Counterweight Private Wealth is an independent, fee-only fiduciary wealth management firm based in Raleigh and Wilmington, NC, serving clients virtually nationwide. Founded in 2021 by Nick Murphy, CFP®, the firm specializes in tax-forward retirement and business-exit planning, helping executives, business owners, and professionals turn decades of accumulated wealth into a tax-efficient, purpose-driven retirement. Counterweight is one of the few advisory firms that prepares client tax returns in-house, allowing deep integrated tax planning strategies for lifetime tax optimization to be directly implemented with precision into the financial plan. Clients typically range from $2 million to $30 million or more in investable assets. Who We Serve Our clients are successful individuals and families in the later stages of their careers who desire a collaborative partner to help them transition through significant professional and personal milestones. We typically partner with clients who have $2 million or more in investment assets, a threshold that reflects the level of complexity where our deep, tax-integrated planning and wealth management approach delivers the most value. Most of the families we serve generally have between $2.5 million and $30 million or more in assets, and are often navigating retirement transitions, business sales, or other major financial milestones. Our Services Our team provides expertise in the areas of Retirement Planning, Investment Management, Tax Planning, Business Succession Planning, Sudden or Inherited Wealth, Legacy and Philanthropic Planning, Executive Compensation Strategies, and Social Security Income Strategies.

Steven Swierkowski is a CFP® with five years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Counterweight Private Wealth. His prior roles include positions at Guardian Life Insurance Company and Park Avenue Securities. Outside of finance, he works as a lacrosse referee for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. Counterweight Private Wealth is an SEC-registered adviser that provides discretionary asset management and financial planning to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, small businesses, and retirement plans. The firm uses a combination of fundamental and technical analysis alongside Modern Portfolio Theory to construct targeted asset-allocation models, managing approximately $168 million for about 80 clients.