I’m guessing you have heard of the old adage “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” In financial planning this saying is a word picture we use to illustrate diversification or asset allocation. This adage is usually connected to the idea that it is wise to spread our money between different types investments. The theory is that if some portion of the investment markets are performing poorly, there are… Read More
Blog Series: Retirement Income Architecture
In the third blog of our Income Architecture Blog Series, we are discussing a calculation we recently integrated into our planning process called the Income-to-Asset Ratio. One question that many clients have when they are planning for retirement income is, “Can my investments support my income need throughout retirement?” Our Income-to-Asset Ratio can assist in answering that question and can help us build a framework for your Retirement Income Plan…. Read More
Blog Series: Retirement Income Architecture
How much money will I need for my retirement? This, naturally, is an important question and one we regularly address with our clients. Any time we plan for the future, it is necessary to make a number of assumptions about the future. Of course, the closer our assumptions are to reality the better prepared we are for the future. One key assumption when planning for retirement is the retirement spending… Read More
Blog Series: Retirement Income Architecture
For our next blog series, we will be outlining a service that many of you have experienced at Master’s: Retirement Income Architecture. Instead of using a financial product as a “solution” for retirement income, we employee our Retirement Income Architecture process to help clients plan for this need. For clients who are approaching or already in retirement, creating a plan for retirement income that is sustainable and meets their needs… Read More
Rethinking New Year’s Resolutions
We are now six weeks into the New Year of 2017. How are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions? Unfortunately, my bathroom scale is not showing me dramatically reduced numbers, and I haven’t been working out like a world-class athlete. Where do we go from here? Several weeks ago, my son Colton wrote a devotional article for his employer’s January newsletter. His article challenged his fellow employees to make… Read More
The Plan vs. Planning
The big game is almost here. For most of us in this area, the upcoming Super Bowl game will most likely be about the gathering of family and friends, enjoying some food, and anticipating the entertainment of the commercials. But what about the football game itself? Hopefully, it will be competitive and hold our interest. Although I am not a Falcons or Patriots fan, it is interesting to consider each… Read More
Retirement Readiness
Lately, regulators have given substantial attention to the retirement landscape of the American workforce. This scrutiny has resulted in significant legislation fo-cused on the investment industry and its responsibility to help encourage the American workforce to be better prepared for retirement. According to a recent article in Plan Advisor magazine, in order to be more effective and responsive to the long-term financial planning needs of the American public, the investment… Read More
Planning for the Next Generation
The financial advice industry has recently made advice for younger clients a hot topic. Almost every day someone writes an article about how to serve a younger demographic of client. However, almost all of these articles give a flawed reasoning for why this is an important focus point for a financial advisory firm. A typical line of reasoning in an article along these lines is as follows: “Baby boomers have… Read More
Blocking Out The Noise
It has been more than three weeks since, in surprising fashion, our country elected Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States. Before the election many speculated that if Trump were to win the election, the stock market would certainly experience a downturn. As the vote tallies started to roll in the night of the election and the numbers were beginning to tilt toward Donald Trump, the US… Read More
Lifelong Disciplines
I enjoy listening to Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. He shared the following principle in one of his messages: “There is a cumulative value to investing small amounts of time in certain activities over a long period.” This immediately resonated with me when I heard it. Think about how this principle is relevant in different areas of life. It’s true in the physical realm…. Read More
