ERX Wealth Partners

07/03/2026

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.

Ours inherited information.

As information became abundant and expertise became increasingly accessible, we observed something equally important becoming increasingly scarce.

𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.

That observation changed the question.

Not simply,

"𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻?"

But,

"𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁?"

Because in complex systems, decisions don't exist in isolation.

They create architecture.

And architecture shapes outcomes.
Over time, that work became 𝗦𝗗𝗥™ — 𝗦𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸™.

Developed through our work in Wealth Governance, we believe SDR reveals a principle that extends wherever complexity and interdependent decisions must be governed.

𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝘄𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸—𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗥𝗫.

The future advantage will belong not to those with the most information.....but to those who best govern the architecture of decisions.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

𝗜𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.

𝗦𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱. 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱.

07/02/2026

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲.

Over time, we kept seeing the same pattern.

As information became abundant and expertise became increasingly accessible, something equally important became increasingly scarce.

𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.

That observation changed the questions we began asking.

Instead of evaluating decisions individually, we began evaluating the architecture they created.

That work became 𝗦𝗗𝗥™ — 𝗦𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸™.

At ERX, SDR also stands for 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄™—our governance framework for evaluating the architecture of important decisions before they become unintended consequences.

Today, we're introducing the symbol that represents that commitment.

𝗦𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱. 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱.

06/27/2026

For nearly 30 years, I believed the future of wealth management would be built on better advice.

Today, I believe the greater challenge is no longer producing better advice.

As information becomes more abundant, governance becomes increasingly scarce.

That paradox changed the question I was trying to answer.

This essay is the beginning of that conversation.

This essay introduces the philosophical foundation of Wealth Governance and the Governance Paradox—the observation that the abundance of information has created a scarcity of governance. Every era creates a new form of scarcity.

06/26/2026

Music City has a way of teaching lessons far beyond music.

Over the past few days, Marie—my wife and business partner—and I spent time in Nashville meeting remarkable industry leaders, visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame, and sitting inside a legendary recording studio as an emerging artist worked through what may someday become tomorrow's hit.

One word kept following us.

Chemistry.

What struck me wasn't just the talent.

It was the discipline behind the process.

The drums had their space.

The vocals had theirs.

Each instrument was recorded with intention so nothing unintentionally bled into the next track.

Only then could the producer bring everything together into something greater than the sum of its parts.

As I watched, I couldn't help but think...

Business, families, and legacies aren't very different.

The strongest outcomes rarely happen by chance.

They emerge when every important decision has the space to be understood on its own before it's thoughtfully integrated with the next.

That experience reinforced something we've been developing through our work in 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.

We call it 𝗦𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸™—the recognition that one decision rarely stands alone. Every important decision influences the ones that follow.

Maybe the greatest outcomes aren't accidental.

They're orchestrated.

Long before anyone ever sees the masterpiece.

06/24/2026

Every decision was right. The order was the risk.

06/22/2026

Today we lost one of the most influential economic figures of the last half-century. Alan Greenspan was 100.

For me, the news brings back a very different chapter of my life.

From 1996 through 2009, alongside my work as a financial advisor, I covered capital markets, fixed income, Federal Reserve policy, and FOMC meetings as a broadcast correspondent for CBS News and KYW Newsradio. During those years, Greenspan wasn't just the Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

He was a market-moving institution all by himself.

It got to the point where, before every FOMC meeting, we had what came to be known as the "briefcase watch." As Greenspan walked into the Federal Reserve building in Washington, pundits, reporters, and traders would study the size and apparent weight of his briefcase, trying to divine what it might mean for interest-rate policy. A thick briefcase. A thin one. Everyone had a theory.

It sounds almost absurd today.

But that's how much influence the man carried.

Traders dissected every word. Economists parsed every sentence. Markets moved not only on what he decided, but on the nuance of his language—the famous "Fedspeak."

