In this installment of the Portus Perspectives series, William opens with a Wall Street Journal article that stopped him cold. Over 1,000 IRAs in the United States with tens of millions of dollars sitting inside them. 

Three things immediately came to mind:

1. How do you get tens of millions of dollars into an IRA? 

2. What a mistake that could turn out to be.

3.  Why weren't more of them Roth IRAs? 

As it turns out, a significant number of them are Roth IRAs. Many were funded by early investors in startups who used their Roth IRAs to take stakes in young companies that grew into billion dollar enterprises. From a tax perspective, if those accounts are Roth IRAs, the growth comes out tax free. 

That part is good. 

But the broader question William wants to address is the one that applies to every business owner and every investor making retirement account decisions right now. Why do we blindly chase tax reduction today without thinking about what that decision means for our tax bracket in the future? 

Here is the problem with a large traditional IRA. At age 73, the IRS requires you to start taking mandatory distributions, currently around four percent per year. A ten million dollar traditional IRA generates four hundred thousand dollars of taxable income. A hundred million dollar traditional IRA generates four million dollars of taxable income. All of it taxed at your highest marginal rate, currently 37%, and almost certain to rise given the state of the country's finances. 

You deferred at one rate. You are paying out at the highest possible rate. You didn't win that trade. 

The right decision between a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA, and a regular brokerage account depends entirely on where you are today and where you're likely to be in the future. You can't get it perfect because nobody knows what the future holds. But you can make a really good decision if you plan, strategize, and think beyond today. 

Key Topics Covered: 

• The Wall Street Journal Story: Over 1,000 IRAs with tens of millions of dollars inside them.
• How It Happened: Early startup investors using Roth IRAs to build extraordinary wealth tax free.
• The Traditional IRA Trap: Why deferring taxes today can mean paying at your highest rate in retirement.
• Required Minimum Distributions: What happens at 73 when the IRS forces you to start taking money out.
• The Tax Addiction: Why the obsession with reducing taxes today is costing people money in the future.
• Making a Really Good Decision: How to think about traditional IRA vs Roth IRA vs brokerage accounts the right way.

If you've been contributing to a traditional IRA or 401k without thinking about what your tax bracket looks like in retirement, this episode will make you rethink that strategy entirely.
 
➡️ Join the Conversation: https://portusadvisors.com
➡️ Portus Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572848737086
➡️ Portus LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/portus-wealth-advisors/
➡️ More Portus Perspectives: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpVTaW63KqYSZ95HuYkvGAAwr1z4Br7Ol&si=7_qZ6fOTmfRWHDUp
 
ORIGINAL MEDIA SOURCE(S): 

William Bissett: Millions in an IRA? Why That Might Be a Problem. | Portus Perspectives
Originally Recorded on August 6, 2026
Portus Perspectives: Episode 39
 
#IRA #RothIRA #TaxPlanning #RetirementPlanning #WealthManagement #FinancialPlanning #BusinessOwner #RequiredMinimumDistributions #TaxStrategy #PortusPerspectives #PortusWealth #Entrepreneurship #401k #TaxDeferral #SmallBusiness
 

In this installment of the Portus Perspectives series, William opens with a personal story that starts with a midlife moment, a loss, and a dream purchase. 

2018: William had just lost his dad. He had been driving the same Chevy Tahoe for 11 years. And so he did what made any middle -ged man with the means to do so would do... 

He bought a 2018 Jeep Wrangler. 

Manual transmission. 

Removable top. 

Removable doors. 

The whole package. 

That summer he would drive to work with the top off and the doors off, wind in his hair (what little was left), enjoying every minute of it. Until the afternoon pop-up storms that come with summertime in the South had other plans. 

He got caught in the rain more than once. Sitting in stop and go traffic on Interstate 77, rain coming down, nowhere to go, nothing to do but sit there and take it. And on one of those occasions his son asked him a question that stuck. 

"Dad, what happens if it rains? "

William's answer was simple. "Sometimes it rains, son. And sometimes there is nothing you can do about it except sit there and laugh." 

That conversation has stayed with him ever since. Because the same thing is true in business and in life. There are going to be rainstorms you can't avoid, can't outrun, and can't fix. 

Markets shift. 

Deals fall apart. 

Things go wrong for reasons that have nothing to do with anything you did. 

