Family Wealth

March 2, 2018—As a seasoned advisor with a long list of financial credentials, I’d probably be pegged by most people as a “numbers guy.” It’s true, I am quite fond of charts and spreadsheets. But any advisor worth his (or her) salt quickly learns numbers alone aren’t enough to get the job done. We also must be well-versed in behavioral finance, i.e., the many threats investors face from the emotional, instinct-driven side of money management.

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February 16, 2018—What should investors do in volatile markets? My advice is the same for all markets: If you’ve got a personalized investment plan, market jitters shouldn’t matter; ignore them and stay the course. If you’ve not yet got a plan, seize the day, and get one.

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February 2, 2018—As a financial planner in the D.C. region, most of my conversations are about my clients’ financial goals – especially the essential end game for most investors: planning for retirement. After that, we usually end up bemoaning the performance of our pro sports teams around these parts. Clearly, I can’t do much about that, but I can tell you the four main factors that contribute to a successful retirement:

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January 19, 2018—With the U.S. stock market at all-time highs, I’ve noticed a spike in the number of financial gurus predicting it soon will fall – a lot.

Every so often, the market has fallen a lot on its historical trajectory to higher highs. But, while we may wish otherwise, nobody can tell us just when those falls will occur.

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January 5, 2018—Barring unforeseen circumstances, Jerome Powell will become the next chair of the Federal Reserve (the Fed) when Janet Yellen steps down in February 2018. While we wait to find out more about Powell’s policies, there’s a bigger puzzle you may be pondering: What is “the Fed,” anyway (and what’s it to me)?

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December 22, 2017—As I write this, I assume that the GOP tax plan will be signed into law and mostly go into effect January 1, 2018. Is there anything you can do now, before the rules change? The general advice is to push income into 2018 when tax rates should be lower and accelerate tax deductions into 2017 where they should affect a greater tax savings. At this late date, you likely have little control over the timing of your income and tax writeoffs with one exception: how much you contribute to charity.

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December 8, 2017—Raise your hand if you care about the well-being of your loved ones. Say, look at all those hands!

Now raise your hand if your estate plans are in place. Hmmm. I see a lot fewer. A recent caring.com survey found less than half of us (42%) have estate plans; and only 36% of parents with minor children.

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November 24, 2017—For better or worse, “until death do you part” doesn’t apply to a family’s living expenses, which continue even if your major bread winner passes away. Of course nobody wants to leave their family accidentally impoverished, so proper life insurance is an imperative for most working families.

But what qualifies as “proper” for you and yours?

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In our last article we discussed how a High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) + Health Savings Account (HSA) combo is often a better deal than a traditional healthcare plan once you compare total costs and initial tax breaks involved. If it pencils out for you to begin with, an HDHP+HSA combo gets even better over time. How so? HSAs are the ONLY investment accounts with “triple-play” tax savings:

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