Professional investor John J. Nagorniak considers himself “pretty much retired, at least time-wise and money-wise.” He continues to serve as chairman of the investment firm Franklin Portfolio Associates, and is a member of Princeton’s Planned Giving Advisory Committee.

His professional insight gives him a clear understanding of how gift planning can help in the planning process. “It’s a convenient and flexible way to accomplish multiple goals— financially and philanthropically,” he says.

Nagorniak decided to put gift planning theory into practice when he established charitable trusts for himself and his wife, Jill, just over ten years ago. “We’ve saved some taxes and will get the benefit—while we live. But the point is we gave it to Princeton because we wanted to put our money to good use.”

John Nagorniak used highly appreciated stock when he set up two identical trusts for himself and his wife just over 10 years ago, and was therefore able to avoid immediate recognition of capital gain on those assets. The two identical trusts are charitable remainder net income unitrusts that have been structured to make smaller payments to the Nagorniaks (through the net income option) while building the principal for a larger gift to the University. Any growth of the trust’s assets will increase the value of future payments and provide a hedge against inflation.

“We were still relatively young, so we didn’t need a payout in the near term, and this looked like a better long term proposition,” he says.