SaaS founder, 42, restructuring 10 years of scattered savings

The starting situation

Thomas R. contacted me in January. 42 years old, founder of a profitable B2B SaaS company for the past 3 years, married, two children aged 8 and 11. He had never had an advisor, he had “made do” for ten years.

Existing wealth:

• Main residence: €650k (mortgage outstanding, €280k remaining)
• Bank life insurance (assurance-vie): €180k, 100% euro funds, 12 years of seniority
• PEA (Plan d’Épargne en Actions, French equity savings plan): €45k, 8 direct holdings, concentrated in 4 French stocks
• Current accounts and savings books: €240k sitting idle
• Shares in his own company: informal valuation ~€1.5M (not included in liquid wealth)

Income:

• Executive salary: €110k gross/year
• Dividends: €80k/year

TMI (Tranche Marginale d’Imposition, marginal tax rate): 41%. Stated objective: “I want to know where I’m going.”

What the audit revealed

Three major blind spots:

1. €240k losing 4% a year (inflation versus savings-account returns). Over 5 years, that is the equivalent of a full year of household spending evaporating.

2. No active tax optimization at a 41% marginal rate. The PER (Plan d’Épargne Retraite, French personal retirement savings plan) was entirely absent from the setup. On an annual payment of just €30k alone, that is €12,300 in tax savings going uncaptured every year.

3. Zero succession planning, even as the children grow older and a company sale is planned within 4 to 5 years.

The strategy put in place (6 months)

Layer 1, reactivate dormant cash

• Transfer of €180k into a new life insurance contract (0% entry fees, diversified unit-linked universe), keeping the old contract to preserve its seniority.
• Allocation: 40% euro funds / 60% unit-linked (world ETFs + European SCPI).
• Retention of €60k in cash for day-to-day treasury needs.

Layer 2, activate the PER

• Initial payment of €30k in the first year, then €20k/year thereafter.
• Self-directed management, dynamic allocation (80% equities / 20% bonds).
• Tax savings in the first year: €12,300, reinvested in leveraged European SCPI (see Layer 3).

Layer 3, set up a leveraged SCPI (Société Civile de Placement Immobilier, French real estate investment trust) investment

• €250k in European SCPI (2 vehicles, geographic diversification).
• 15-year interest-only loan backed by life insurance.
• Deductible interest, European share exempt from social contributions (prélèvements sociaux): net return of ~4.2% versus 2.1% for a classic French SCPI at the same marginal rate.

Layer 4, prepare succession and the company sale

• Updated life insurance beneficiary clauses (previously worded “heirs,” now naming the spouse first, then the children).
• Split gift (donation-partage) prepared for 2027: €100k per parent to each child in bare ownership (nue-propriété) on SCPI units.
• Dutreil pact (Pacte Dutreil, French tax relief scheme for business transfers) set up on the company shares ahead of the planned sale (4 to 5 year horizon).

The result after 18 months

Indicator	Before	After 18 months
Income tax paid	€52k/year	€38k/year
Net income from wealth	~€2k	~€14k
Unproductive cash	€240k	€60k
Active tax wrappers	1	4 (life insurance, PER, PEA, SCPI)
Succession prepared	No	Yes (structure in place)

Cumulative tax savings over 18 months: ~€21k. Return gain on reactivated capital: ~€11k/year, recurring.

What Thomas says

“What convinced me is that at no point did Camil try to sell me anything. We spent three meetings first just understanding my situation before he proposed a single action. Today I know where I’m going, and I sleep better.”

What this illustrates

Wealth built “as you go” is rarely disastrous, but it systematically leaves 15 to 30% of value on the table. Restructuring is not about tearing everything down: it is about putting each piece back in its right place, in the right wrapper, with the right tax treatment. It happens calmly, over 6 to 18 months, and it changes the trajectory over 20 years.

Case presented with the client’s consent. Real first name, surname abbreviated. Figures slightly adjusted to preserve confidentiality.