And in those moments, the only real option is to acknowledge that it is raining, find something to laugh about, and push through until it stops. 

Because it always stops. Fifteen minutes later, soaking wet, but the sun is coming back out. 

Key Topics Covered: 

• The Jeep Story: Why a midlife moment and a loss led to one of William's best purchases.
• Caught in the Rain: What stop and go traffic on I-77 taught him about handling the unavoidable.
• The Son's Question: A simple conversation that turned into a lasting business lesson.
• Sometimes It Rains: Why acknowledging a bad situation is the first step through it.
• Laughing in the Rain: Why finding humor in the unavoidable is not just healthy, it is strategic.
• It Always Stops: A reminder that no rainstorm, in business or in life, lasts forever.

If you're going through a rainstorm right now in your business or your life, this episode is your reminder that the best thing you can do is acknowledge it, laugh a little, and keep moving forward.
 
➡️ Join the Conversation: https://portusadvisors.com
➡️ Portus Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572848737086
➡️ Portus LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/portus-wealth-advisors/
➡️ More Portus Perspectives: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpVTaW63KqYSZ95HuYkvGAAwr1z4Br7Ol&si=7_qZ6fOTmfRWHDUp
 
ORIGINAL MEDIA SOURCE(S): William Bissett: Sometimes It Rains: What a Jeep Taught Me About Business | Portus Perspectives
Originally Recorded on August 5, 2026
Portus Perspectives: Episode 38
 
#Mindset #BusinessOwner #Entrepreneurship #Resilience #GrowthMindset #PersonalGrowth #Leadership #SmallBusiness #WealthManagement #PortusPerspectives #PortusWealth #LifeLessons #BusinessStrategy #Perseverance #JeepLife

Most business owners think HR is just an administrative headache. Matt Butler wants to show you the line item in your financials where it is actually destroying enterprise value.

In this episode of Charting Opportunities, William Bissett sits down on stage with Matt Butler, co-founder of Pair PEO, a PEO brokerage based in Charlotte. Matt spent over 15 years in the PEO space — first as a user, then nearly 13 years at Insperity, and now as a broker who shops the marketplace on behalf of his clients. His core argument is simple: HR compliance, health insurance costs, and payroll administration are not just operational problems. They are valuation problems. And most business owners have no idea how much they are costing them at the exit.

What is a PEO and why does the term make people stare blankly? 

What is co-employment, and does it mean giving up control of your own people? (Spoiler: the opposite is true.) 

Why does Matt compare staying with the same PEO forever to getting a tattoo? 

And what actually happens to your multiple when a private equity buyer opens the books and finds your HR is a mess?

Matt also makes the math concrete for the blue collar business owner who thinks this does not apply to them. A $100,000 reduction in annual health insurance premiums — not unusual through a PEO — translates to $300,000 to $500,000 in enterprise value on a three to five times multiple. That is real money at the closing table.

Key Topics Covered: 

- What Is a PEO and Co-Employment: The plain-language breakdown — including why Matt initially thought co-employment might be illegal. 
- The Broker Model: Why Pair PEO shops 25 PEOs on your behalf and why you should benchmark every 24 to 36 months. 
- Multi-State Compliance: Charlotte's specific problem with SC payroll taxes and the call you do not want at 5 PM on a Friday. 
- PEOs and the Exit: How private equity and strategic buyers view PEO clients — less risk, faster due diligence, better terms. 
- The Health Insurance Math: Economies of scale, buying power, and what a 100-person company can access that a 30-person company simply cannot. 
- Don't Wait for Renewal: What happens when a company waits too long and 395 out of 400 PEOs will not touch them. 
- Blue Collar Exit Math: Why $100,000 in annual HR savings is worth $300,000 to $500,000 at the closing table. 
- Talent and Ancillary Benefits: Why companies are switching PEO platforms over pet insurance and what it says about where hiring is heading.

A HUGE THANK YOU to Matt Butler for his transparency and for making one of the most misunderstood tools in business actually make sense.

