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4 Stages of a Bear Market

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All bull markets must come to an end. Many of the gains of the last few years were abruptly wiped out in just a month’s time. The argument could be made that bear markets are healthy and are sometimes referred to as a feature, not a bug. I’ve come to believe that there are four stages of a bear market, each with their own emotional issues and include at least… Read More

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10 Charts About Retirement Every Retiree Should See (2020)

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As a Retirement Planner, each year I eagerly await the release of J.P. Morgan’s Guide to Retirement. It is essentially a booklet of retirement charts filled with great information impacting retirees. Making it even better, it often highlights things that are regularly overlooked by just about anyone (including professionals) planning for retirement today. With that in mind, I have selected 10 charts that I think everyone transitioning into retirement should… Read More

An Offer to Help

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Fear has taken over - and for good reason especially with regard to health. I want to do my part to help. I am offering 10 complimentary 30-minute phone consultations for retirement planning. There are no strings attached whatsoever. I don’t care if you use a fake name or whatever makes you feel comfortable enough to schedule. All I need is your phone number and the information you provide via… Read More

Retirement Digest: Investing in Market Drawdowns

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Nick Maggiulli recently posted the best article I’ve read on the topic of being a buyer during this stock market drawdown as he reframes where we’re at today and what this could mean over the next few years. Here is a quote I wanted to share: So, if you think the market recovery will take:* 1 year, then your expected annual return = 50%* 2 years, then your expected annual… Read More

5 Actions You Can Take During a Bear Market

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Right about now, investors and advisors are kicking themselves for not having sold about two weeks ago. Some are still considering selling. Investors who say the thought hasn’t crossed their mind are probably lying to themselves. It’s easy to say to ourselves, “I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE SOLD!” because hindsight is always 20/20. But the truth is, we didn’t know because we can’t know. That’s truly the toughest part of… Read More

Retirement Digest: All Good Ideas Are Boring

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An attorney friend of mine reached out asking me about using universal life insurance with a cash-value component as a retirement savings vehicle. He said a friend of his was being pitched this and his antennae went up that he should ask some questions. I responded with some typical inquiries - general age, whether he is covered by a retirement plan through work, and a variety of other questions to… Read More

The Response is Still the Same

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Mark Manson is a writer I admire for the quality of his thinking. In his Monday Newsletter, he wrote the following: Pick Your Poison: Health Crisis or Economic Crisis? - If you quarantine large swaths of the population, now you’ve created another predicament for yourself: commerce grinds to a halt. It’s estimated that 30% of small businesses in China are closed right now. Japan closed all of their schools for March,… Read More

Your Portfolio Was Built for This

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SELL! SELL! SELL! This is the typical response recommended by the media right now as they go about trying to make some sense out of things that are unable to be understood, forecasted or responded to. It’s what they do. What should you be doing with your portfolio to account for the coronavirus? If I had a dime for how many times I’ve heard that over the past couple of… Read More

Retirement Digest: The Wisdom of Warren Buffett

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It is surprising to me that two years into this blog, I have never written about Warren Buffett. With his most recent shareholder letter out recently, I thought it may be valuable to share a couple quotes from it with a bit of commentary as his letters are full of timeless wisdom. Focus on the Long-Term Over time, Charlie and I expect our equity holdings - as a group -… Read More

Will Your Family Be Torn Apart After You Pass?

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Every parent’s nightmare is that your family will be torn apart over money when you pass. I will let you in on an ironic little secret about the inheritance you hope to leave. Money makes people crazy! If you have not planned appropriately - and sometimes even when you have - it is very possible that your family will be torn apart over dollars and cents and over your “stuff.”… Read More