Merry Christmas! We are approaching the end of another calendar year, and it has not been an easy one for those with investments. Investors have been reminded that one thing is true: annual investment growth is not guaranteed. 2022 has been a drawn out and long...
In 2004, a Harvard Business Review article argued that ambidextrous leadership was crucial to long-term business success. Ambidextrous was defined as a business that exploited existing market opportunities, displayed operational excellence, and mandated executional...
When would you want to know if you were heading on a road trip and something ahead created a challenge? Your answer likely depends upon the severity of the issue and the potential alternatives. What about significant issues at the moment that will be resolved by the...
Your Retirement Playbook with Joe Clark, CFP. In this segment, we will cover: We have Your Retirement Playbook program to help people reduce financial regrets, and in this episode, we will talk about four things you need on your radar right now. Your Retirement...
Your Retirement Playbook with Joe Clark, CFP. In this segment we will cover: How do you know where "A" dollars and "B" should be invested? When faced with a buffet of options, which one should you choose first? In this segment of Your Retirement Playbook, we will...
Your Retirement Playbook with Joe Clark, CFP. In this segment we will cover: Golf is a lot like financial planning. Life is a series of decisions based on shots in the current conditions. Financial planning is a series of decisions based on shots and conditions. Golf...
Your Retirement Playbook with Joe Clark, CFP. In this segment we will cover: How did that wind up in your portfolio? I've been married for 34 years, and when we meet new couples, they always ask one question, "How did you meet"?! In this segment, we will get into the...
Investing can be a very stressful endeavor, especially for us in or nearing retirement. Protecting the nest egg becomes very important as we near the time when distributions become a reality. Behavioral finance studies have repeatedly shown that many Americans would...
Consider This Program with Jamie Burton and Grant Soliven, AIF. In this segment we will cover: Making a gut call on investments may not be the wisest strategy. Having a process in place leads to more fruitful outcomes. Join us on Consider This Program as we break it...
Consider This Program with Jamie Burton and Grant Soliven, AIF. In this segment we will cover: Are you late to the game? Many people continue to use mutual funds even though ETFs are far more efficient. On Consider This Program, we will explain what you need to be on...
Consider This Program with Joe Clark, CFP and Jamie Burton. In this segment we will cover: The saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” It’s true! Investing in your health is wise from a perspective of living longer and good for your billfold....
Consider This Program with Joe Clark, CFP and Grant Soliven, AIF. In this segment we will cover: With an ever-changing economic and legislative environment, it is crucial to regularly update and evaluate your financial plan. Join us as we discuss what can happen if...
When I was a boy, I mowed lawns around my neighborhood. I started with my parents’ lawnmower, and after I saved up enough money, I went out and purchased my very own mower. I took great care of that mower because I could not perform the job that paid me without it....
Consider This Program with Joe Clark, CFP and Dean Huddleston. In this segment we will cover: Debt is bondage, and leverage is an asset. What is the difference between the two? Join us on Consider This Program to learn more!...
Consider This Program with Joe Clark, CFP and Dean Huddleston. In this segment we will cover: People think about money in terms of investment return. Retirement is about income, not assets. Make sure that you are building tax diversification along the way. What is tax...
Consider This Program with Joe Clark, CFP and Grant Soliven, AIF. In this segment we will cover: These are the five main food groups of investing. Just like with food, we need some of each for a balanced diet. Also, like food, we'll lean them in different portions....
Conventional wisdom in the investment world dictates that when you reach retirement age, your investments should become more conservative Someone in retirement can no longer handle the swings of the market. In theory, that sounds like a reasonable idea. Fiduciaries,...
The Summer Olympics are here! We will take the easy shot and incorporate Olympic talking points into our article. Hey, we only get this chance once every four years. The goal of the Olympic games is for the athlete to wind up on the podium with a ribbon and a medal....
Consider This Program with Joe Clark, CFP and Daren Hardesty. In this segment we will cover: Very often we hear people say they don't want to keep all their financial eggs in one basket. The feeling of having accounts with multiple advisors and banks brings a sense of...