His tenure spanned some of the defining events of the modern economy: the crash of 1987, the long expansion of the 1990s, the Asian financial crisis, the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management, the dot-com bubble and its bursting, and the uncertainty that followed September 11th, when the resilience of the American financial system was tested in ways few could have imagined.

He also gave the investing world one of its most enduring phrases: irrational exuberance.

Like every figure of his stature, his legacy is debated. Some will always remember "The Maestro," who guided the economy through extraordinary times. Others point to policies and philosophies that economists and historians continue to debate today.

History will render its verdict.

What is beyond debate is that Alan Greenspan occupied one of the most important seats in the world during years that reshaped not only the American economy, but the global financial system.

Those of us who covered the Greenspan years witnessed a remarkable chapter in American economic history. We won't see another era quite like it.

Rest in peace, Chairman Greenspan.

— Mike Giongo

06/20/2026

Saturday morning. Coffee in hand. Walking on this glorious morning.

Early in my career, I became fascinated by Leonardo da Vinci — not just the art, but the way he observed the world.

There is a phrase often associated with him:

𝗦𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲 — 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲.

That idea has stayed with me.

In wealth management, we hear the same words constantly:

Coordinated.
Integrated.
Comprehensive.
Holistic.

Those are good words, and they represent sincere attempts to deliver thoughtful planning.

But they are not the finish line.

They are the starting point.

The harder question is whether anyone truly sees the relationships between the pieces.

What depends on what?

What assumptions are being carried from one recommendation to another?

What happens when one decision moves before another?

What appears sound in isolation but changes when the sequence changes?

That is where I have spent years learning how to look.

Not simply at decisions.

But at the space between decisions.

Because the right recommendation, made at the wrong time, in the wrong sequence, or without consideration of its dependencies, can lead to a very different result.

Have a great weekend.

— Mike

05/21/2026

Our working paper, Sequence of Decisions Risk: A Proposed Governance Framework for Complex Financial and Organizational Systems, is now available on SSRN.

The paper explores how decision order, timing, coordination, and governance may influence outcomes across complex financial and organizational systems.

Grateful to have the framework posted for review and future discussion.

This paper introduces Sequence of Decisions Risk as a proposed governance variable within increasingly complex financial and organizational systems. While moder

04/26/2026

I've been thinking about this book for a few weeks. Here's where I landed.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗽 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗗𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲

There's a trip you keep meaning to take.

You just haven't gone.

Bill Perkins wrote a book about why that matters more than you think.

It's called Die with Zero. I read it. And I agree with most of it.

His argument is simple and devastating. Dying with a large balance sheet is not a victory. It's evidence. Evidence that you traded your best years - your healthy years, your highest-energy years ... for a number you never used.

The cobblestones of Florence feel different at fifty-eight than they do at seventy-eight. That's not sentiment. That's biology. The wine, the wandering, the three-hour lunch in a piazza - those experiences require a version of you that has a shelf life.

So does the ski trip. The summer your grandchildren still think you're invincible.

Perkins calls them time buckets. Windows when certain experiences are fully alive - meaningful in ways that compound as memories long after the moment passes.

Then the window closes. It doesn't announce itself.

It just closes.

Here's where I part ways with him.

Perkins frames this as a spending problem. Spend more. Defer less. Die with zero.

After twenty-five years with physicians, business owners, and legacy families - I'd argue it's not a spending problem at all.

It's a permission problem.

The people I've worked with who missed those windows didn't miss them because they lacked money or courage or desire. They missed them because they were carrying one question they couldn't answer with confidence.

Can I actually afford to live this way without it costing me everything I built?

That question, unresolved, becomes paralysis.
And paralysis looks exactly like discipline from the outside.

Perkins tells you to spend. He doesn't tell you how to know.

That's the gap.

You are likely standing inside the most consequential decade of your financial life right now. The window between peak resources and peak health is real - and most people don't recognize it until they're looking back through it.

The trip to Italy isn't really about Italy.

It's about whether you understood your life well enough... early enough... to live it on your own terms.

04/24/2026