Financial Design Studio, Inc.

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Financial Design Studio, Inc. We focus on helping professionals with their retirement planning through comprehensive tax planning.

We are a team of fee-only, fiduciary, financial advisors who specialize in retirement planning for professionals who want tax planning for their equity compensation. When mistakes happen with complex income (whether that is RSUs, stock options, deferred compensation, pensions, or some form of an inheritance), your already high taxes can skyrocket. This is the last thing any high-earning professional wants to discover in retirement. And that’s where we step in and bring confidence to your financial plan. Each member of our team has an expertise: tax planning, investment management, estate planning, and insurance. This allows us to implement your entire plan, in house, with accuracy. Our team of advisors are certified, experienced, fiduciary, and fee-only; we are based in Deer Park, a Northwest Suburb of Chicago, but serve clients nationwide. Reach out to schedule a free consultation to see if we are a good fit to bring confidence to your retirement plan!

10/21/2026

The news and social media love to talk about the stock market. The issue is they don’t always do it accurately. Right now, the perception is that volatility is high.

Curious to learn more? Watch our October investment update: https://youtu.be/2Hw3_ncuxrs

10/15/2026

🔁 Should you rollover your 401(k) before you retire? Here's what professionals should consider!

The pace of spending on Artificial Intelligence is rising rapidly. And history has a lot to say about industrial buildou...
10/08/2026

The pace of spending on Artificial Intelligence is rising rapidly. And history has a lot to say about industrial buildouts to both companies and investors.

In 2026, companies will likely spend over $800 billion on the AI build-out. From 2027 to 2030, companies are expected to invest an additional $1.2 trillion annually.

Over $1+ trillion dollars is clearly a lot of money.

Now, the current economic output of the United States is $32 trillion per year, which economists call Gross Domestic Product (“GDP”.) Assuming a flat $1 trillion is spent on AI, that is 3.1% of the GDP.

Researchers from Columbia Business School have looked back over the history of the United States and think the size of the AI spending boom exceeds that of the past build outs of railroads, highways, and fiber optic networks.

This is an important historical context. While each of the revolutions had a meaningfully positive impact on the long-term growth of the U.S. economy, the business cycles during the build-out phase were anything other than smooth.

The U.S. suffered from two panics in 1873 and 1893, both of which were directly related to excessive speculation in railroads. The tech bubble of the 1990s ended similarly, with countless bankruptcies.

The pattern we see is that many early investors experience disappointment due to the early and frequent spending.

So what does this mean for your portfolio?

Read Rob’s article to learn more! https://financialdesignstudio.com/article-ai-capital-spending-boom-historical-parallels-and-market-risks/

🎙️ EP 78. At some point, your aging parents won't be able to be on their own anymore. That's why you need to start that...
10/05/2026

🎙️ EP 78. At some point, your aging parents won't be able to be on their own anymore. That's why you need to start that conversation TODAY.

In this episode, Michelle interviews Jenny, who was a former fashion designer and homeschool mom. Now she is the primary caregiver for her mother in law. Jenny shares her experience stepping into caregiving, the boundaries she has set, and the ways she protects their relationship.

There is an abundance of wisdom in this episode!

🎧️ Take a listen: https://financialdesignstudio.com/podcast-episode-78-a-guide-to-caregiving-for-aging-parents/

09/30/2026

A question we keep hearing is, “should I even own bonds when I can get 9% or 10% out of stocks?”

And our answer is YES. Because it has nothing to do with the growth.

Bond growth doesn’t dazzle us the way stocks do. And when stocks do well, we can easily forget just how volatile and unreliable they are.

For retirees in particular, that’s exactly what you don’t need.

There's most likely going to be a gap between your social security benefits and pension payouts and your living expenses.

That gap is filled by your portfolio. And if you need a hundred thousand dollars from your portfolio, what asset class are you pulling from?

What happens if you only own stocks and they are down that year? You don’t get the full value and lose out on future growth! That is why year to year, stocks are not a reliable place to pull funds from.

Bonds bring that confidence to a retiree’s portfolio.

So what have they been up to this year?

You can watch our deep dive into what we are seeing from bonds here: https://youtu.be/pAKki01UuwE

The best part about being a financial advisor is connecting with our clients! We were able to do that this fall through ...
09/28/2026

The best part about being a financial advisor is connecting with our clients! We were able to do that this fall through a small cooking class. Everything from Michelle's opening poem, to the Chicken Marsala and Tiramisu, was a delight. Our team is looking forward to when we get to do it again!

We are always sharing with clients how the latest headlines impacts their portfolios. Our favorite way to do this is a m...
09/25/2026

We are always sharing with clients how the latest headlines impacts their portfolios. Our favorite way to do this is a monthly video!

In our September Investment Update, we talk about bonds. As advisors, we are seeing more people wanting to talk about them. We think that there is significantly more than meets the eye when it comes to bonds.

So, Rob and Michelle recorded a 45 minute conversation about all of this . . .

1:35 Why are we even invested in bonds?
6:39: How have bonds performed in the last 100 years?
11:29 What drives bond performance going forward?
16:44 What are bond returns in 2026 so far?
21:10 How is the Fed fighting inflation with interest rates?
27:05 Corporate bonds are competing with US bonds
32:33 What is driving stock performance right now?
39:55 How are rising gas prices impacting consumers?
42:39 Compare US bonds to global bonds

🎥 Watch now: https://youtu.be/pAKki01UuwE?si=Eub5ASwlUrbXYMJM

09/16/2026

YOUR ASSETS + (Financial Planning) = WHERE YOU WANT TO BE

At least that’s how we think about financial planning.

This is where our advisors have the most fun. Planning looks like building models of different timings or strategies to see how it can change the results. We actually see how far we can push it until the perfect plan breaks.

And we don’t just do this for your retirement income and investments.

We are looking at the whole interconnected web of your finances, from family responsibilities, projected taxes, and unvested stock options. Making a decision by itself could have nasty long term repercussions.

That’s why we plan comprehensively.

So you don’t have to worry about getting retirement right.

The best part? These strategies aren’t just recommendations. Our team’s 9-5 job responsibilities are to implement them FOR you!

Retiring worry free is possible!

Click “Get Started” at financialdesignstudio.com to get in touch with our advisors.

09/14/2026

You can't plan retirement one decision at a time. And what’s scary is that a lot of people try.

🎥 Want to go deeper? Watch our video “I’ve Saved Enough for Retirement. Now What? https://youtu.be/GwSigbziwg8

09/02/2026

What happens to your money after you die? We’ve been a part of a lot of inheritances and there are generally two routes we’ve seen . . .

Do your beneficiaries a favor, get an estate plan!

Address

21660 W. Field Parkway
Deer Park, IL
60010

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

(847) 238-8050

Website

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