As you approach the end of residency, the path to financial freedom has never been closer! So why do nearly half of physicians – despite earning high incomes – still have a net worth under $1 million?

As the graph posted by the White Coat Investor (WCI) illustrates, high incomes don’t always translate into true wealth or financial independence. We took the same WCI graph and overlaid Equitta’s client data to illustrate just how powerful coupling the right financial strategies along with starting early in your medical career can be:

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The above WCI report shows ~50% of physicians in their mid/late 40’s haven’t reached the $1 million net worth mark. This presents a major problem for any physician hoping to either reduce their work hours or retire. Why? Because time is the name of the financial game – a physician with a net worth under $1 million in their late 40’s wanting to retire in their 60’s is beginning to bump up against a mathematical impossibility.

At Equitta, this is exactly why we focus on young physicians – those still in training or just starting out. Time is still on your side to get your financial house in order and avoid the struggles that half of your more senior colleagues are facing. And as you can see in the two graphs above, the results speak for themselves.

Did you know?

• Equitta clients consistently outpace the average net worth in every age group (except multi-millionaires under the age of 28… financial unicorns!)
  

• 100% of our clients aged 45-49 have a net worth exceeding $1 million, many of whom are on track to surpass $5 million at their retirement.
  

• Because we generally begin working with physicians during training or soon thereafter, Equitta doesn’t yet have any clients exceeding the 49+ age tiers!
  

Net worth is an excellent measure of overall financial health as it reflects the cumulative impact of all financial variables, we help clients manage—such as optimal debt management, tax minimization, saving and spending habits, retirement planning, and investment performance, among others.

Finally, it is worth noting that there’s no definitive way to attribute our clients’ financial success solely to our guidance—and it would be academically dishonest to claim otherwise. It’s entirely possible that more financially minded physicians are the ones seeking financial advice from firms like Equitta (and that these physicians may have reached higher net worth tiers on their own, without an advisor). The reality is, it’s likely a combination of both: financially minded physicians paired with the support of a competent advisor. Still, the results for Equitta clients relative to the WCI data is compelling and consistently shows improved financial outcomes.