Join the Conversation:
➡️ Portus Wealth Advisors: https://portusadvisors.com
➡️ Pair PEO: https://www.pairpeo.com/
➡️ Portus Facebook: https://facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572848737086
➡️ Portus LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/portus-wealth-advisors/about/

Video Chapters:
0:00 – Introduction: Meet Matt Butler and Pair PEO
1:28 – What Is a PEO? (The Two-Headed Stare Explained)
2:31 – From PEO User to Insperity to Building Pair PEO
5:14 – The Broker Model: Why Matt Left the Single-PEO World
7:50 – Does Industry Matter? (Spoiler: It's More About Mindset)
9:21 – Does Size Matter? (From 3 Employees to 4,000)
12:14 – The Control Question: What Co-Employment Actually Means
16:20 – What You Keep and What Goes Away
19:02 – Why Compliance Isn't What Gets Matt Out of Bed
21:50 – Multi-State Compliance: Charlotte's Specific Problem
26:00 – The Tattoo vs. Haircut: Don't Marry Your PEO
29:55 – How Private Equity and Strategic Buyers View PEO Clients
32:50 – Health Insurance: The Biggest Math Problem in Small Business
36:43 – Red Flags and Ideal Clients
41:37 – How Long Does It Actually Take?
45:57 – Blue Collar Exit Math: $100K Savings = $500K in Enterprise Value
48:59 – Value Beyond Price: The Nuances of Choosing the Right PEO
51:56 – The Car Lot Analogy: Why You Want a Broker in Your Driveway
53:37 – Ancillary Benefits: Pet Insurance and the Future of Talent Retention
57:54 – Q&A: Compliance, Liability, and ACA

ORIGINAL MEDIA SOURCE(S): 
Matt Butler: HR as a Valuation Killer? | Pair PEO | Charting Opportunities
Originally Recorded on April 8, 2026
Charting Opportunities: Season 2, Episode 5
Images courtesy of: Matt Butler and Pair PEO 

In this installment of the Portus Perspectives series, Bo, marketing lead at Portus Wealth Advisors, puts together a quick tutorial for business owners who are considering selling and want to know how AI can help them think through the process. 

If you have never used AI before, this is your starting point. 

The most popular platforms right now are ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. All three are powerful tools, but like any tool, the results you get depend entirely on what you put in. Bo uses a simple analogy to make this clear. Think of AI like a doctor's appointment. If you walk in and say you are not feeling well, the doctor cannot help you. If you say the pain is localized to the interior of your knee, happens when you stand up and shift your weight, now you are giving them something to work with. 

AI works exactly the same way. 

If you start a prompt with something like "I am thinking about selling my business," you are going to get a generic response. But if you give the AI the details it needs, what kind of business it is, how long you have been operating, when you are thinking about selling, where you are located, whether your revenue comes from recurring contracts or constant customer churn, the response you get back becomes genuinely useful. 

Bo walks through the specific types of detail that make AI prompts more effective for business owners exploring a sale, and closes with a reminder that AI is a starting point, not a replacement for the human expertise that curates, edits, and puts a real voice on the output. 

Key Topics Covered: 

• The Best AI Platforms Right Now: ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude and how Portus uses them daily.
• The Doctor Analogy: Why the quality of your prompt determines the quality of your answer.
• What to Include in Your Prompt: Business type, location, timeline, revenue model, and more.
• Garbage In Garbage Out: Why vague prompts produce vague results.
• What Not to Include: Why personal and banking information should never go into an AI prompt.
• AI as a Starting Point: How Portus uses AI for content and idea generation with a human element always in the mix.

If you are a business owner thinking about selling and curious about how AI can help you get started, this episode will show you exactly how to use it the right way.
 
➡️ Join the Conversation: https://portusadvisors.com
➡️ Portus Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572848737086
➡️ Portus LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/portus-wealth-advisors/
➡️ More Portus Perspectives: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpVTaW63KqYSZ95HuYkvGAAwr1z4Br7Ol&si=7_qZ6fOTmfRWHDUp
 
ORIGINAL MEDIA SOURCE(S): Bo Bissett: ChatGPT Prompts to Sell a Business | Portus Perspectives
Originally Recorded on July 28, 2026
Portus Perspectives: Episode 37
 
#ChatGPT #AI #SellYourBusiness #BusinessExit #ArtificialIntelligence #BusinessOwner #Entrepreneurship #AIPrompts #WealthManagement #PortusPerspectives #PortusWealth #SmallBusiness #ExitStrategy #AIForBusiness #DigitalTools
 

In this installment of the Portus Perspectives series, William opens with golf. Specifically, a clip from the Scottish Open that stopped him in his tracks. 