Consider This Program with Joe Clark, CFP and Daren Hardesty. In this segment we will cover: As you get older you realize that things change - your investments are no different. What made perfect sense to you 20-30 years ago may not make sense today. The good news is...
Consider This Program with Joe Clark, CFP and guest Adam Harter, CFA. In this segment we will cover: Investment skill and market results are the two dominant go-to factors for a successful journey from saving to and through retirement. But the luck of timing (the era...
Consider This Program with Joe Clark, CFP and Angi Kinser. In this segment, we will cover: In this episode learn why dividing your retirement savings into various investment categories is crucial to the overall success of your retirement. Learn how asset allocation...
Consider This Program with Joe Clark, CFP and Angi Kinser. In this segment, we will cover: In this episode learn why dividing your retirement savings into various investment categories is crucial to the overall success of your retirement. Learn how asset allocation...
Death is a natural consequence of life. Most of us will have assets of one nature or another left behind for others at our passing. How does that transfer work? What are the tax implications? What do you need to consider? Assuming the asset is titled jointly with...
Checklists are marvelous tools for getting things done. They are also my favorite mechanism for making decisions. Facing a project that requires a commitment to time and usually money are things most of us would rather ignore especially if not on a deadline. Once the...
Batching is a concept that is very powerful in getting things done. The strategy involves doing similar type functions - reading, writing, yard work, etc. - bundled together. This invokes the power of momentum. Productivity is improved. Batching, however, can also...
International investing has the potential reward of diversification, but it is coupled with additional risks. Over the last decade, the foreign market underperformed, while the U.S. market was strong. The tide may be turning. Proceed with caution, however. There are...
There are things in your life that are permanent and others that change over time. Benjamin Franklin argued that “Some people die at 25 and aren’t buried until 75.” Meaning they are just waiting for their body to catch up. He argued that we establish beliefs early in...
Transparency should be an objective for every investment account. Knowing what you own and what fees and expenses you are paying is a critical part of portfolio management. Developing a diversified portfolio is difficult when you don't know or understand what you own....
“New York City was not prepared for the destruction that occurred September 11th, 2001.” Mayor Giuliani surprised our audience at the World Business Forum with those seemingly harsh words. The recovery in New York was nothing short of spectacularly inspiring. The city...
The opposite of tranquility is volatility. People are not alarmed when equity markets are volatile to the upside. When the markets turn south, however, investors flee from their serenity. The key to understanding volatility is understanding it is both the upside and...
There is little doubt that America finds itself in a recession at the moment. Jobs are lost, and some businesses will never recover. What about the earnings of the companies that do survive? Are the earnings deferred, delayed, or vanished forever? It depends on the...
Are you familiar with the term intrafamily loan? The low-interest-rate environment stemming from the 2008-09 recession created ideal opportunities for intrafamily lending. Our current environment has brought the concept back to the forefront with an additional need –...
When new families join our firm, “I can’t live through another 2008!” is a common statement. Naturally, we assure them that we have no intention of being trapped by a systemically broken market ever again. The main observation here for most of them making the...
Waking up early and heading to the gym is tough. But once the workout is over, the payoff is often a tremendous energy boost. While people exercise for many reasons, they usually expect to benefit from their “sweat equity” not in the current moment, but in the future....
Feelings of regret and frustration are not emotions I am accustomed to having. I make a point to discuss in this column and on my radio program that “things change.” Utilizing some of those changes could make a profound difference in your life. But how do you know...
A successful retirement requires you to get many components correct. Sadly, failing at retirement can occur by missing or failing in just one of the many areas required for success. How issues relate to one another can be confusing and complex. Changing market...
On December 20, 2019, a $1.4 trillion spending bill was signed into law in order to keep the government running. Tucked away inside this mammoth piece of legislation was the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act. This new law includes...
We all know someone with a natural gift for repairing what’s broken. Those of us not blessed with this handy talent usually turn to the Internet to get help with repairs. Do it Yourself (DIY) videos make challenging projects look so easy. After watching a few online...
At the Financial Enhancement Group, The Fiduciary Focus is our proprietary method for evaluating how a portfolio is doing at any given time. A fiduciary, by legal standard, has to treat your money as if it were their own and if they were in your situation. Many...
