Good to Know

Good to Know You just asked your client about their long-term disability plan.  They replied “I have that covered. I have Social Security Disability Insurance.” Here’s a hint for the rest of this article—your client probably does NOT have this risk “covered” if that’s the only disability insurance they have. There are at least four…

Good to Know How many of your clients think a great evening is sitting around a roaring fireplace on a cold night, drinking an excellent Merlot, and discussing death with their sweetheart?  The author’s guess (and hope!) is about zero. Yet, even though that romantic setting is not the best time to discuss estate planning,…

Good to Know It’s been said that there are two kinds of CFP Board exams—those that test Social Security moderately and those that test it heavily. From a larger perspective, CFP Board tells us that almost one of every five questions on the average exam will test the examinee’s knowledge of the Retirement Savings and…

Good to Know Anyone with assets, an income stream, or a good credit score can be exposed to identity theft. But before going deeper, let’s dispel a few myths—identify theft happens not only to the wealthy but also to the poor, not only to seniors but also to the young, and not only to financial…

Good to Know Laws enacted by those ladies and gentlemen we send to Congress are seldom a panacea for all. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act certainly fits that mold, as will be evident as we summarize the winners and losers under the Act. But first, here’s a quick editorial note—as with all of our articles,…

Good to Know A decorated marine combat veteran and friend of the author once compared being under enemy attack to corrections in the stock market. His advice was to “stay in your foxhole when the bombs are falling and make no sudden moves.”  While many would completely agree with this Marine’s timeless advice, others would…

Good to Know Think about this situation. You have a client who has a significant amount of their wealth in a concentrated position. This might be because they are an executive with a company and have received equity-based compensation over the years or simply have accumulated the position through an inheritance or other means. Regardless…

Good to Know Unmanaged concentrated position risk can be a ticking time bomb in your client’s portfolio. For example, one of the nation’s oldest (founded in 1879) and most respected banks was trading at $38/share in 2007. It had a long-term, loyal stockholder following, many of whom with holdings — accumulated over generations — valued…

Good to Know Loss aversion, taken to its extreme, can wreck long-term retirement planning and investment success. We’ll unpack what drives “irrational” loss aversion, identify a dangerous decision error, and illustrate a potential guardrail to remain on track with our long-term investing plans. “Irrational” Loss Aversion We’re a logical, evolved species, right? Before you answer,…

Good to Know Imagine an individual investor passionate about a specific stock (it happens more often than you might think). Assume the investor’s portfolio is worth $2 million, but $1 million is in just one stock. How could that $1,000,000 concentration hemorrhage into only $12,000 in just over one year? Sadly, that’s precisely what happened…