Blog

7 Year-End Planning Tips from a Wealth Planner

Published by Mark Petersen, Vice President Affluent Wealth Planning

The holidays are upon us, so that must mean it’s time for year-end income tax planning, right? In the past, I would have said yes, but that changed 12 months ago when the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 was passed. Read more

The 4 Pitfalls of No Plan

There are some things in life you just can’t plan for: an unexpected illness, job loss, death of spouse, disability…While these major events can impact your life, having an effective game plan can help ensure that it doesn’t ruin your financial well-being. Read more

Improving The Traditionally Allocated Portfolio

Published by Tyler Schlumpf

We’re going to introduce a few mathematical concepts in this article that are crucial to building a portfolio. For those that are already moving their cursor up to the X in the right hand corner, just stick with it! These concepts, whether we choose to learn them or not, have a significant impact on the way we combine investments and are important to understand as we discuss portfolio construction. Read more

4 Simple Steps to Creating an Estate Plan

Published by Beth Schanou, JD

Most of the time, it feels like life is moving at the speed of light. I often feel my entire day, both at home and at the office, is spent in fast forward mode. As if it’s a race to get done as much as possible, I’m running from one thing to the next, all day long, and making sure every household member is fed, cared for, and attends school and their activities. Of course this includes the four-legged members of the family too. Read more

4 Easy Ways to Diversify Your Investments

Published By Jake Bleicher, Equity Analyst

The benefit diversified investments has for a portfolio is simple, in theory. It reduces the impact any individual investment has on the portfolio, and proper diversification can help mitigate losses during a market downturn. In practice however, portfolios can become a large hodgepodge of various assets rather than a methodical allocation. The key is to reduce the correlation between assets so that they generally perform independent of one another. Read more

5 Reasons It’s Important to Set Financial Goals

Published by Rob Furlong, Portfolio Manager

The alarm sounded promptly at 1a.m. Shortly after some rustling and grumbling the tent zippers opened and we stepped out into the frigid air. After a quick breakfast, we began heading uphill into the darkness. For the next eight hours life was little more than listening to the ice crunch with each step as we ascended over 5,000 feet into the thinning air. Shortly after 9a.m. we were at 14,200 feet-on top of one of the highest peaks in the Cascade mountain range. Read more

How Emotional Decisions Can Ruin Your Investment Strategy

More money is left behind than lost during market declines. When an investor reacts emotionally to declines, they often pull money out of the market, derailing their investment strategy and leaving them much less exposed to equity markets. Often, these moves are made very near the bottom of the market and the investor leaves behind a substantial portion of return. Read more

When Can You Retire?

Not surprisingly, one of the most common goals financial planners help their clients with is analyzing cash flow in retirement so they can live their lives comfortably without worrying about outliving their money. Cash inflow in retirement can come from many sources (Social Security, retirement plans, savings, annuities, pensions) so it’s important to consider how much and when to expect cash inflows. Read more

Why Diversified Investments Are Crucial

Published by Tyler Schlumpf

There are two main types of risk involved in investing: systematic and unsystematic risk. The first, systematic risk, is the general market risk all investors take when they buy stocks and bonds. Unsystematic risk, however, comes in many different forms. Specific company, credit and liquidity risks are just a few. While systematic risk cannot be diversified away, unsystematic risk can through diversified investments. Read more

How Much Do I Need to Retire?

Most people plan to leave the workforce at some point in their life.  While some have a desire to maintain a sense of purpose by working well into their seventies, we more often find ourselves helping people plan for an earlier departure. Achieving financial freedom, or the ability to work because one wants to and not because one needs to, takes time and thoughtful retirement planning.  Read more