Achieve a Higher Understanding

October 9, 2018

The beach house was a familiar bone of contention for the mid-sixties couple sitting in front of me. For several years, the wife had wanted to purchase a beach house. The husband thought a beach house was a bad investment.

August 8, 2018

A report on financial literacy found that one in five teenagers in the U.S. lack basic fundamentals when it comes to understanding personal finance. As an adjunct professor at Temple University for many years, my personal finance class was one of the first finance courses my students ever had. If my students did take a course in high school, it revolved around a “stock-market” game, which I find to be more like gambling and doesn’t really teach good money habits, like saving, spending, and financial priorities.

April 19, 2018

The stock market over the last few years has acted, to some degree, like a lullaby. With strongly positive returns coupled with little market volatility, investors had been lulled into thinking this was the new norm. For those investors, the first quarter of 2018 was likely a rude awakening. We all know volatility and risk are a necessary evil to the capital markets. However, it is often difficult to judge what is normal and what is abnormal. While historical volatility is not a good predictor of future volatility, it does give us a baseline to compare against and set expectations of what we were willing to endure.

April 9, 2018

With the ever increasing threat of cyberattacks, individuals need to take precautions to keep sensitive information secure.

March 22, 2018

John came to us last year with a lot on his mind, specifically taxes. He had what he thought was a six-figure tax bill staring him in the face, the result of a house sale and an unexpected stock sale to financially assist with a family emergency. John was stressed, trying to plan for an imminent retirement with this enormous roadblock in the way.

January 12, 2018

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was intended to simplify taxes. However, with heated politics, unclear buzzwords, and overall panic in the mix, the new act is still extremely complex. As a result, you might feel out of sorts trying to make sense of what to do.

December 18, 2017

The 2017 MarketCounsel Summit was held earlier this month in Miami, Florida. The conference provides wealth management professionals the opportunity to meet and mingle with the brightest minds in the industry and to bring new ideas and new thinking back to their practices for the benefit of their clients.

December 12, 2017

Much has been made of the 2018 tax bill signed into law on December 20th . It is both a reduction in many people’s taxes for next year and a substantial increase in the country’s debt for the future. One impact of this bill that has gotten little coverage, however, is how it affects individual giving.

November 27, 2017

Not only do people face nervousness and fear during retirement, life transitions, or job changes, but for those struggling with a relative who has an opioid addiction, it drastically increases stress. As discussed in my previous blog, this national epidemic has unfortunately impacted many of my friends, relatives, and clients. The purpose of this blog is to help outline a way to discuss your pain points with your financial advisor and seek guidance.

Over the past thirty years that I have worked as a financial advisor, my role in a client’s life has dramatically changed. More often than not, I find myself guiding my client’s life, not wealth. I help get each client through tough life transitions, situations, and family matters. When it comes down to it, money doesn’t matter if your quality of life isn’t where you want it to be during your retirement.