Rory McIlroy, one of only a handful of players to ever win all four majors, a 40 time winner around the world, one of the best players of his generation, is standing in the middle of the fairway about 100 to 150 yards from the pin. A distance where a tour player is expected to put it within five or ten yards virtually every time. 

He hits the ball. The tracker follows it up, up, and then it starts drifting left. Way left. Not where it was supposed to go. 

And Rory McIlroy, one of the greatest golfers alive, looks up and says out loud what he is thinking. 

"God, I'm so bad at golf." 

William laughs. Because Rory McIlroy is not bad at golf. He hit a bad shot. And there is a very important difference between those two things. 

That distinction is exactly what this episode is about. Because business owners, professionals, and people at every level of their careers make the same mistake Rory made in that moment. They hit a bad shot, make a bad decision, or do something they immediately regret, and they leap from that single moment to a sweeping conclusion about their own ability. 

You are not bad at what you do because you did something badly. You hit a bad shot. Go to the next hole. Hit a better one. 

Key Topics Covered: 

• The Rory McIlroy Moment: What one of the world's best golfers said after hitting a bad shot.
• Bad Shot vs Bad Player: Why one mistake does not define your ability or your worth.
• The Self Doubt Trap: How business owners and professionals confuse a bad moment with a bad track record.
• Moving to the Next Hole: Why the right response to a mistake is to refocus and keep going.
• The Universal Lesson: Why even the best in the world make bad shots and what they do about it.
• Permission to Be Human: A reminder that doing something wrong does not make you bad at what you do.

If you have ever caught yourself spiraling after a mistake and questioning whether you are cut out for this, this episode is your reminder that even Rory McIlroy has those moments.
 
➡️ Join the Conversation: https://portusadvisors.com
➡️ Portus Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572848737086
➡️ Portus LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/portus-wealth-advisors/
➡️ More Portus Perspectives: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpVTaW63KqYSZ95HuYkvGAAwr1z4Br7Ol&si=7_qZ6fOTmfRWHDUp
 
ORIGINAL MEDIA SOURCE(S): William Bissett: One Bad Shot Doesn't Make You a Bad Player | Portus Perspectives
Originally Recorded on July 22, 2026
Portus Perspectives: Episode 36
 
#Mindset #BusinessOwner #Entrepreneurship #GrowthMindset #Golf #RoryMcIlroy #Resilience #PersonalGrowth #Leadership #PortusPerspectives #PortusWealth #SmallBusiness #SelfDoubt #OvercomingMistakes #BusinessStrategy
 

In this installment of the Portus Perspectives series, William tackles one of the most charged topics in personal finance. Debt. 

Everyone has an opinion. Some people believe you should never carry debt under any circumstances. Others believe leverage is one of the most powerful wealth building tools available. And William's take is more nuanced than either camp, which is exactly why it is worth listening to. 

Debt is a tool. Like any tool, it can be used well or poorly. And when used appropriately, it has the potential to create excess wealth that would not have been possible otherwise. 

William uses his own mortgage as a straightforward example. Locked in below 3% during the pandemic refinancing window, that debt is essentially cheap capital. The idea that you cannot generate returns in excess of 3% over the next 30 years is, in his words, ludicrous. Borrow at 3%, invest at 7 or 8 or 10%, and the math works in your favor. The interest you paid the bank looks very different when you put the returns column next to it. 

But here is where William's take gets more interesting. He fully acknowledges the other side of the argument and does not dismiss it. 

There are people who lose sleep over debt. People who cannot get it out of their head, who feel the weight of owing someone money as a genuine emotional and psychological burden. For those people, paying off debt is not just a financial decision. It is a mental health decision. And the peace of mind that comes from being debt free has real value, even if it means leaving some excess wealth on the table. 

The right answer depends entirely on who you are, how you think about money, and what allows you to make clear headed decisions about your financial future. 

Key Topics Covered: 

• Debt as a Tool: Why the way you use it matters more than whether you use it.
• The Leverage Argument: How borrowing at a low rate to invest at a higher one creates excess wealth.
• The Mortgage Example: Why a sub 3% mortgage and a 30 year investment horizon is a compelling case for debt.
• The Emotional Side: Why for some people being debt free is worth more than the excess returns they might have earned.
• Proper vs Improper Use: Why a 3% mortgage and a 9% art degree loan are not the same conversation.
• Know Yourself: Why understanding where you sit mentally is as important as understanding the numbers.

