Stock Market Bubbles are Inevitable – Are You Prepared for the Next Burst?

In addition to this commentary, we would like to extend an invitation for you to join us on a live video feed where we will discuss the attached article and answer any questions in real-time. Watch the video discussion about this article here.   It was our second week of remote work, COVID-19 had just […]

Counteract Inflation with Your Financial Assets

Key Takeaways Inflation in October 2021 was 6.2%, the highest in nearly 30-years. From 1914 to 2021, average inflation in the U.S. has been around 3.2% and the average return of the market (i.e., S&P 500) has been around 10-11%. While not without risks, investing in equities is a tested long-term hedge against inflation.   […]

Tax Management in Bull Markets

How do we manage accounts when everything is up? With cooperative markets, many investors have accumulated substantial capital gains in their investment accounts. We analyze the trade-off between ideal allocation & paying tax to achieve it. In general, we advocate paying tax along the way to avoid over-concentration. When I was growing up, my granddad […]

The Power of Homeownership

Key Takeaways: Having a fixed-rate mortgage keeps a large portion of your budget constant versus the variability of rental costs Lower expenses in retirement creates more disposable income, greater flexibility in combatting rising costs, and the ability to invest Saving what’s left rarely works – making monthly mortgage payments creates a forced savings vehicle saving […]

College Savings Vehicles

So often in life and in financial planning, perfect can be the enemy of good.  This is certainly the case when it comes to saving for college.  There are many ways to go about it, but the most important choice is the choice to begin saving.  Nonetheless, we often meet parents of five- and ten-year-old […]

Retirement Saving Myths and Misconceptions

We are fortunate to have a very educated and knowledgeable client base, but we are consistently surprised by the myths and misconceptions clients and prospects bring to the conversation. Below I have listed my Top 7 Myths and Misconceptions About Retirement Savings; it is by no means a complete list but highlights the most common […]

Robinhood and a New Generation of Investors

Warren Buffett is one of the most famously successful investors of all time and his firm, Berkshire Hathaway, trades today near its all-time high, closing Friday at $433,124/share.  Mr. Buffett has stated that he does not intend to split these original A shares as they attract like-minded, long-term investors.  However, Berkshire did issue B shares […]

Balancing Saving and Giving

Most of our clients aspire to be financially self-sufficient.  As those clients age, we notice some amount of transition into wanting to benefit others with accumulated resources.  This giving can range from donations to charities of interest to paying for a grandchild’s education to helping a friend in need.   We have been fortunate since the […]

Positive Signs of a Growing Economy

Key Takeaways: Publicly traded companies will be releasing earnings reports over the next several weeks. Economists believe growth so far coupled with forecasted growth for the remainder of the year will result in great GDP growth. Consumers are still holding abnormally large amounts of cash savings, setting the stage for a large return of consumer […]

Determining a Retirement Savings Rate

As we meet with new families, we continually hear the same two questions: 1) are we making good decisions with the money we earn and 2) are we saving enough for retirement?  These questions are typical whether a person is 35 years old or 55 years old.  According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. […]

Giving Strategy for Charity Gala Season

Fewer than 15% of taxpayers itemize deductions since 2018 tax reform. Timing the donations you already plan to make can maximize tax deductions. Your charities can still receive stable monthly income via a Donor Advised Fund. This week marks the first official week of summer and, at least for my family, this change of season […]