Blog

Since societal transfers occur with regularity, we should ask if financial planning has a beneficial role in protecting and preserving both life and dreams during the chaos that is in the middle. The focus of this blog is on that space of time in between the fall of one society and the rise of another. This is by all accounts, the most dangerous and volatile span of human existence.

God alone gives life. All creation testifies that He is a God of life. However, all forms of life are transitory; everything ultimately succumbs to death. Only God Himself is eternally living i.e., God’s life is eternal. Ultimately, what we need most is the eternal life. No greater gift can there be to man than the eternal life of God. All our wealth, all our possessions, pale in value when we are presented with God’s eternal life. Perspective People!

In this Blog Post, we cover a wide range of topics from the many unknowns we face continually to the relationship between happiness and money. We even touch on the meaning and purpose of human life. We hope you enjoy this installment of OUR PROCESS and welcome your feedback.

The current temperature of the world (1Q2023) has caused many folks to be concerned about what life will be like in the years ahead. With numerous macroeconomic “embers” approaching a flashpoint, the rise in concern is merited. Will China invade Taiwan? Will Russia go nuclear? Will civil war break out in the US? Will the ever increasing attacks on our power grids eventually be successful and leave entire regions of America in the dark?

Every year at this same time, the financial media reflects on the past and predicts the future. The articles on the past are typically about how badly everyone guessed 12 months prior. And despite the experts being chronically wrong, the consumer is wide-eyed and hungry for what these same experts think will happen in the coming year. Go figure!

As I've written many times before and will write about many times in the future, financial planning is all about making choices. Heck, that's all life is really. Time is a finite resource and we can't simply do "everything" despite our best attempts to cram it all into our schedules.

OUR PROCESS - Averages and Outliers Based on some quick online research, I found the average wind speed in Miami, FL, to be somewhere between 5-10 miles per hour.Until, of course, a hurricane is bearing down on Florida's southeast coast.Forget average winds during a hurricane.A 5-10 MPH average breeze pales in comparison to 74+ MPH winds in a category 1 hurricane. And hurricanes can and do get a lot stronger than category 1.

OUR PROCESS- Life Lessons from ALONE on the History ChannelIn it’s ninth season, the survival series ALONE aired on the History Channel has entertained millions over the years. Albeit late to the party, I myself am an avid viewer and am currently in season seven. And while the commercial success of the series is in its entertainment value, I have learned a lot about life from watching the show.

OUR PROCESS- Am I Going to Be OK?Though these exact words aren't always spoken, it's my belief (and experience) that almost all people I have the opportunity to speak with ultimately want to know… Am I going to be OK?I'll often hear things like "peace of mind" or "feeling safe and secure" or "making sure we have enough." I've even had clients say to me something along the lines of not wanting to wind up alone having to eat cat food.

One should know the difference between goals and mission or else he is doomed to move in circles, round and round. There should be no ambiguity about the mission of an organization which is always supreme and the sole purpose of any organization while goals are milestones that need to be achieved to get to the final objective that is the mission of the organization.

OUR PROCESS- Tensional Integrity - The term may not be familiar to most, but the concept is part of every-day life. Tensional Integrity involves two forces- typically TENSION and COMPRESSION. This concept can be helpful in understanding our approach to financial planning.

To be sure, there are countless ways to make money. Some ways are legal; some are illegal. Some ways come easy; some come with hard work and sacrifice. This issue of OUR PROCESS addresses one of the governing principles our firm adheres to when constructing the equity portion of an investment portfolio for a client.

Open Enrollment for Medicare Supplement Plans begins October 15 and extends to early December. And while all plans have been standardized to assist consumers in making a decision, there are still multiple choices that can complicate the selection process. Fortunately, according to the experts, there are only two of the 10 plans offered worth considering Plan G & Plan N.

The age-old twin thieves of taxes and inflation have been on the DL (down-low) for quite some time. In our last blog post, we focused on how INFLATION is heating up and how our process protects our clients during inflationary periods. In this post, we are turning our attention to the other thief TAXES.

Admittedly, I genuinely enjoy taking current events and the headlines from todays news and applying it to our Goals-Based Wealth Management process. Well, the topic de jour these days is inflation. So, in this blog post we will address how our planning process and portfolio management strategies are practically applied in the event we see inflation spike or even persist.

Understanding the difference between data and information as well as knowledge and wisdom is crucial for preserving and optimizing wealth

Long after the pandemic is over, there is reason to believe that COVID-19 will have reshaped the way American's approach and plan for retirement.

A Question of Conflict - The cover story in the September 2020 issue of The Journal of Financial Planning struck either a chord or a nerve or perhaps both depending on how you approach the subject of conflict of interest that exists in varying degrees between an Advisor and the client. The quest to offer pure and untainted financial planning advice depends heavily on the eradication and/or mitigation of conflict between these two parties.

