Decades of tech equity experience. None of the generic advice.
Most advisors have never seen an AMT problem. Mitchell Ludwig, CFP® has — a decade guiding tech professionals through vesting cliffs, ISO exercises, and IPOs. No handoffs.
A problem most advisors walk past. Mitch built a practice around it.
After years in wealth management, Mitch kept seeing the same pattern: tech professionals with real equity — ISOs expiring unexercised, AMT bills arriving without warning, IPO lockup expirations with no plan in place. The standard advisory model wasn't built for it.
Most advisors treated equity compensation as a line item on a financial plan. Mitch saw it as the central event of a tech career — complex, time-sensitive, and almost always underserved. So he built a practice exclusively around it.
That work led to the EQUITY System™ — a proprietary framework that brings structure to the decisions tech professionals face: when to exercise, how to plan around AMT, how to diversify without triggering a tax bill that wipes out the gain. Jon Ludwig built The Equity Architect as the educational platform to support that work.
The qualifications behind the practice.
Education
Virginia Tech · CFP Education Program
Graduate of Virginia Tech's certified CFP education program — one of the top-ranked programs in the country.
Certifications
CFP® · Registered Investment Adviser
Certified Financial Planner® and Registered Investment Adviser Representative. Member FINRA/SIPC through United Planners Financial Services.
Experience
10+ Years Serving Tech Professionals
Over a decade advising high-net-worth clients and tech professionals through ISOs, RSUs, AMT exposure, and liquidity events.
Methodology
The EQUITY System™
Co-inventor of a proprietary 6-step framework built exclusively for tech professionals navigating equity compensation decisions.
Outside the office, Mitch is still a nerd. Just a different kind.
Mitch lives in Raleigh, NC with his wife Brittney — they've known each other since high school. A Virginia Tech grad, he spent years in Washington D.C. and Richmond before settling in North Carolina.
When he's not working through equity structures, he's playing guitar, practicing martial arts, or being outsmarted by two dogs with strong opinions. He describes himself as a nerd at heart — which turns out to be exactly the right disposition for someone whose job involves tax code, option pricing, and AMT exemption thresholds.
His clients tend to appreciate that he can switch fluently between a 409A valuation conversation and asking about their weekend. The work is technical. The relationship doesn't have to be.
The equity compensation strategy your employer never gave you.
Specificity over platitude
Every recommendation is grounded in the numbers — your grant, your strike, your AMT exposure, your vesting schedule. Never generic advice dressed up as personalization.
Fluency in their world
We speak the language of 409A valuations, blackout windows, tender offers, and QSBS eligibility — because that’s the language our clients already live in.
Urgency over comfort
Equity decisions have deadlines. Exercise windows close. Vesting happens on someone else’s schedule. We name the timeline rather than soften it.
Transparency in partnership
Our fees, our process, and our reasoning are on the table from the first conversation. No opaque product recommendations, no commission-driven steering.
Long-term relationship over one-time transaction
Equity compensation is a multi-year arc — not a single tax return. We stay with clients through cliffs, IPOs, diversification, and the life the equity was supposed to fund.
Schedule a call with Mitch today.
30 minutes. Your equity package, your situation. A clear read on where you stand and what to do next — no generic advice.
Schedule a Free 30-Minute CallMitchell Ludwig is a CFP® and Registered Investment Adviser Representative of Carolina Wealth Partners. Securities offered through United Planners Financial Services, Member FINRA/SIPC.
Important disclosures
Mitchell Ludwig is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and a Registered Investment Adviser Representative of Carolina Wealth Partners. Securities are offered through United Planners Financial Services, Member FINRA/SIPC. Carolina Wealth Partners and The Equity Architect are separate entities. Jon Ludwig is a Series 65–registered Investment Adviser Representative and promoter.
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