If you've ever gone back and forth on whether to pay off debt or invest the difference, this episode will give you the framework to finally think it through clearly.
 
➡️ Join the Conversation: https://portusadvisors.com
➡️ Portus Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572848737086
➡️ Portus LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/portus-wealth-advisors/
➡️ More Portus Perspectives: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpVTaW63KqYSZ95HuYkvGAAwr1z4Br7Ol&si=7_qZ6fOTmfRWHDUp
 
ORIGINAL MEDIA SOURCE(S): 

William Bissett: The Truth About Debt That Nobody Wants to Hear | Portus Perspectives
 Originally Recorded on July 22, 2026
 Portus Perspectives: Episode 35
 
#Debt #PersonalFinance #WealthManagement #FinancialPlanning #BusinessOwner #DebtFree #Investing #Mortgage #Leverage #PortusPerspectives #PortusWealth #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #FinancialFreedom #MoneyMindset
 

In this installment of the Portus Perspectives series, William draws on a recent Charting Opportunities event that brought in a speaker from Florida who runs a company called Evil Bone Water, an ancient Chinese remedy for all kinds of ailments that started as a small batch operation out of a chiropractor's home and grew into something remarkable. 

The speaker, Dr. Mark Brinson, did a phenomenal job building the company and an equally phenomenal job marketing it. But what stood out most in the conversation wasn't the product or the growth story. It was something he said about where he is right now as a leader. 

He is more COO than CEO at this point. And he knows it. He is actively working to elevate himself into the CEO role while simultaneously teaching his team to do the same thing within their own positions. The message to his employees is simple. If you want to grow beyond where you are, you have to create the systems and processes that allow someone else to come in and do what you are currently doing. You cannot move up until you make it possible for someone else to step into the role you are leaving behind. 

William argues that this is one of the clearest and most practical ways to think about succession planning he has ever heard. Not just as an exit strategy for the business owner ready to sell, but as a framework for every person in every role at every level of a growing company. 

Succession planning isn't just about what happens when the founder leaves. It is about what happens every time someone in the organization is ready to take the next step. And the only way that step becomes possible is if the role they are leaving gets filled by systems, processes, and people capable of doing what they used to do. 

Key Topics Covered: 

• The Evil Bone Water Story: How a chiropractor built a remarkable company from small batch to full scale.
• CEO vs COO: Why Mark Brinson's honest self assessment is one every business owner should make.
• Replacing Yourself to Promote Yourself: Why moving up requires creating a path for someone else to step in.
• Succession Planning Redefined: Why it applies to every role in the company, not just the founder's exit.
• Building Systems and Processes: Why documentation and structure are what make promotion possible.
• The Universal Framework: How every employee at every level can apply this thinking to their own growth.

If you have ever felt stuck in your current role or wondered how to grow your team beyond where they are today, this episode will give you a framework that works at every level of your organization.
 
➡️ Join the Conversation: https://portusadvisors.com
➡️ Portus Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572848737086
➡️ Portus LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/portus-wealth-advisors/
➡️ More Portus Perspectives: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpVTaW63KqYSZ95HuYkvGAAwr1z4Br7Ol&si=7_qZ6fOTmfRWHDUp
 
ORIGINAL MEDIA SOURCE(S): William Bissett:  Don't Promote Yourself Until You Replace Yourself | Portus Perspectives 
Originally Recorded on July 15, 2026
Portus Perspectives: Episode 33
 
#SuccessionPlanning #BusinessGrowth #Leadership #BusinessOwner #Entrepreneurship #CEO #COO #WealthManagement #PortusPerspectives #PortusWealth #SmallBusiness #TeamDevelopment #BusinessExit #Scaling #EvilBoneWater
 

 Most business owners think branding is a logo. Anne Marie Holder of Spark Strategic Ideas is here to tell you it is not even close.

In this episode of Charting Opportunities, William Bissett sits down on stage with Anne Marie Holder, founder of Spark Strategic Ideas and an 18-year veteran of strategic branding and marketing. Anne Marie built Spark out of the 2008 recession and has spent nearly two decades helping companies figure out who they actually are — not who they think they are — and then building the communications strategy to match.

