Blogs

The recent bank failures and economic gloom have caused us to reflect on the near and distant past. A certain anxiety has taken hold in our advisor community with flashbacks of 2008 and the subprime mortgage crisis, Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, the crypto crash, and more. Back in June, we wrote a blog called How to Communicate With Clients During a Down Market , which outlined fundamental ways and reasons why financial advisors need to communicate with their clients without adding to the noise of the headlines. It seems like history is repeating itself in some ways, and the tips we outlined in that article hold true during this newest “crisis” cycle. ...
In a recent article for the Journal of Financial Plann ing, Gretchen Halpin wrote on the importance of networking. It’s hard to go more than a few days at a time without seeing in an industry periodical or one of your social media feeds that Firm A has been acquired by Firm X in a deal worth a zillion dollars. It’s not hard to understand why. In our business, scalability and sustainability go hand in hand, and one way to get a lot of scalability in a short time frame is to buy it. But it’s also important to remember that the heartbeat of the financial advisory business is and always will be our interactions with clients on a personal, one-on-one basis. ...
“Waiting helps you as an investor and a lot of people just can’t stand to wait. If you didn’t get the deferred-gratification gene, you’ve got to work very hard to overcome that.” - Charlie Munger November taught about market investing. Despite 2022 being a volatile and down-year in some aspects, there were positive things to take notice, whether you were looking or not. November was a Top 10 gaining month Despite it all, November was quite a good month. In fact, November had two of the highest 10 moves up for the Nasdaq in the past decade. The Nasdaq, which frequently has high-flying yet volatile technology company stocks, rose 7% on November ...
“Waiting helps you as an investor and a lot of people just can’t stand to wait. If you didn’t get the deferred-gratification gene, you’ve got to work very hard to overcome that.” - Charlie Munger November taught about market investing. Despite 2022 being a volatile and down-year in some aspects, there were positive things to take notice, whether you were looking or not. November was a Top 10 gaining month Despite it all, November was quite a good month. In fact, November had two of the highest 10 moves up for the Nasdaq in the past decade. The Nasdaq, which frequently has high-flying yet volatile technology company stocks, rose 7% on November ...
“Waiting helps you as an investor and a lot of people just can’t stand to wait. If you didn’t get the deferred-gratification gene, you’ve got to work very hard to overcome that.” - Charlie Munger November taught about market investing. Despite 2022 being a volatile and down-year in some aspects, there were positive things to take notice, whether you were looking or not. November was a Top 10 gaining month Despite it all, November was quite a good month. In fact, November had two of the highest 10 moves up for the Nasdaq in the past decade. The Nasdaq, which frequently has high-flying yet volatile technology company stocks, rose 7% on November ...
If you didn’t attend the FPA National Conference in Seattle, you missed an event that delivered exactly what was promised: connection, learning, and community. With the conference being so close to the holidays, I wasn’t sure if FPA could pull off the depth and breadth of learning I had seen in the past. They did! The exhibit hall was filled with businesses that helped elevate the profession in both service and dimension. The exhibitors provided interactive activities that kept the energy up even in that 3 pm hour. But the real value was in the sessions and networking opportunities. Here are a few highlights. Networking with Keith Ferrazzi: Building Strong ...
It’s not intuitive, but spending less time in what you consider “work” mode, and more time in some kind of “rest,” actually increases the efficiency and value of your work productivity over time. We’ll explain the nerdy connection and challenge you with a new routine in a couple of minutes. On the surface, “spending less time working” might not pass muster in the traditional office environment where you are expected to work, at minimum, 8 hours in a day. But for decades studies have estimated we don’t actually “work” anywhere near that amount of time. A recent (not entirely scientific) study showed the average Brit office worker’s actual work time is closer ...
Lifelong client relationships are the lifeblood of the financial advisory industry. As advisors, you often emphasize expertise in a specific demographic of client, and important words like differentiation, segmentation, and personalization are continually talked about in terms of how you appeal to them. Personalization, when not executed efficiently, can be detrimental, from causing low profitability, to putting a strain on team members. One way financial advisors can create personalization at scale as a part of their growth efforts is through technology. According to a study conducted by PWC’s Digital Services group , marketers that provide personalized ...
We are looking to connect with a consultant that is a technology expert – specifically; Orion, Redtail and iRebal. Our firm is in Southern NH, but of course project work can be completed remotely. Thank you! Kristina Kristina George, CPA, CFP, CDFA Northstar Financial Planning, Inc. 112 Range Road Windham, NH 03087 p 603.458-2776 f 603.589.6003 www.northstarfp.com Where your Wealth and Well-Being Connect
According to Google Statistics , there are about four billion unique users who use the Google search engine. Of course, you probably already knew that — we all use Google to find answers to just about any question we can think of, whether it’s work- or life-related. And believe it or not, Google has a significant impact on the success of your business. Why? If you want to gain more traffic and attract more visitors to your financial advisory firm’s website, then you need to rank high on Google. Blog posting is one of the best and easiest ways to improve your Google search rankings. It’s fair to say that all successful websites have blog pages that not ...
