Winning the long game

Enjoy the benefits of customized financial services

Our Story

Our Unbiased Financial Expertise is to your Benefit

Leatherback Investments™ offers boutique investment advisory and retirement plan consulting services to corporations, institutions and high net worth families. Many provide financial services, but few have our focused approach, entirely devoted to creating long term wealth and corporate prosperity. Leatherback’s™ independent structure enables it to select from the broadest range of customized solutions and financial partnerships.

As Leatherback’s™ owner, Eli Fried combines extensive financial experience and a passion for investing to help clients reach their long term objectives. In addition to advising a large endowment fund and serving on the board of the Ripple Effect Entrepreneurs Fund, Eli’s 401k research has been profiled in the Washington Post and referenced publicly by Warren Buffett.

With our core values of trust, expertise, and clarity, we hope to be a strategic partner to your finance and human resource team.

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Investment Advisory

Results based on experience, common sense and fairness

 
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Long Term Focused

Using data and expertise earned over multiple market cycles, we help clients plan for the time frame that matters most: the long term.

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Tailored To Your Needs

Every client and market is unique and we customize our portfolios and services accordingly. No cookie cutters welcome.

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Transparent Advice & Fees

Leatherback Investments™ operates independently and commission free so you know you’re getting guidance that’s in your best interests.

401k Plans

A winning Proposition for Employers and Employees Alike

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Attract and RetainTop Employees

By providing your employees with a 401K plan, you can maintain the highest caliber staff for your company.

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Create Loyalty Structures for with Optional Matches

Creating a structure that allows your employees’ savings to expand as they grow within your company, ensures that your employees will do their best to increase your company’s success.

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Tax Savings for Ownersand Executives

Employers can choose to match their employees’ input into their 401K plan. This can all be done pre-tax, potentially saving employers thousands of dollars.

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Simple Pre-tax Savingfor Employees

By signing up for a 401K plan with Leatherback Investments™, you have given yourself a simple and easy way to save your money before it even comes into your hands.

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Streamlined and Guided Investment Options for Employees

Being an independent financial advisor, Eli Fried will give you unbiased, customized plans that work just for you.

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Employees have Options for Loans and Early Withdrawals

Having access to a 401K retirement plan also give you the option for loans or early withdrawal if ever needed.

Our Trusted Relationships

Payroll

Our 401k plans integrate with all payroll systems. Whether payroll is handled in-house, by massive giants like ADP, Paychex, or expert local and regional firms, our trainers take the time to ensure seamless transfer of 401k contributions.

 

Investments

Our independent structure provides the flexibility to offer robust yet low-cost funds from Vanguard, Fidelity and hundreds of other money managers, including proprietary offerings from Dimensional Fund Advisors and American Funds.

 

Legal

401k plans come with a host of regulatory requirements. Leatherback Investments™ has established relationships with top ERISA law firms and incorporates fiduciary processes based on their guidance.

 

 

Custodians

Open architecture structure enables access to a multitude of custodian options to ensure the security of clients assets, including Charles Schwab, Fidelity, TD Institutional, Ascensus Trust and others.

 

Accountants

Our processes actively minimize needless investment taxes, and accountants love us for that! We work with your professionals to maximize the tax benefits and efficiency of investments utilizing tax blocking fund structures, capital gains deferral, tax harvesting strategies. and, of course, 401 and pension plans.

 

Actuaries

The deepest 401k tax savings are enjoyed by small companies who work with engaged actuaries to create and administer highly customized pension plans. Leatherback™ works with many reputable pension designers to ensure each clients’ maximum long term benefit is achieved.

 

Get in touch with us today and discover the wealth of benefits.

We want to hear from you

Eli Fried

CEO

As CEO, Eli Fried recognizes investment management is a fiduciary obligation and approaches it with commitment, transparency and professionalism, infusing passion into helping clients achieve long-term goals.

Eli attended Touro College and graduated summa cum laude with an MBA in Business Administration & Management and has expertise in corporate retirement plans and investments. Gifted in communicating and educating about finance in a simple and even entertaining fashion, he writes financial planning for Orthodox Jewish families as an ardent hobby. As more people began gravitating to his words of financial advice, Eli furthered his public impact by opening the website GeltGuide.com to instruct, enlighten and educate. He has also appeared in podcasts to discuss personal finance and investing for the layman. In his spare time, Eli serves on the board of a charity supporting local entrepreneurs.

Nina Shaw

CFA

Nina is Leatherback Investments’ highly capable CFA. Having worked in many capacities in the finance world over the past 24 years, she has an eye for examining and analyzing data.

Nina earned her Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2001. In her spare time, she spends time with her children, whether it’s playing board games or going for a hike. She also enjoys a competitive game of tennis with friends.

Bill Stamaton

CAS, CMFC, AAMS, CRPC

Bill Stamaton applies his expertise in fixed-rate and variable annuities and financial planning to help clients achieve their financial objectives.

Bill is a graduate of Malone college and lives in Canton Ohio. He has been in the securities industry for the past 3 decades, holding a variety of leadership positions and earning many industry designations.

Bad 401k management wastes $1 million!

Just because a 401k plan is appropriately set up doesn’t mean it can be ignored as a company’s needs shift. A 401k plan we consulted with learned this the hard way.

This NJ based manufacturing companies’ 401k had grown to service hundreds of employees with $50 million in retirement assets. But over time, the plan’s annual contributions had become lopsided. Executives were depositing lots of money into their accounts while lower-level employees weren’t. The IRS has rules that disallow this “discrimination” but provides a simple fix too under “safe harbor” rules. By agreeing to offer a significant match and proper notice to all employees, companies can avoid the anti-discrimination tests and the resultant substantial costs to rectify them.

Unfortunately, while the client’ s 401k advisors were pocketing tens of thousands in annual commissions, they never brought up this easy fix. This oversight needlessly cost the company over $1 million for three years of non-compliance!

Leatherback investment works proactively with clients and their TPAs to manage ongoing shifts in plan structures and minimize unnecessary costs and complications.

Fixing A Neglected Investment Portfolio

Apparently, having a multimillion-dollar portfolio doesn’t get you much attention from this big-name brokerage firm. When this client first reached out, his portfolio was spread across numerous accounts and invested in a mishmash of dozens of haphazard mutual funds. No attention being paid to broad diversification and maximizing the tax efficiency of the multiple retirement accounts available. The only thing that was clearly important to the broker was using the company’s branded investments, which made the fees much higher than necessary to boot.

Leatherback streamlined the portfolio, using multiple strategies to minimize the tax impact of offloading underperforming yet overpriced investment options. These included tax-loss harvesting, a Donor Advised Fund and sopping up loss carryforwards. After assessing client’s needs and risk tolerance, the portfolio was brought into a proper level of risk and reward and spread across the US stocks, International stocks and real estate funds, balanced by income-producing investments.