Behavioral Finance and Asset Allocation

Summary Points: An emotional investor is very likely to make poor decisions over his or her financial life.  Various experts (DALBAR, American College, etc.) have done in-depth studies to measure exactly how investor returns have lagged overall market performance.  Measuring this behavior over an extended period for an “average investor” has proven difficult.  The exact […]

End of Year Financial Planning

As we officially enter the month of November, it is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is just three weeks away.  Hopefully, this year brings back the celebration of holiday traditions and family gatherings.  However, before the sugarplums start dancing, we need to stay diligent and focus on year-end planning to ensure we are making sound […]

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 […]

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 […]

Upcoming Child Tax Credit Checks: Not Free Money

Max Child Tax Credit now $3,600/child under 6; $3,000 ages 6-17 Even high-income families will receive 50% advances on these credits Advance payments can increase your tax bill next year, all else equal If you take a vacation in the middle of this month, you may come home to a surprise check in the mail.  […]

The Hidden Benefits of Saving Early in Life

We’re all aware that saving for retirement is not a strong suit for many Americans.  There is no end to the alarming statistics regarding our lack of preparedness for when it’s finally time to call it a day.  The most recent head-scratcher I came across was a survey done by J.P. Morgan Asset Management and […]