" A six-inch line is short relative to an eight-inch line. An eight-inch line is short relative to a ten-inch line. " -Tibetan saying It’s 2008, and I'm at my desk on a Friday, lost in my work. I notice a new email that just came in. The software that we use puts out a regular newsletter, and the most recent one has just been released. I always look forward to reading this, so I set my work aside and print it out. I read an article written by Joe, a guy in New York who works for a firm as their head of operations. In essence, that means he's responsible for how smoothly the process runs. I read everything that he writes. I'm fascinated ...
Does anyone use a ghostwriter for their blogs? I am just starting to research this.
Recently 4 minor children were beneficiaries of a Trust Funds for their education. The trust specifically appoints a Legal Fiduciary by name to be the custodian and not the mother. The legal Fiduciary wants the business entity,which is a LLC , to be the custodian and not him individually. As far as I know only a person can be a custodian for an UTMA account. Any help would be appreciated.
The Reverse Purchase Strategy may allow financial planners to help seniors who are exceeding a safe portfolio withdrawal rate because they have an unsustainable income/expense profile. People who do not understand the Reverse Purchase Strategy are missing out on a powerful solution to three common senior problems: (1) insufficient cash , (2) a broken monthly budget , and (3) living in a house that is less than ideal or just unsafe. The centerpiece of this strategy is using a reverse mortgage as a purchase-money loan. You can’t say this is a misunderstood strategy because almost no one knows anything about it. Below we'll cover five key ...
I have a client who is looking to sell their Vacation Club Membership (virtually the same as a timeshare) and was wondering if there is a well known, reputable company that I can refer them to. Through some research I have done, I found a website called SellMyTimeshareNow.com that was able to provide a quote for them, but I am unsure how reliable this website truly is. If anyone has any insight on the company I mentioned or knows of a good company or contact that you can refer me to that would be great. Any recommendations or information is much appreciated. Sincerely, James Ronn
Are Reverse Mortgages America's Most Hated Loan? A recent Bloomberg article is off track: the biggest problem with reverse mortgages isn't the financial instrument or providers, it's unrealistic expectations about them. When I worked at Merrill Lynch, a mentor, Steve Bernardy, told me, " Our job as financial advisors is not to make our clients rich, our job is to keep them rich. It's their job to accumulate the wealth ." There's a parallel with reverse mortgages. Reverse mortgages are not financial alchemy; they help with cash flow but not net worth. I f you don't have enough wealth before you get a reverse mortgage, you won't ...
There are several reasons for the wealth gap between White Americans and African Americans. I have been fortunate to have relevant, authentic conversations with several financial planning professionals that acknowledge the need for a deeper understanding of cultural differences that inform the way that various people groups manage their finances, professional relationships and personal priorities. Cultural competence is the starting point; it must become a standard cornerstone of the financial planning process. Cultural competence is the ability to demonstrate in a practical manner a genuine understanding of historical and cultural influences that inform the ...
Can the 529 ABLE account be expanded to include Opioid Use Disorder as a qualified disability? It is worth considering. Prior to June 2018, the Whatcom County Sherriff’s office had a policy of denying individuals suffering from opioid use disorder (OUD) medications that treat opioid addiction. Inmates were required to go “cold turkey” during their time in custody. An exception was made for pregnant inmates. The Americans With Disabilities Act forbids discrimination against disabled individuals; a public entity cannot deny the benefits of the services programs, or activities of the public entity based upon a disability for which reasonable accommodations ...
New Jumbo Reverse Mortgage Options for 2019 Home owners have 5 new jumbo reverse mortgage options for 2019. In the Spring of 2018, homeowners with considerable equity, and homes worth over $900,000 had one jumbo reverse mortgage choice: a fixed rate loan that required all proceeds be distributed at closing. Many homeowners didn’t want all that cash on day one. Many new jumbo reverse mortgage options were introduced in the later part of 2018. All offered larger loan amounts, i.e., more cash out. New innovations include a fixed-rate 5-yr delayed disbursement loan, a jumbo line of credit loan, a jumbo second mortgage without a monthly payment, and ...
Hello, The Reverse mortgage world has really changed in the last little bit. It used to be that only the FHA insured HECM (Home Equity Conversion Mortgage). Now, there are Jumbo Reverses with loan amounts up to $4,000,000.00. This loan can be a fixed rate, a line of credit first or a line of credit second. Very forward thinking. I'd be happy to answer any questions about how a Reverse mortgage fits into the older client's financial plan. Jan Paulsen Guaranteed Rate, Inc. 619-405-2099