Blog

Aug 20

How much do I need to save to retire?

July 17, 2018 We recently read a Wall Street Journal article called “Five Ways to Improve 401(k)s”, and thought one part of the article, “Raise the default savings rate,” was important enough to justify an entire blog post. In the article, the author discusses the possibility of the federal government... read more →

Jul 10

Donor Advised Funds – Doing good, wisely

July 10, 2018 By Josh Self No matter how the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) may alter your tax planning, we’d like to believe one thing will remain the same: With or without a tax write-off, many Americans will still want to give generously to the charities of... read more →

July 10, 2018
Joshua E. Self, CLU, ChFC, CFP®
Charitable Giving, Estate Planning, Financial Life Planning, Generosity

Apr 05

Tune out the noise…

This short video from our friends at Dimensional Fund Advisors is worth a couple minutes of your time...view Tuning Out the Noise here. It highlights one of the ways that we, as advisers, aspire to bring value to our clients lives. It is also a friendly reminder to focus on what matters,... read more →

April 5, 2018
Joshua E. Self, CLU, ChFC, CFP®
Behavior gap, Evidence Based Investing, Financial Life Planning, Investments

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