Blog
Blog
What is goals-based planning?
The first step to goals-based planning is to sit back, relax and day-dream. Or, break out a bottle of wine and sit with your partner and just talk about what you see your life looking like in the future. Ask yourself, “What is it that I really want?”
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The Importance of Portfolio Diversification
The famous stock market axiom, “it’s the bus you don’t see that hits you”, nicely underpins the reasons behind maintaining a diversified portfolio. The stark reality of investing is that there are unknowable landmines. Even though investment managers and analysts spend hundreds of hours scouring financial reports, talking to management, interviewing competitors and digging deep into a company’s prospects, there is always the possibility of an unpleasant surprise.
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How to Set up a Trust
Published by Beth Schanou, Director of Wealth and Estate Planning A trust can be a necessary tool for an estate plan. But, you may ask, what is a trust? Put very simply, a trust is created with a formal legal document to manage assets for beneficiaries. The trust is created by a person called the Settlor or Grantor, and a Trustee is appointed to follow the rules of the trust for management of the trust and its assets for the beneficiaries’ benefit.
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What’s in Your Wallet? A Powerful Portfolio Management Tool
Published by Rob Furlong When considering portfolio management tools many people think about complex spreadsheets or Bloomberg terminals flashing red and green stock quotes all day. While these are necessary, they are far from the most significant tool. I carry my most powerful portfolio management tool in my wallet: a library card.
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Helping Your Loved Ones with Long Term Care
Seemingly so much of what we do involves looking ahead into the future. We think about the things we would like to do with our time, the tasks that we wish to accomplish and, sometimes, experiences we’d like to avoid. Aging is unavoidable and is not the most enjoyable topic to discuss – especially with our families as there can be so many emotions and unknowns involved.
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Charitable Planning with a Donor-Advised Fund
Like many Americans, most of our clients are charitably inclined, having grown up with a tradition of some level of family philanthropy. Whether it’s giving back to their church, being involved in their community or sponsoring their favorite charity, Americans share in a charity’s focus of improving quality of life.
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Seven Financial Actions to Consider Before 2017
Published by Scott Ford The last months of the year are always hectic due to the holidays, end-of-the-year projects at work, and, in terms of this year, a heated presidential election. While you likely have plenty on your plate, don’t neglect your financial strategies. Review these seven actions you should consider before January 1st.
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Conviction: A Portfolio Manager’s Secret Weapon
Published by Rob Furlong, Co-Portfolio Manager, and the Carson Group Partners Investment Committee Each year I serve as a coach to a local college team competing in the CFA Society’s Annual Investment Challenge. Over the next several weeks, I’ll meet with this year’s team to offer advice on how to prepare and present an equity analysis on this year’s company. Every year I’m impressed and encouraged by the curiosity of the students.
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Reviewing and Updating Your Estate Plan
It’s been a couple of years since I last wrote about the need to review and update your estate plan. A lot can happen in only a couple of years – marriage, purchase of a new home, the birth of a child. My particular situation involves two out of the three life events listed above. As a former practicing estate planning attorney, you can bet I have updated my estate plan (including updating beneficiaries on Transfer on Death/Payable on Death accounts) to reflect these life events.
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Be a Math Teacher and Prepare Your Clients for Success
One of the basic tenets of the financial markets that all investors need to embrace is the fact that gains and losses are asymmetrical.
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