For people of action
Bluestone clients are people of action. They view business as a vehicle for change and impact. They see hidden opportunities and defy expectations to bring those opportunities to life. Standing still is not an option.
We cater to:
The Startup Entrepreneur: creating new products, addressing unmet needs, and building an enterprise bigger than themselves.
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The Proven Entrepreneur: cultivating an industry leading enterprise by growing with customers and building on prior success.
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The Social Entrepreneur: using not-for-profit ventures to create impact.
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The Family Entrepreneur: merging legacy and values with new horizons to define the next generation of family and enterprise leadership.
All with the courage to think independently and stand apart from the crowd. Having the patience and foresight to act long term. The humility to cultivate the potential of others to affect change.
Andrew Cosgrove - Principal
FOCUS | STRUCTURE | INTEGRATION | PERSPECTIVE®
Bluestone’s personal CFO services uniquely reshape and prioritize a bespoke personal financial strategy for the entrepreneur.
Not only do we address your entire personal financial picture, we do so by actively incorporating the needs and priorities of your most important asset – your business.
We dig deeper to learn who you are, why you’re in business, and the change you seek to make.
We align your entire financial life with your purpose. A true reflection of people who want to leave a mark on the world.
Situations change. New problems to solve and fresh opportunities to capture. With Bluestone’s comprehensive oversight and support, your financial life can quickly adapt to change.
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We free up your time and energy to focus on your business. Less time coordinating other professionals or finding reports for your bank or tax returns. More time for strategy and action to advance your purpose.
The right resources
BUSINESS MODEL
Incentives Matter
A critical aspect of our business model is that we are paid on a fixed fee basis. No asset fees or commissions as these compensation methods do not work for entrepreneurs whose needs are broad and varied. How could we claim to objectively advise you on your entire net worth if payment to us were based on only one part of your net worth (like investment assets)?
Quality Not Quantity
We purposefully limit the number of entrepreneurs we partner with so we can fulfill our mission of supporting each entrepreneur’s mission. Our partnerships form a strong community of highly accomplished, like-minded individuals. We often provide opportunities for our clients to share experiences and best practices.
Philosophy
Between Patagonia and Berkshire Hathaway sits Bluestone.
We’ve long been admirers of Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia. His iconoclastic 2005 book, Let my People Go Surfing, challenges a core tenet of modern economics: that growth can continue ad infinitum without repercussion. This emphasis on sustainability is an important element of Bluestone’s philosophy.
In 2002 Chouinard co-founded One Percent for the Planet to “encourage more businesses to donate 1% of sales to environmental groups.*” Bluestone’s commitment to a planet that enables sustainable business for generations to come is reflected in our membership of One Percent for the Planet since 2009.
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Warren Buffett’s track record in business and investing speaks for itself. A few aspects of Buffett’s wisdom reflected in Bluestone’s philosophy include patience, independent and contrarian behavior (fearful when others are greedy and vice versa), deep research and rich understanding of every business and investment opportunity, and truly long-term thinking (willing to own businesses “forever”).
But perhaps the most important lesson we take from Buffett is this: price matters. Price is what you pay, value is what you get. And a keen understanding of price and value is critical to every business and investing transaction.
Ultimately, we see business as a key vehicle for change in the decades ahead. The philosophy of entrepreneurs like Chouindard represents an important north star. Lessons offered by investors like Buffett offer an intelligent way to move in that direction.
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Take control of your risks and opportunities
About Us
Bluestone has existed as an independent financial advisory firm since 2007. But our connection to entrepreneurs goes back much further, to when our founder, Nathan Irons, first began assisting entrepreneurs with life insurance strategies in 1992. Since then, we’ve worked with many entrepreneurs and many businesses in just about every industry. That rich history informs the Personal CFO service we offer today.
We are pioneers of fixed fee compensation and moved exclusively to that model in 2009. It remains the best way for us to objectively serve the diverse and changing needs of entrepreneurs.
Andrew Cosgrove
Andrew Cosgrove is a principal of Bluestone. He has more than 30 years collective experience in various parts of the financial world. That includes private equity, corporate lending, insurance and traditional investing. For the past 13 years he has served the financial needs of entrepreneurs. He’s also a CFA Charterholder.
A native of Australia, Andrew first came to the United States in 1990 to play college tennis. These days, tennis with his family is a little less intense but even more rewarding.
Nancy Yee
Nancy Yee is Bluestone’s client manager, and she brings a diverse set of experiences to her role of managing client experience. She has a rich understanding of back office technology needed to support client productivity, administration, and project management. After more than 9 years with Bluestone, she knows entrepreneurs.
Nancy hails from Maryland and can give you a primer on just about any restaurant in the Washington DC area you care to name.
Nathan Irons
Nathan Irons is Bluestone’s founder and a principal. Nathan’s 25 years of financial services experience began with a focus on life insurance and retirement plans. Then he founded Bluestone in 2007 to deliver comprehensive planning for entrepreneurs on their terms. His unique perspective and personal experiences as an entrepreneur have benefited Bluestone clients for years.
Nathan comes from Vermont. His passion for utilizing business as a force for good recently led him to start a new life insurance organization to drive environmental and social progress nationally.
OUR ACTION PLAN
The Future Focus® - Captures your vision and definition of independence and identifies related risks, strengths, and opportunities.
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The Inventory Snapshot® - Concise picture of your assets organized within 7 asset types by ownership and a synopsis net worth statement.
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Recommendations & Analysis - Analysis of your assets and objectives in the context of Bluestone’s Capital Allocation Model with individualized recommended resources for achieving your goals.
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Independence Plan - Measures your progress toward your definition of economic independence. Outlines your goals, deadlines, and monetary resources to accomplish them.
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Meeting Recaps - Action plan following any meeting captures your plan for progress, verifies decisions made, and details actions to be taken by you and Bluestone.
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Cash Flow Projections - Provide models for projecting scenarios to inform decision-making.
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Client Portal & Reporting System - Secure web-based reporting system gives you 24/7 access to your current net worth, asset performance reporting, and all of your strategy and planning documents.
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Resource Library - Books, articles, and other content customized to your personal and professional interests.
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