This series is dedicated to answering the question “Can you retire on $500,000?” The answer is yes, depending on your standard of living requirements. The necessary amount of income is dependent upon the life you enjoyed before you left the workforce and the life you...
Planning for retirement requires preparing for the unexpected. Creating sound contingencies is important, but even more, is addressing the likeliness of that event to occur. The term “risk” or “risky” is used by many salesmen to scare people into buying their “safe”...
The concept of having a budget at any age gives some individuals cold chills and other relief. Some people love the rigidity or certainty of a budget while others feel trapped or constrained at the thought of a budget. Those are two vastly opposing emotional extremes...
That may sound like a small fortune or an amount you have already surpassed. Regardless, a sound retirement is the combined management of your budget, tax bracket, volatility of your investment account, Social Security timing, inflation, changing needs and life...
Who doesn’t want to retire? More people than you may think, including myself. The rational and reasons for continuing to work come from the obvious “I love what I do” to “What would I do?” Our experience would suggest there is also a large contingency that is simply...
Investing for your retirement can seem like a giant in your life. How much money will I need? When will I be able to retire? How much do I need to save today in order to have enough when it’s time for me to retire? But saving today can make a huge impact on your...
How often have you sat in the doctor’s office with an ailment that you don’t mention? Going to the doctor and not telling the truth is not only counterproductive but can be quite dangerous. The same is true with your financial advisor — many aspects of the financial...
One of many benefits of being a speaker, radio host and columnist is access to great and unique thinkers. The 31 years in the financial planning profession has allowed me to discuss many concepts regarding your finances that I have agreed with, implemented and others...
By: Dean Huddleston Automobiles and investing, what do they have in common? They both are at times referred to as vehicles, a car moves you from point A to B, a mutual fund can be considered an investment vehicle where your dollars take a ride down a...
The art of comparison creates many challenges for our personal and professional lives but especially our finances. The desire to keep up with the “Jones’” next door in the newest car, biggest house and best vacation hopefully fades as we age. Other aspects of...
King Solomon famously wrote, “It is the little foxes that spoil the vine.” In a secular moment, he might have written: “it is the little assets that spoil the estate plan.” More often than not, with careful examination, we uncover forgotten assets in a family’s...
Business CEOs and their boards must make many decisions: Where do they invest in their business? Do they add new business models, buy competitors or dive deeper into their niche? What do they do with leftover profits? Amid all of these questions, a key...
Have you ever noticed when you buy a car that it seems many other drivers suddenly made the same choice? It is often known as the Badder-Meinhof phenomenon otherwise known as frequency illusion or recency illusion. When you buy a new car, it might be frustrating, but...
Do as I say not as I do! There are two schools of thought on what to do with a large single payment regarding investing. The math clearly states you are better off to invest the lump sum rather than put in money over time. The key is your holding period or how long...
In 1924 there were no fax machines, email or cell phones. There also weren’t easy ways for common people to invest their money. This was the Roaring 20’s and people wanted their share of the excitement. The solution was to create three types of investment trusts...
The majority of mutual funds that are used in retail investment accounts and 401k plans are considered to be open-ended. Simply put, you invest your dollars in a fund with many other investors. The manager of the fund then buys stocks, bonds or both and divides the...
How often have you sat in the doctor’s office with an ailment that you don’t mention? The pain isn’t picked up on the yearly checkup, and the doctor sends you away, thinking you are feeling well. Going to the doctor and not telling the truth is not only...
Remember when the coach from the movie Bad News Bears wrote the word “assume” on the chalk board? He then went on to draw two lines – one on each side of the letter “U” to bring our attention to the risk of making assumptions. The lesson has been a major part of my...
Life is a series of conundrums. Families move from wondering how to make ends meet today, and save for the future. They accumulate and preserve and one day realize they have no idea how they accumulated so much in their retirement accounts. Next, the third stage of...
There is a Parable in the Bible where Jesus tells the story of a landowner turning the operation over to three of his servants while he was gone. Two of the slaves “invested the money” and one did not. Though there are Bible scholars who would remind us that we tend...