While not as ubiquitous as belly buttons or opinions, there are certainly plenty of different decision-making styles out there. Whatever your personal style may be, most integrate these five steps into the experience.

Covid-19 is less a transient, random disturbance after which the world will return to stability than it is a dress rehearsal for challenges to come. More than ever before, financial planning is necessary to build the secure path from dreams/goals to reality in and ever-changing and increasingly treacherous landscape. We are equally strong in our conviction that OUR PROCESS will help level the playing field and significantly improve the odds of our client’s living their BEST life.

Perhaps one of the most important skills you can pass on to your family is how to be a good steward. The dictionary defines stewardship as - taking care of something like a large household, the arrangements for a group or the resources of a community.

Winston Churchill is credited with saying that “Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential”. This is particularly relevant to the financial planning profession in that all financial plans are nothing more than a big pile of guesses.

Several years ago, Vanguard published groundbreaking research that quantified the value of advice. According to their findings, following certain best practices resulted in approximately 3% more performance compared to not adopting those practices. Now in a new study, Vanguard has quantified the emotional value of a healthy Advisory relationship.

THREE-DIMENSIONAL PLANNINGI started in this profession close to forty years ago (1982-2020). In all that time, nearly every financial plan I have ever seen – or written for that matter - exists in a single dimension. Comprehensive planning should incorporate a multi-dimensional approach. We suggest no less than three stages- or dimensions. Falling short of this standard could call into question an Advisor’s adherence to the Fiduciary Standard of care.

When I am 100 Years Old This has been making the rounds on social media so we would not be surprised if you have already seen this essay. Nevertheless, it struck a chord with us and we wanted to share it with you all. We do not know what grade she is in, but Emma Knight (no relation to our Erica Knight) hits a home run with her grade school essay.

The Wall Street Journal (June 5, 2019) contained a special section dedicated to Cybersecurity- a topic that only a short time ago was not something we had to deal with, but which is fast becoming THE single biggest issue  for any business owner and consumer. Cyber crime costs the US economy over $100 billion annually and $600 billion globally. That’s a lot of overhead and/or taxes that trickle down to you and me. Yet despite all this firepower being thrown at

When Costs Go Down – Wealth Goes Up. There are two sides to the performance equation- returns and expenses. To increase performance, you can either increase returns or lower expenses. Returns are hard to control, while expenses are very easily managed. Ironically, most investors opt for the more exciting avenue of increasing their return via additional risk. Common sense on the other hand demands that the more controllable aspect of lowering expenses is the prudent route to achieve consisten

Two Quantitative Methods for Measuring ReturnDollar-Weighted vs Time-Weighted Imagine; you invest $100,000.  Six months later you put another $100,000 into the same investment.  Six months after that you sell all your shares for $300,000.   After a few rounds of self- congratulation on your investment prowess you decide to calculate your return.  You know you invested $200,000 and had gains of $100,000.  Since your gain of$100,000 is 50% of the $200,000 investe

On December 6, 2018, the WSJ featured a special section of the paper dedicated to helping consumers find the right financial advisor. One article in particular caught my attention and formed the basis of our blog in this issue of OUR PROCESS.

Without exception, no one wants to run out of money before they finish their course here on Earth. It is for this reason that the Legacy Goal is a crucial input item in the planning process. Regardless of whether you desire to leave a substantial estate to your heirs or want to spend it all while you’re alive, setting the proper Legacy Goal is one of the key elements in our planning process.

 “ALL MY FRIENDS ARE GETTING BETTER RETURNS THAN ME.” (or “EVERYONE IS DOING BETTER THAN ME” )  Such overly generalized statements are indicative of our first hiccup in an otherwise smooth transition to Goals Based Wealth Management (GBWM). If I’ve heard this from one or two of my clients, I must assume that several more are thinking it. So, in the spirit of “cutting straight” the truth and administering an antidote to the pervasive myths

ADDRESSING LIFE EXPECTANCY IN GBWM  For this issue of OUR PROCESS, I want to review another equally important assumption – life expectancy. Life expectancy is relevant to the planning process because it affects duration i.e. how long the plan needs to last. To be certain, we want a plan that we build/craft for a client to last as long as or longer than they do.

How Much Foreign is Too Much Foreign?The topic for this issue of OUR PROCESS came about from two current events; first, what is happening in Turkey and the possible ramifications on other Nations and second, from a book Rick just completed on China.Unlike Venezuela, what is happening in the country of Turkey matters much more not only because they are a member of NATO, but also because their economy affects many more nations than the limited regional issue caused by Venezuela’s problems. A