Blog

Apr 02

Reflections on 2018 and the stock markets renewed volatility…

If you were a member of the popular press, you’d probably be happy with 2018’s first quarter performance. At last – some volatility fueling news1 in early February, with plenty of enticing “largest,” “fastest,” and “worst” market superlatives to savor after a long, languid lull. As usual, there are plenty of... read more →

April 2, 2018
Joshua E. Self, CLU, ChFC, CFP®
Behavior gap, Evidence Based Investing, Financial Life Planning, Investments, Rebalancing, Values

Feb 06

The market isn’t misbehaving, people are…

If we’ve been doing our job as your fiduciary advisor, you might already be able to guess what our take is on current market news: Unless your personal goals have changed, stay the course according to your personal plan. Have you checked your plan progress in the last couple of... read more →

February 6, 2018
Joshua E. Self, CLU, ChFC, CFP®
Behavior gap, Evidence Based Investing, Rebalancing, Values

Feb 02

The Vital Role of Strategic Rebalancing

If there is a universal investment ideal, it is this: Every investor wants to buy low and sell high. What if we told you there is a disciplined process for doing just that, and staying on track toward your personal goals while you’re at it? Guess what? There is. It’s... read more →

February 2, 2018
Joshua E. Self, CLU, ChFC, CFP®
Evidence Based Investing, Financial Life Planning, Investments, Rebalancing, Taxes

Jan 10

Cryptocurrency…what’s all the buzz about?

Have you caught cryptocurrency fever, or are you at least wondering what it’s all about? Odds are, you hadn’t even heard the term until recently. Now, it seems as if everybody and their cousin are getting in on it. Psychologists have assigned a term to the angst you might... read more →

January 10, 2018
Joshua E. Self, CLU, ChFC, CFP®
Evidence Based Investing, Financial Life Planning, Investments, Taxes, Values

Jan 06

10 Practices for the New Year

Happy New Year! Now that 2017 is a wrap, one of the best presents you can bestow on yourself and your loved ones is the gift of proper preparation for rest of the year. Want to get a jump-start on it? Here are 10 financial best practices to energize your... read more →

January 6, 2018
Joshua E. Self, CLU, ChFC, CFP®
Credit report, Estate Planning, Financial Life Planning, Investments, Taxes

Nov 20

Reflections on a Happy Thanksgiving

What makes you happy? As we wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on this timeless question. You probably already realize that piles of possessions by themselves aren’t enough. But it may be less clear what does generate enduring happiness and how... read more →

November 20, 2017
Joshua E. Self, CLU, ChFC, CFP®
Charitable Giving, Financial Life Planning, Generosity, Values

Oct 13

What do the tea leaves say today?

If you’ve taken our past advice about ignoring the onslaught of breaking market news, you probably didn’t read Russell Investments’ recent “2017 Global Market Outlook Q4 Update.” I'm not prone to pore over these relatively unremarkable analyses ourselves, but I do read a lot of 'industry speak' as part of... read more →

October 13, 2017
Joshua E. Self, CLU, ChFC, CFP®
Behavior gap, Financial Life Planning, Investments, Politics, Values

Oct 09

Equifax Security Breach, Part II

I initially wrote about my take on the Equifax Security Breach about a month ago. In that time since, the news continues to come out about just how pervasive this hack was (and maybe continues to be). We were already on high alert for instances of identity theft. But the... read more →

October 9, 2017
Joshua E. Self, CLU, ChFC, CFP®
Budgeting, Credit report, Debt, Financial Life Planning, Investments, Tax Planning, Taxes

Sep 11

What does the Equifax data breach mean for you?

Financial monitoring...this is part of financial planning that gets often overlooked. Like a crack in the foundation of a house, it is hard to see unless you are looking for it, but it can have catastrophic consequences if left unattended. As you may have heard, Equifax (which is one of... read more →

September 11, 2017
Joshua E. Self, CLU, ChFC, CFP®
Budgeting, Financial Life Planning, Investments

Jun 21

Growing Wealth: Not for the faint of heart

Money is a great servant but a bad master. Francis Bacon Joshua E. Self, CLU, ChFC, CFP® June 9th, 2017 How many of us plan, save, and invest for the future, anticipating that one... read more →

June 21, 2017
Joshua E. Self, CLU, ChFC, CFP®
Behavior gap, Financial Life Planning, Values