The Financial Advice Business Is Changing. Its Fee Model Should Catch Up.
For most of the last century, the business of financial advice was primarily an investment business. First, it was a product business: brokers were paid commissions to sell stocks, bonds, insurance, and packaged products. Then, as the profession evolved, it became an asset-management business: advisors increasingly charged an ongoing fee based on assets under management, […]
Ten Years In: Reflections on Building a Flat-Fee Advisory Firm
This month marks ten years since I officially started SwitchPoint Financial Planning. That milestone has caused me to reflect—not just on the growth of the firm, but on the long, winding path that brought me here, the mistakes I made trying to implement what was then a novel fee model, and the lessons that continue […]
Separating Decisions from Outcomes
Many aspects of our lives involve factors within our control and elements of luck or randomness. In situations involving a high degree of chance, such as health and investing, we have to very careful how we interpret outcomes. I’ve spent a lot of time over the last year with a book called Outlive, by Peter […]
Dealing with the Emotional Roller Coaster of a Sustained Bear Market
If your financial advisor uses Dimensional Fund Advisor (DFA) funds, odds are you’ve been underperforming the broad market for a while.
Don’t Let Stock Market Noise Distract You from Real Investing
“The expectations market is about speculation. The real market is about investing. The stock market, then, is a giant distraction to the business of investing.”
Why Your Dimensional Fund (DFA) Portfolio Has Underperformed And What to Do About It
To say it’s been a tough year for investors is probably an understatement. If you’re feeling weary of “holding tight” or “being patient” with this market, you’re not alone.
Why Your Financial Advisor Doesn’t Use Index Funds – And How It’s Hurting You
Earlier this year, index fund assets surpassed actively-managed funds for the first time ever. Initially ridiculed and ignored when they were first introduced a few decades ago, index funds are now becoming mainstream.
What Every Utah Resident Should Know About Ponzi Schemes
In 2019, Jordan Maglich of PonziTracker.com released a 10-year survey of Ponzi schemes in the U.S. What he found confirmed what many Utah financial advisors have suspected for decades
Understanding Financial Advisor Credentials, Titles and Terms
What’s the difference between a financial advisor and a financial planner? Between fee-only and fee-based? Between CFP® and CFA®?
Huge Tax Savings Using Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) Rules
Do you have company stock in your 401(k) plan? Net Unrealized Appreciation rules could save you thousands in taxes.