The Master’s Minute

Helpful Tools and Tips

The Master’s Minute – Alternative Investments in 401(k) Plans: The Impact of the Recent Executive Order

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Image of a hand over paper charts and graphs with puzzle pieces and a red pen working on their 401k changes. The puzzle pieces say stocks, bonds, and on the paper is written alternative investments.

On August 7th of 2025, President Trump issued an executive order with the intent to allow defined contribution plans, such as 401(k)s, to include alternative investments as an available investment option in their fund lineups alongside more traditional equity and fixed income funds. 401(k) plans are essential and powerful parts of many retirement strategies. It’s important to understand any changes that impact them and any potential benefits or risks that… Read More

The Master’s Minute – Types of Life Insurance | Series Part IV

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By now, we hope you recognize the important role that life insurance plays in a financial plan. For this final installment in our series, we want to answer the question: What type of policy is right for me? The goal of today’s blog is to provide an initial framework for how to begin thinking about this question. We’ll discuss the basic types of life insurance, and move into how to… Read More

The Master’s Minute – Does Life Insurance Build Wealth? | Series Part III

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An umbrella shelters a small tree on a pile of coins, representing the protection of life insurance for the building wealth article.

  Today’s blog post begins by asking a fundamental financial planning question: Does life insurance build wealth? Or, to make it more personal, you might be asking: Should I use a life insurance policy as a long-term investment? To answer these questions, we need to first understand some regulatory compliance issues and essential cautions that you need to know before purchasing certain kinds of life insurance. These are great questions…… Read More

The Master’s Minute – Who Needs Life Insurance? | Series Part II

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A grandfather skips, hand-in-hand, with two children.

Life insurance may not be the first thing young, high-earning professionals think about. In fact, retirement savings, tax planning, and maximizing their portfolio may seem like much more attractive financial considerations for people at any age. But, when it comes to who needs life insurance, it’s often the same people who may not be thinking about it yet. In last week’s blog, Jon reviewed the importance of life insurance in… Read More

The Master’s Minute – Life Insurance and Wealth Management: Is It Essential? | Series Part I

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A family sits together for a portrait, with three generations shown - grandparents, adult children, and grandchildren, to illustrate the importance of life insurance.

It’s a common question: “is life insurance really essential for wealth management?” That’s likely because, when most people consider what wealth management entails, the aspect that comes to mind is managing investments. However, wealth management is much more than simply trading a portfolio of stocks and bonds. It involves other vital items, such as estate planning, tax planning, charitable giving, risk management, and cash flow (just to name a few)…. Read More

The Master’s Minute – How to Choose a Local Wealth Advisor

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Couple discusses their plans with a local wealth advisor, all three are wearing suit jackets in an upscale office.

Last week’s blog article discussed when and under what circumstances you might consider using a Wealth Advisor. Today, we’re exploring what to look for when choosing one, especially near you. A quick Google search for financial advisors near you, or even a question to an AI assistant, will prove that there are a lot of options available in the area. It’s important, when spoiled for choice, that we take into… Read More

The Master’s Minute – When Should I Consider Hiring a Wealth Advisor?

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Woman with her hand on her head looking at papers, wondering if it's time to consider a wealth advisor.

The right time to hire a Wealth Advisor depends on several personal and financial factors. One of the biggest? Your own aptitude for making financial decisions. If you enjoy managing your finances, have a good grasp of investment principles, consistently make sound financial choices, and have the time to manage everything yourself, you may not need a Wealth Advisor—at least not right away. Your past performance is usually the best… Read More

The Master’s Minute – Equally Yoked: Financial Advisors and You

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Investors smiling at their financial advisor, with whom they feel equally yoked.

When it comes to your financial future, technical expertise matters—but so does alignment. Your advisor should be more than someone managing your investments. Rather, they are walking alongside you in decisions that touch every part of your life: family, legacy, generosity, and purpose. That’s why values alignment isn’t optional, it’s essential! If your advisor’s approach is disconnected from what matters most to you, the planning process can feel transactional rather… Read More

The Master’s Minute – The Alignment Model | Generosity and Wealth Management Series 2025

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College student in front of her family, whose financial goals alignment allowed her to continue her education.

In last week’s blog post, Charlie introduced our summer blog series, entitled “Generosity and Wealth,” by discussing the joy and fulfillment that people can experience by living a life of generosity instead of a life of purely personal consumption.   In fact, judging by the daily deluge of marketing and advertising we all experience living in the twenty-first century, you would be forgiven for believing that personal consumption and instant… Read More

The Master’s Minute – The Wisdom of Generosity & Wealth Management

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A hand moves money generously across the table to a wealthy person.

We open today’s blog post with a fundamental “core values” question: Are you integrating generosity into your use of personal wealth?   As we begin to dig into the topic of Generosity and Wealth, I would like to share some observations gleaned from working with financial planning clients for the past 35 years.   Let’s review these observations together, as shown in the following formulas:  Wealth + Generosity = Contentment, Fulfillment, and… Read More