The conversation opens with a deceptively simple distinction. Marketing is how you ask someone on a date. Branding is the reason they say yes. From there, Anne Marie takes the room through a brand personification exercise comparing Walmart and Target — and the answers are almost always the same no matter who is in the room. That consistency is the point. Your brand lives in the minds of the people around you whether you built it intentionally or not. The only question is whether it reflects who you actually are.

Anne Marie walks through Spark's three-phase strategic brand planning process: anonymous employee interviews, customer interviews, a brand audit, and then a two-day leadership workshop where the leadership team confronts what they heard. It is not comfortable. It is also where the real work happens. Because who you think you are and who your employees and customers think you are are rarely the same thing.

The conversation also gets into the practical realities that trades and B2B business owners actually face. Why does branding matter when you are already growing 30 or 40 percent a year on referrals? What does marketing look like when you do not have Apple's budget? How do you squeeze ROI out of every piece of content you create? How do you find a marketing agency that will stand shoulder to shoulder with you instead of handing you a cookie cutter built for the last client? And what happens to your brand — and your multiple — when you are getting ready to sell?

Anne Marie also shares the story behind one of the more creative campaigns she has ever run: mailing a yam. Literally. It is a better story than it sounds.

Key Topics Covered: 

- Branding vs. Marketing: The foundational distinction — and why getting it wrong means making promises your business cannot keep. 
- Brand Personification: Why Walmart always throws an oyster roast and Target always drives a luxury SUV — and what that tells you about the power of brand identity. 
- The Three-Phase Process: How Spark conducts anonymous employee and customer interviews, a brand audit, and a leadership workshop to uncover who a company actually is. - - Branding for Trades and B2B Businesses: Why your website is no longer your sales tool — it is your credibility validator — and how expert positioning does the real heavy lifting. 
- Branding for the Exit: Why business owners planning to sell in three to five years need to be investing in brand now, not later, if they want to move the multiple. 
- Choosing the Right Agency: What to ask a marketing firm before you hire them — including what they look for in a client and whether no meanies is actually in the contract. 
- ROI and Measurement: Why turning one channel on and another off to test results is the wrong approach — and what integrated programs actually look like. 
- AI in Marketing: Where AI helps (brainstorming, research, trend identification), where it hurts (generic storytelling, watered-down voice), and why garbage in still means garbage out. 
- The Yam Story: A $50 direct mail piece, a test tube, a ribbon, and a recipe. Sometimes the best marketing is the kind nobody sees coming.

A HUGE THANK YOU to Anne Marie Holder for her honesty, her frameworks, and for reminding every business owner in the room that a brand is a promise — and when kept, it earns a permanent place in someone's mind.

Join the Conversation:

➡️ Portus Wealth Advisors: https://portusadvisors.com
➡️ Spark Strategic Ideas: https://sparkstrategicideas.com/
➡️ Portus Facebook: https://facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572848737086
➡️ Portus LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/portus-wealth-advisors/about/

ORIGINAL MEDIA SOURCE(S): 
Portus Wealth Advisors: Branding vs. Marketing | Spark Strategic Ideas | Charting Opportunities
Originally Recorded on March 11, 2026
Charting Opportunities: Season 2, Episode 4
Images courtesy of: Anne Marie Holder and Spark Strategic Ideas 

In this installment of the Portus Perspectives series, William weighs in on one of the most talked about new financial vehicles of 2026. Trump accounts became available for the first time on July 4th, and the buzz around them has been significant. 

And for good reason. 

Trump accounts allow parents to put money into a pre-tax account for children under the age of 18. The government contributes an initial $1,000 to get things started. In certain zip codes and income thresholds, additional contributions are being made on behalf of kids as well. And the power of compounding interest, what Albert Einstein famously called the eighth wonder of the world, means that money invested early and left alone has the potential to grow into a remarkable sum by the time a child reaches retirement age. 

So yes, Trump accounts can be excellent vehicles. William is not here to knock them. 

But he is here to push back on something he saw in an article that morning. A Treasury Department official suggesting that everyone should have a Trump account. And that kind of blanket recommendation is exactly what William takes issue with. 

Here's the honest answer: Trump accounts are not for everyone. And for small business owners specifically, there may be a better option already available. 

