For business owners, retirees, and families planning your future

Wealth management and retirement planning for the wealth you built.

Lions Gate Sovereign Capital helps business owners, retirees, and families in White Bear Lake and across Minnesota coordinate investments, retirement income, tax-aware planning, and estate strategy in one clear advisory relationship.

4-part
Investment, retirement, tax, estate coordination
65+
Years combined experience
1990
Serving clients since
Fiduciary advisory relationship Charles Schwab custody CFP-led planning

Wealth management, retirement, and tax-aware planning

A short introduction to how Lions Gate thinks about client-first planning.

Stefan and Katie share why they built an independent advisory firm for families and business owners who want investments, retirement income, taxes, risk, and estate planning coordinated in one relationship.

Sovereign wealth planning

Financial, retirement, estate, and tax decisions belong in one coordinated plan.

Lions Gate helps families and business owners connect the decisions that often get handled separately: investments, retirement income, taxes, risk, estate documents, succession, and long-term family legacy.

Wealth planning

Build the strategy around your whole financial life.

Coordinate investment management, retirement timing, income planning, risk management, and tax-aware decisions so your plan reflects where you are now and what you are preparing for next.

Estate and tax planning

Protect the legacy you intend to pass on.

Align beneficiaries, account structure, wills, trusts, charitable goals, and professional tax guidance so assets can move with clarity, purpose, and fewer avoidable surprises.

Cycle-aware planning

Prepare for change without making fear-based decisions.

Review market, economic, and personal life cycles through a disciplined planning lens, balancing protection, opportunity, liquidity, and the purchasing power your family needs over time.

Retirement incomeWithdrawal strategy, Social Security timing, healthcare, and purchasing power.
Tax-aware decisionsCoordinate investment, estate, charitable, and income choices with tax impact in mind.
Succession and legacyPlan for heirs, business transitions, family priorities, and charitable intent.
Risk managementIdentify concentration, market, liquidity, estate, and planning risks before they drive decisions.

People impacted

Coordinated planning reaches beyond one account.

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Families, business owners, and communities are affected when retirement, investments, taxes, estate planning, and legacy decisions work together.

Client perspectives

What clients say about planning with Lions Gate.

Working with Stefan & Katie has changed how I view the economy and the markets. I now see the cycles unfolding and am confident that when the time arrives, I will act accordingly!

- Martin M. The testimonial provided by Martin M. is a current client who received no compensation for their review. Their experience may not be representative of all clients, and there is no guarantee of future performance.

The idea of retirement with the end of Social Security and Medicare in sight is too scary to contemplate. Thanks to Stefan & Katie, the Rapid Wealth Transformation Cycle, I am confident that finances are on track.

- Bill B. The testimonial provided by Bill B. is a current client who received no compensation for their review. Their experience may not be representative of all clients, and there is no guarantee of future performance.

From being concerned about a financial market crash and the end of the entitlement system to confidently planning to live the life I hoped for in retirement, it gives peace.

- Susan S. The testimonial provided by Susan S. is a current client who received no compensation for their review. Their experience may not be representative of all clients, and there is no guarantee of future performance.

Meet the co-founders

The story behind Lions Gate Sovereign Capital.

Use this section for the founder/co-founder VSL: why the firm exists, how the team thinks about client relationships, and what clients should feel after the first conversation.

65+ years combined experience 1990 serving clients since Referral-led relationship-driven growth
Lions Gate Founder Story VSL

Stefan Liiste

Co-founder and advisor focused on investment strategy, planning through market cycles, and helping clients make disciplined decisions.

Katie Liiste

Co-founder focused on client relationships, planning clarity, and helping families feel organized around important financial decisions.

Common reasons clients come to us

Financial planning questions clients bring to the first meeting.

High-net-worth prospects often search for wealth management or retirement planning because a specific financial decision has become too important to guess on.

I have $500K+ invested, but I am not sure if it is coordinated.
I need to know when I can retire and what income will look like.
My accounts, CPA, attorney, and advisor feel disconnected.
I own a business and need to plan for the next 5-10 years.
I need to diversify without making emotional moves.
I want a second opinion before making a major financial decision.

Advisory services

Wealth management services for business owners, retirees, and families.

Explore coordinated financial planning services for investment management, retirement income, business owner decisions, tax-aware planning, and legacy goals.

Wealth Management

Investment management, portfolio strategy, risk management, asset allocation, and ongoing review for $500K+ investors.

Retirement Planning

Retirement income planning, withdrawal strategy, Social Security timing, and tax-aware distribution decisions.

Business Owner Planning

Financial planning for business owners around liquidity, concentration risk, succession, and life after an exit.

