Clients often ask me, “What’s the best life insurance policy?” The appropriate answer is not as simple as naming a carrier and their newest product. If I were to rephrase their question, it would be: What kind of life insurance fits my situation, or do I need it at all? And which life insurance company has products that are right for me and my family? To answer these questions for your client and narrow their options, here are some important considerations --

For Archival Purposes Only

In the past, financial professionals have relied on a well-balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds to manage a client’s risk versus return. While the concept is widely accepted, if you ask 50 different financial professionals what a well-balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds looks like, you'll likely get 50 different answers. However, they will probably suggest bonds be used in a portfolio as a hedge against stock market losses to reduce overall portfolio risk. But is that always the right answer?

When I think of a retirement strategy, the first thing that comes to mind is often the accumulation of assets and investing strategies. As a fiduciary investment advisor developing and implementing retirement income strategies for my clients, I’d argue that investing is the easy part of the process. Here's what I mean...

If you want a great return on your money, you need to take on more risk. The general public has been conditioned to accept this as reality for decades. And there is truth to the risk reward relationship. However, it's also true that a client could potentially increase their return without exposing their hard-earned assets to additional risk. We’ll discuss three ways to do that…

When it comes to wealth management, your client's money can do two things: It can earn interest or buy stuff. The problem is that many clients have "lazy money" just sitting around not working towards their financial goals and objectives. Money gets "lazy" when it is not being used to do one of the two things it can do with respect to wealth management.

I’m a creature of habit, and my Saturday morning routine always takes me to my favorite dry cleaners. The owner knows that I work in the financial services industry but made it clear on another occasion that he has an advisor already and one whom he seems to be happy with.

We’ve never talked specifically about his personal finances because I don't  make a habit of talking business with folks unsolicited. I’m uncomfortable with it. On this day however, my friend asked me some questions...

For every delighted client you have, there are plenty of consumers out there who will never seek financial advice because it’s just not on their radar and there are others who actively avoid financial help. And then you have those who go out of their way to put down the services those in our industry provide... 

On December 20, 2019, President Donald Trump signed into law a spending bill containing the SECURE Act (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act). The new legislation took effect on January 1st of 2020, giving only 11 days (minus holidays and weekends) for everyone to adjust. This has left many financial institutions and financial professionals affected and scrambling to prepare.

There are many reasons clients might delay claiming Social Security benefits. At our firm, once we’ve cleared up common misconceptions with our clients, they’re often more open minded about hearing possible reasons for a delayed strategy. Many had never thought of these reasons before. Have you?

When and how your clients claim Social Security benefits is one of the bigger decisions they’ll face as they transition from their working years into post-working years. For many folks, Social Security will be one of their largest retirement resources, and it’s often the most mismanaged.

Irrevocable decisions could potentially add or subtract tens of thousands of government-backed, inflation-adjusted, and tax-advantaged dollars from lifetime retirement resources.