are working from the same advice.
Here’s what that looks like. Before the year ends, Chris talks with your accountant about gains taken, conversions planned, and what the estimated payments should be. That way the return shows decisions you made on purpose. When your attorney drafts a trust, Chris checks that your accounts are titled the way the documents expect and that the beneficiary forms agree. A well-drafted trust does little if the brokerage account never gets moved into it. A lot of good planning quietly falls apart in the gap between professionals. That gap is what we watch.
How the pieces meet
This is an illustration, not a client, and not a promise of a result. A couple in their early sixties. One of them owns part of a small company. The other has a pension decision coming due. Their daughter is buying a house and they want to help. A parent may need care in the next few years.
None of those questions can be answered alone. When the business interest is sold decides which tax year the gain lands in. That affects whether a Roth conversion makes sense that year. Paying the daughter’s gift in cash or in appreciated stock changes the tax cost, and a large gift may need a word with the attorney. The pension choice depends on how long the money has to last and who needs protecting. A parent’s care is a cost the plan should be able to absorb without starting over. Hudson’s job is to put all of it in one place, make a recommendation, and then work with your accountant and attorney so it actually gets done.
What the first conversation covers
The first conversation is just that, a conversation. You tell Chris what made you call and what you want your money to do. You give a rough picture of what you have, where it’s held, and who else advises you. Chris tells you how he would approach it, what Hudson would handle, what stays with your accountant or attorney, and how the fee works.
You should leave knowing whether this is a fit. If it is, the next step is gathering the details so the plan uses real numbers. If it isn’t, you’ll still have had a useful talk with someone who looked at your situation honestly.
Who is Chris Conover
Chris founded Hudson in 2008. He leads the practice from Pearl River and works with families whose finances have enough moving parts that one person needs to keep track of all of them. You can read more about Chris Conover and how he works.
If you live across the state line
Pearl River is just north of the New Jersey line, and Bergen County families use the same office on the same terms. If that’s you, see financial planning for Paramus and Bergen County families.
How to start
Pick a time on the calendar or call the office. Come to Pearl River or start by phone, whichever is easier.
Schedule a conversation
(845) 920-1600
Hudson Companies, 1 Blue Hill Plaza, 1st Floor, Pearl River, NY 10965