If you can employ your child and put money to work for them, a Roth IRA allows that money to grow tax deferred and come out completely tax free under qualifying conditions. A Trump account grows pre-tax but creates a taxable event upon distribution. When you put those two side by side, particularly for a business owner who has the ability to legitimately employ a child and fund a Roth IRA before age 18, the Roth often wins. 

Not always. But often enough that the conversation is worth having before you open an account just because someone in Washington said everyone should have one. 

Key Topics Covered: 

• What Trump Accounts Are: How they work, who qualifies, and what the government contributes.
• The Compounding Argument: Why getting money into accounts early is so powerful regardless of the vehicle.
• The Problem With Blanket Recommendations: Why "everyone should have one" is rarely the right financial advice.
• Trump Account vs Roth IRA: How the tax treatment compares and why it matters.
• The Small Business Owner Advantage: How employing your child opens up Roth IRA contributions before age 18.
• The Bottom Line: Great tool, not a must-have, and worth a real conversation before you commit.

If you've heard about Trump accounts and are wondering whether your child needs one, this episode will give you the honest, balanced answer you are not going to get from a headline.
 
➡️ Join the Conversation: https://portusadvisors.com
➡️ Portus Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572848737086
➡️ Portus LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/portus-wealth-advisors/
➡️ More Portus Perspectives: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpVTaW63KqYSZ95HuYkvGAAwr1z4Br7Ol&si=7_qZ6fOTmfRWHDUp
 
ORIGINAL MEDIA SOURCE(S): 

William Bissett: Should Your Kid Have a Trump Account? Here's the Honest Answer. | Portus Perspectives
 Originally Recorded on July 17, 2026
 Portus Perspectives: Episode 34
 
#TrumpAccounts #ChildSavings #RothIRA #FinancialPlanning #WealthManagement #BusinessOwner #SmallBusiness #CompoundInterest #TaxPlanning #PortusPerspectives #PortusWealth #Entrepreneurship #KidsSavings #RetirementPlanning #PersonalFinance
 

In this installment of the Portus Perspectives series, William shares the story of a client he worked with years ago at his previous firm in Baltimore. An attorney who worked for a smaller law firm in the DC area that handled M&A work and went under during the 2008 financial crisis. 

Fortunately for this attorney, the M&A team he was part of got picked up by a much larger firm almost immediately. And his compensation didn't just change. It tripled. What was already a good salary became an extraordinary one overnight. 

William and this client had been working through retirement projections for years. The plan was clear. Move down to the South Carolina coast, retire comfortably, enjoy the next chapter. They were close to the finish line. Everything was modeled, visualized, and mapped out. 

And then the money got bigger. And walking away got harder. 

The client sat at his kitchen table one day and said something William has never forgotten. If my dad knew what I was making now and knew I was walking away from it, I don't think he'd talk to me. 

That single line captures something that a statistic confirms. Somewhere between 70 and 80 percent of business owners regret selling their business within a year of doing it. And William argues the reason is almost always the same. They knew what they were walking away from but didn't have a clear enough picture of what they were walking into. 

The planning, the modeling, the retirement projections, all of it helps. But none of it fully cushions the reality of an irreversible decision. Once you sell, you almost certainly cannot buy that business back. Once you leave a lucrative position, your replacement has already been hired. The door closes behind you. 

That is why having something that pulls you forward into the next chapter matters just as much as knowing what you are leaving behind. 

Key Topics Covered: 

• The Attorney Story: A law firm collapse, a compensation windfall, and a retirement plan that became harder to execute.
• The Kitchen Table Quote: Why walking away from extraordinary income is one of the hardest decisions a person can make.
• The 70 to 80 Percent Statistic: Why the majority of business owners regret selling within a year.
• The Irreversibility Problem: Why knowing you cannot undo the decision makes pulling the trigger so difficult.
• What You Are Walking Into: Why having a clear vision of the next chapter is as important as the financial plan.
• The Pull Forward: Why the draw toward what is next matters as much as the push away from what was.

If you are getting closer to an exit and finding it harder than you expected to pull the trigger, this episode will help you understand exactly why and what to do about it.
 
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ORIGINAL MEDIA SOURCE(S): William Bissett: Why 70% of Business Owners Regret Selling Within a Year | Portus Perspectives
Originally Recorded on July 13, 2026
Portus Perspectives: Episode 32
 
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