How an advisor built a niche serving tax-weary transplants

The high taxes in states like California, Illinois and many in the northeast spur some residents to look longingly at places like Florida and Texas that have no income taxes.

When those folks start getting serious, Jason Stephens hopes they find him.

Stephens, managing partner and founder of Evertern Wealth, specializes in transplants. The firm specifically brings on clients moving from higher-tax states — and often colder states — to the the friendlier climes of Florida and Texas.

Evertern, a multifamily office based in Naples, Florida, has 12 advisors and estimates that about 80% of new clients in the last several years are in its "moving to Florida" niche. 

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Stephens said he realized his passion for, and knowledge of, Florida would translate well into a niche for high net worth prospects trying to make sense of the finances and logistics of a move.

"I was constantly seeing people relocating to Florida — retirees," Stephen said. "It was typically somebody who retired, sold the business. They were in their mid-60s or later, and they were moving down. And a number of them had questions in regards to what it means to change your residency."

Evertern employs digital strategies to find clients, but it's also done well with old-school mailers and television commercials.

This conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity. Find more stories in our Know Your Niche series here.

Financial Planning: Tell me about what you're seeing in terms of clients who want to move to places like Florida.

Jason Stephens: As the states up north raise their taxes for both income and estate taxes — you see it in states like Illinois, especially Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota — individuals with wealth have opportunities in Florida where they can save significant dollars.

COVID really sped up this migration to Florida. But one of the most interesting things [I've seen] doing this for 20-plus years now is the nature and age of the individuals making this transition. Today we're seeing them younger and younger, with more flexibility to make that transition. Now a lot of times it's taxes, but also for the infrastructure that is being provided in Florida, whether it be the school systems or some of the other infrastructure that's in Florida.

The other interesting point: [Previously] we would really never see someone from California or Washington making that change. Today, that is a fast-growing area. California being one of the highest-tax states, you're seeing a lot of movement from California to Florida. Washington, most recently, is putting in a tax that will go into effect in a couple of years, and that is really pushing a lot of people to look at relocation 

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FP: What was your first step in trying to attract those clients?

JS: I developed a workshop that I held for prospective clients — more informational. There was no sales pitch involved in it. It was more of "What's involved in becoming a Florida resident, and what are some of the key estate planning components?" For example, the estate tax or the state death tax, in the case of Illinois and some of the other states. So if you are able to relocate, what does that mean? 

As people visit Florida during the winter time, many people come down for a week, for a conference or for a few days. We've found them a few ways via the internet using different search results. What we're doing is we're finding those through SEO search, when people are Googling, "What does it mean to be a Florida resident? What are the benefits?"

We do run commercials also on local TV about our firm in general, what we have to offer. The other part of it is we host in-person workshops, and we have podcasts on what to consider if you're thinking about becoming a Florida resident.

A lot of professionals, whether that be CPAs or attorneys, have reached out as they've advised their clients proactively. Many of those have said, "How do we make sure we're doing what's right for our clients and transition this client to a residency?"

FP: Do you use any major events, like Major League Baseball's spring training, to recruit clients? And if so, how would you connect with those clients?

JS: Yeah. Most of it is digital and some in print ads. And frankly, the other is kind of the old-school mail that we do for people that are renting. 

Let's say they're down for one month, two months to test out Florida. There's pockets where people will come to Naples, or they'll go to Sanibel Island, or they'll go to Sarasota or Palm Beach. We know when they're pretty much in these areas, the winter months, as we all know, and we send it out in a mass mailing.

FP: What's the sales deck look like for you? What are the details of residency in a place like Florida or Texas that convinces someone to move there?

JS: Obviously, the weather is a main factor. In Florida, you can still go outside, you can exercise, you can do all of these things, and it's not blistering cold most of the time.

We also have a kind of a proprietary financial modeling system that can show them where they're at today, from a standpoint of being an Illinois resident, Wisconsin resident, New York resident — whatever the residency is. And then we show if you were to change to Florida or Texas, what would that look like from the standpoint of savings. 

The other parts are softer issues — health care that's out there, infrastructure that's around it, school systems. 

Another piece of it is, where should you be located in Florida? There's many advantages to the west coast of Florida, east coast and, in some cases, central Florida. That is one of the things where we've helped. 

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FP: Is there anything that connects you with the clients in your niche? Are you a transplant yourself?

JS: I've pretty much grown up in the south Florida area my whole life. I did work briefly in New York, so I do know what it's like. I spent six months there and figured out very quickly that I wanted to be back in Florida. 

I think one thing that's unique about it is that I spent 40-plus years in Florida, both on the east coast of Florida and west coast of Florida, so I think I have that unique ability to see what it's like to be in Jupiter, Palm Beach, Boca, Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Naples, Sanibel Island or Sarasota or Orlando, even Tampa. I can get a good feeling of what somebody's looking for. 

FP: Are there any challenges to serving these kinds of clients? Any specific planning issues that you have to deal with? 

JS: Yes, because many people making that relocation to Florida have spent their whole lives and generations in Rockford, Illinois, or, you know, wherever it may be, Minneapolis or New York City. And so what happens when they come to town? They need a trusted resource, and we tend to be that in many cases. 

Many of them find it's almost like going back to college. Everybody's in the same financial kind of area, same phase of life. They've raised the kids. They're kind of moving out of the house. We're seeing these people really relooking at that next phase of life, the distribution phase versus the accumulation.

FP: What advice would you give to someone who wants to start their own niche?

JS: One of the key things is to have a full understanding of it, and it's one of those things where you have to really enjoy spending your time. If it's something you really don't like to do, it's going to be very hard to do it and have that ability, and people will see through it. If you have a passion for it and you really learn it, I think that really is what leads to it being a great niche.