Estate Planning Coordination

Work alongside estate attorneys to align wealth transfer, beneficiaries, legacy goals, and investment accounts.

Tax-Aware Investment Planning

Coordinate with CPAs so investment management, retirement income, and portfolio decisions account for taxes.

Portfolio Second Opinion

A private wealth review for investors who want a second opinion on risk, diversification, fees, and planning gaps.

Why coordination matters

A portfolio is only one part of the plan.

This section helps visitors understand the difference between investment-only advice and a coordinated advisory relationship.

Fragmented advice can feel like this

  • Investment accounts managed separately from the retirement plan
  • Tax decisions handled after the fact
  • Estate documents disconnected from account titling and beneficiaries
  • Business wealth and personal wealth planned in separate conversations

A coordinated plan should feel like this

  • Portfolio, income, taxes, and legacy goals considered together
  • CPA and estate attorney coordination when needed
  • Clear review cadence and fewer surprise decisions
  • A calm framework for major life, business, and market moments

Who we help best

Financial advice for people whose wealth has become too important to wing.

Many clients come in with good pieces already in place. The work is making sure those pieces are connected: the portfolio, retirement income, taxes, estate plan, business decisions, and family goals.

Request a Second Opinion
Business ownersPlanning for liquidity, exit, taxes, and long-term independence.
Pre-retireesAsking whether they have enough and how income should work.
RetireesWanting a clearer plan for income, risk, taxes, and legacy.
Families with $500K+Looking for a coordinated strategy instead of scattered accounts.

First consultation

What happens during a Private Wealth Review.

01

Discovery

Understand your current investment accounts, retirement goals, tax concerns, and planning gaps.

02

Second Opinion

Review portfolio risk, income needs, taxes, estate coordination, fees, and concentration.

03

Recommendations

Identify what should stay, what needs attention, and whether an ongoing advisory relationship is a fit.

Planning through market cycles

Investment planning through market cycles, without fear-based advice.

The stronger positioning is not “we can predict everything.” It is that Lions Gate has lived through difficult markets and helps clients prepare with discipline, diversification, retirement income planning, and a decision-making framework.

What to filmWhat 2008 taught us about protecting client decision-making.
How to say itMeasured, specific, compliance-reviewed, and never framed as a guarantee.
Why it worksIt turns the firm’s conviction into mature authority.

Proof without the hard sell

Show financial planning outcomes as clarity, confidence, and coordination.

Business Owner

Preparing for a liquidity event

A business owner needed to understand concentration risk, tax exposure, and what life after a sale could look like.

Pre-Retiree

Turning accounts into income

A family had saved well, but needed a clear plan for withdrawals, risk, taxes, and estate coordination.

Second Opinion

Finding what was missing

A prospective client wanted another set of eyes before moving forward with major portfolio and retirement decisions.

Search-friendly content paths

Build the site around the questions qualified clients actually search.

Explore the planning questions that often lead qualified clients to seek a second opinion, a retirement review, or a more coordinated advisory relationship.

Lions Gate insights

Practical writing for investors planning bigger decisions.

The blog should support SEO while giving referrals a calm way to learn how the firm thinks before they schedule a conversation.

Retirement Planning

How to know if you are financially ready to retire

Cover income, taxes, portfolio risk, spending, and the non-financial side of leaving work.

Read the guide
Business Owners

Planning before a sale, succession, or liquidity event

Help business owners connect company value, personal wealth, taxes, and life after the business.

Read the guide
Second Opinion

Questions to ask before changing financial advisors

Explain how to evaluate risk, communication, fees, tax coordination, and planning depth.

Read the guide

FAQ content hub

Financial advisor FAQ for retirement planning and wealth management.

Do I have enough to retire?

Retirement readiness depends on income needs, spending, portfolio risk, Social Security timing, taxes, healthcare, and estate planning. A Private Wealth Review helps clarify whether your current strategy can support the retirement you want.

What should I do with $500K or more?

The right investment strategy depends on your goals, time horizon, tax situation, account structure, retirement timeline, and risk tolerance. Lions Gate reviews how each part of your financial life fits together.

Should I get a second opinion?

A portfolio second opinion can help you evaluate diversification, fees, risk, tax exposure, retirement income planning, and whether your current advisor is coordinating the full picture.

How do you work with my CPA or attorney?

Investment, tax, retirement, and estate decisions should not live in silos. Lions Gate can coordinate with your CPA and estate attorney so the plan is aligned across your professional team.

Primary conversion section

Request a Private Wealth Review with a financial advisor in White Bear Lake.

Bring your current plan, investment accounts, and questions. The goal is to help you understand what is clear, what may be missing, and whether the firm is the right fit.

Request Private Wealth Review