FOR COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE BROKERS
You're Running a Serious Business.
Your Personal Finances Should Reflect That.
You've spent 10 - 30 years building your business.
The income is there. The deals are there.
What's usually missing is a financial plan built around how your income actually works, and a tax strategy that runs during the year, not just in April.
Some quarters you close three deals. Some you close none. Your tax situation changes every year depending on your pipeline, and your CPA is doing their best, but proactive tax planning for your personal finances, the kind that happens during the year, probably isn't getting done.
Most brokers I talk to are leaving more money on the table than they think. Not from bad decisions, but from no coordinated plan across their business income, retirement accounts, investments, and personal tax situation. Nobody's looking at all of those at once.
That's the work I help you with.
Commission income is “lumpy”
THE THREE BIG QUESTIONS
Every serious broker needs answers to all three.
“Am I on track for what I want out of this career?”
At some point, the deals stop; maybe at a time of your choosing, or it gets chosen for you. Do you know what that number looks like and what you need from your business for the future?
“Am I overpaying in taxes?”
With variable commission income and an S corp structure, there are real opportunities out there: Solo 401k contributions, charitable giving strategies, QBI optimization, CPA coordination. Most brokers just aren't using all of them.
“Is my money working as hard as I am?”
High earners without a clear investment strategy often end up with idle cash, chasing stock picks from a buddy, scattered accounts across institutions, and no coherent picture of what they own or why.
You focus on closing deals. Here's what I handle.
Tax planning & coordination
I coordinate with your CPA to build a tax strategy for your personal finances, not just file a return. Income planning, retirement contributions, estimated payments, no April surprises.
Investment management
A low-cost, clear investment strategy built around your actual timeline, life situation, and preferences. Not products with hidden fee layers. A portfolio you understand and can hold through decades without second-guessing.
Retirement account strategy
Solo 401k vs. SEP IRA, Roth vs. traditional, how much to contribute in a big year vs. a slow one. These decisions compound over a career. We make them deliberately, with numbers behind them.
Cash flow & risk management
Variable income requires a system. We build one for holding cash between closings, protecting income if something goes sideways, and eventually transitioning from production income to portfolio income.
The Process
Here’s what getting started looks like.
Step 1
Introductory Chat
A free 20–30 minute call. We talk through where you are, what you're trying to figure out, and whether working together makes sense.
Step 2
Discovery Call
We start mapping out the full picture — income structure, tax situation, retirement accounts, gaps, and what matters most to you right now.
Step 3
Plan Delivery
A specific action plan for your situation. Clear answers to your three questions with the reasoning behind every recommendation.
I'm Marcus Blanchard, CFP® — an independent financial planner in Pleasant Grove, Utah.
The brokers I work with are accomplished people who are good at delegating things outside their core skill. They don't have time to manage this themselves. That's exactly why they hire me.
Fee-only means no commissions for expensive products you don’t need. Fiduciary means your interests come before mine, and explaining all your options. Independent means no hidden sales quotas or sales vacation trips pulling my recommendations in the wrong direction.
Fee-Only. Fiduciary. Built for Brokers.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Can a commercial real estate broker contribute to a Solo 401k?
Yes. A commercial real estate broker operating through an S corp or LLC with 1099 income can generally contribute to a Solo 401k as both employee and employer, allowing total contributions up to $72,000 in 2026, depending on income. This makes the Solo 401k one of the most powerful tax-reduction tools available to self-employed brokers — often superior to a SEP IRA for higher earners because it allows larger contributions at lower income levels, permits regular Roth contributions, and sometimes access to mega-backdoor Roth contributions.
What is the QBI deduction, and do commercial real estate agents qualify?
The Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction allows eligible self-employed individuals (like CRE brokers) to deduct up to 20% of qualified business income from taxable income. At higher income levels, the deduction phases out or becomes limited. However, real estate agents are not classified as a “specified service trade or business” and are exempt from the typical income phaseout. Proper S corp W-2 salary structuring can significantly affect how much of the deduction a broker captures — which is why this decision benefits from coordination between a CFP® and a CPA.