Wealth Management
Preparing for a First Meeting with a Financial Advisor
You have a first meeting with a new financial advisor, congrats! You’re taking an essential step in forging a path to financial confidence and clarity. But this is more than just a casual chat; it’s a critical conversation to determine if this professional is the right fit for you. You’ll need to equip yourself with…
Read MoreKeep Politics Out of Your Portfolio
In our current environment, where political news comes from every direction, it’s important to remember the importance of impartiality in your portfolio. There is a certain allure of aligning your portfolio with your political beliefs, but the lessons of history underscore the significance of maintaining a clear boundary between the two. Here are a few…
Read MoreWe All Have Money Blind Spots
Blind spots, in the realm of investing, can be likened to the unnoticed smudges on a pair of glasses. They obscure a clear view of reality, but can easily go unnoticed. In the world of finance, this can have costly implications. Imagine Sarah, an IT executive. She’s tech-savvy and feels very confident investing in the…
Read MoreMust-Know Retirement Deadlines
When can you access your savings without a penalty? When should you enroll in Medicare? At what age is it best to collect Social Security? In the years leading up to retirement, there are a number of key milestones and deadlines to consider. Without careful attention, it’s easy to miss these checkpoints and the consequences…
Read MoreTarget Date Funds: What They Are and When to Use Them
These financial tools automatically rebalance as you near retirement. A target date fund is an investment instrument designed to become more conservative as it approaches a predetermined future date. For investors looking to simplify their retirement strategies, target date funds can be appealing for their “set-it-and-forget-it” nature. But how do they work and are they…
Read MoreAre You Prepared For A 30 Year Retirement?
The good news? Retirees are living longer. The bad news? Many aren’t planning for it financially. Life expectancy is a key piece of retirement planning. After all, you’ll need to estimate your lifespan to determine how much money you’ll need to retire comfortably. Many pre-retirees speculate on this figure or overlook it entirely. So, how…
Read More3 Biases That Can Sabotage Your Wealth
Making financial decisions can often be more challenging than it appears. A variety of subtle influences can cloud our judgment. Among these, behavioral biases like anchoring, loss aversion, and herd behavior have been found to shape our choices significantly. In this article, we’ll explore each of these biases and ways to counteract their influence. Anchoring …
Read MoreRiches to Rags: Poor Money Choices of 5 Celebs
An increase in assets doesn’t come with an increase in financial acumen. Financial Literacy Month is a great time for us all to expand our knowledge. It’s also a great time to raise awareness of the many scams, frauds, or predatory lending practices that affect too many families every year. Sometimes we analyze “best practices”…
Read More3 Major Financial Challenges of High-Net-Worth Individuals
High-net-worth individuals face unique financial challenges. Here are the three of the biggest we typically encounter. Wealth Transition You want to pass on your wealth to the people and causes of your choosing, not to the government. This requires ample preplanning with your advisors, attorneys, and insurance providers. Tax Complexities Reducing your tax bill during…
Read MoreAn Introduction to Bond Ladders
Bonds play an important role in a diverse investment portfolio. As fixed-income securities, they can provide a stable return until they mature. As with any investment, bonds are subject to a certain amount of risk. Interest rate risk, for one, is the possibility that interest rates will rise after an investor buys bonds, causing them…
Read More