The Driftwood Principles
Wealth is a system.
Principle I — and everything else here follows from it.
Because wealth is a system…
Principle II
Every decision changes the others.
A tax move changes an estate move; a withdrawal changes a bracket.
Principle III
Time is part of the system.
The hidden variable is rarely whether. It's when. Sell, convert, gift, or move, and the
order decides the outcome.
Principle IV
Coordination compounds.
Markets compound returns. Coordination compounds what you keep, and it starts the day the pieces begin
to talk.
The architecture
A financial life has layers. Read from the top, purpose becomes execution.
Purpose
What is this wealth for?
Family
Values · Goals · Governance · Legacy
Decision framework
Every decision changes the others · Time is part of the system · Coordination compounds
Financial Operating System
Coordination Index · Opportunity Register · Operating Sessions · Wealth Operating Manual · Annual Review
The operating system. It translates purpose into execution, which is why it sits in the middle.
Financial subsystems
Investments · Taxes · Estate · Insurance · Liquidity · Business · Banking · Philanthropy
Specialists
CPA · Estate attorney · Investment manager · Insurance · Banker · Business attorney
MeaningExecution
Most firms live in the bottom two layers, and manage one subsystem well. Driftwood
operates the middle, the layer that turns what a family wants into what actually happens, and keeps every
layer consistent with the others.
The Constitution
Financial decisions should not surprise one another.
Investments compound. Coordination determines what remains.Coordination compounds, and it compounds first.