As an advisor, I deplore Target Date funds. I think they represent everything wrong with investing. That said, they are better than the old money market, so kudos if you are using them in lieu of cash. Target Date funds (TD funds) are built upon the premise of set it and forget it, but its a prettily packaged piece of … Read More

hat an incredible tool this is. I am surprised the by the number of families unfamiliar with how a ROTH really works. I am equally as excited by the prospect of what it can do for families. The magical term that you need to learn is Tax Arbitrage! Why do you need to learn this fantastic term? The clear answer … Read More

Expenses. Yuck. No one likes expenses. Expenses sound … expensive. Most of my time is spent looking for two things. One, I want to increase their investment returns. Two, I’m looking to decrease expenses. Typically, when decreasing expenses, I’m looking to lower taxes, utility payments, mortgage payments, insurance, etc. I’m looking to lower their bottom line without lowering their standard … Read More

We were recently quoted in the news. Go check it out if you have a chance! https://fuel.exaktime.com/bank-on-it/4-options-for-offering-an-employee-retirement-plan/ Julie Bawdin Davis does a great job with her articles!

ast post we discussed a article that compared real estate to the stock market. We also reviewed how the authors compared apples to orangutans. We looked at the concept of cash flow and leverage. Most importantly, in the end, we noted that real estate is an excellent investment tool. Part 2 will address why real estate is a fantastic tool. … Read More

I remember my friend Rob telling me about this book called Rich Dad, Poor Dad in 2003. We were both new dads and husbands. We were trying to figure out life in general. We were both entrepreneurial in spirit, but hadn’t yet found out place in the world. I read the book in quick fashion. I was already working in … Read More

A couple years ago my grandfather passed away. Him and I were very close. We would have meals together all the time. We would talk for hours. I miss him. My mom was cleaning out his old records this week and came across his trust. We read through the will in the trust and noticed that he had listed a … Read More

Scott, never you mind all that retirement pish posh. I have a pension. That is fantastic! It is far better to have a pension than not, but … What but?! There is no but! Few families are aware of, much less plan for, the catastrophic failure of a pension. Is such a thing possible? Oh yes. It happens so often … Read More

Scott, I want all my debt paid off in retirement! Who has debt in retirement? In my experience, the answer to that last questions is, “Most people.” In a perfect world, none of us would have debt. We would have millions of dollars saved. There also wouldn’t be war or homelessness or child abuse or mosquitos or a neighbor with … Read More

My dad is an architect. Ever since I was a kid, I can remember moments where my dad would remind me, “It’s a poor craftsman that blames his tools son.” As a kid, I really had no idea what that meant, except that I should stop complaining. Now, as an adult, I think its one of the greatest lessons I … Read More

The last week of the market has been … disappointing … to put it mildly. With no great surprise, the families I serve are nervous. It’s a reasonable response. Well, that isn’t technically correct, it’s an expected response. When my car breaks down, I get nervous. I’m sure my mechanic doesn’t get nervous when his car breaks down. He probably … Read More

I live in Orange County. I love it here. We have our own way of speaking on the West Coast. Everyone from out of state instantly knows where I’m from when I say, “Take THE 101 North.” Southern Californians love to put the in front of all our freeways. What is “Southern California” to the world is “SoCal” here. We … Read More

About a month ago I met a very kind couple. The husband and wife were both months away from retirement and decided it was time to start looking into how they would manage their investments in retirement. Their money was with…well…let’s call them Fairmerican Funds. The investments represented a very common asset allocation that I’ve seen from Fairmerican Funds. The … Read More

I have four kids. If you didn’t know, that is a lot. Well, it feels like a lot. As such, we have rules to keep the horde in check. The rules are becoming ever more important as the horde realizes they outnumber us. Why am I talking about rules? Rules have a duel benefit. At a fundamental level rules create … Read More