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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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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?...
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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...
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19 Questions You Should Ask Your (Prospective) Financial Advisor
Are you trying to decide who to hire as your new financial advisor or wondering if the one you have is...
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Do You Have an Investment Philosophy You Can Stick With?
David Booth, Founder of Dimensional Funds, said that “the most important thing about an investment philosophy...
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Approaching Retirement? Avoid These 5 Common Pitfalls
While retirement is often depicted as relaxing and carefree, the reality is that the financial uncertainty...
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What do March Madness, Monkeys, and Mutual Fund Managers Have in Common?
Two of my favorite things in the world are basketball and investing. While watching March Madness, I...
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Asset Location – An Overlooked, but Effective Tax Strategy
Asset location can help you significantly increase your after-tax retirement income, without saving more,...
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Portfolio over $1M? You’re Paying Your Financial Advisor Too Much
For decades the status quo in the financial advisory world has been to charge clients around 1% of assets...
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5 Productive Things to Do During a Stock Market Correction
Stock market corrections are never comfortable. Unfortunately, they’re also not very rare either. In...
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Why You Need to Know Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA)
Would you like to know how winners of the Nobel Prize in Economics invest? Look no further than Dimensional...
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What is a Fee-Only Financial Advisor?
Over the last few years, there has been a lot of talk about what it means to be a fee-only financial...
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How Often Should You Check Your Investments?
Many investors feel an almost compulsive need to check their account values on a regular basis, sometimes...
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10 Things To Do With Your Money – Before You Buy Whole Life Insurance
I recently met with a prospect who was looking for a second opinion. He was being offered a whole life...
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Stop Looking For The Next Amazon
Wouldn’t it be great to get in on the ground floor of the next Amazon, Google, or Apple? With just a...
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Anecdotes or Evidence?
A frequent topic of discussion with my friends and family is health. I love learning new ideas and strategies...
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High Fees + Low Bond Yields = A Recipe for Disaster
In today’s interest rate environment, investors (especially those in retirement) are scrambling to find...
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What the humble Tootsie Roll can teach us about investing
The Tootsie Roll is an iconic American candy. Who among us hasn’t experienced one of the sweet little...
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What Blackjack can teach us about investing
Imagine you walk into a casino with your entire retirement portfolio in tow – whether that’s a few thousand...
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6 Mistakes That Could Keep You From Financial Independence
In my years as a financial advisor, I’ve seen many families achieve financial success and enjoy the subsequent...
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Is 1% of $5M still just 1%?
The financial industry has managed to get away with incredible price discrimination by charging clients...
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SwitchPoint #2: The Behavior Gap
I just finished a new book by Michael Lewis, author of many bestsellers including The Blind Side and...
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The Original SwitchPoint: Fees
The investment industry has done a phenomenal job of masking their fees – whether hiding them completely...
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How to Become (and Stay) Debt-Free
Does it seem like every time you pay off one loan, you find yourself saddled with some new debt? Or maybe...
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Another Wild Market Prediction
It seems the financial media’s favorite thing to do is make wild predictions. The more extreme the headline,...
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Sorting the Professionals from the Salesmen
Recently, I volunteered to be a guinea pig for my sister who is in dental hygiene school. When I arrived,...
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Who’s in Control of Your Financial Future?
About a month ago I sat in a college classroom at a conference for alumni. The speaker was a well-renowned...
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Debunking Investment Myths: An Evidence-Based Approach
Over the last several weeks we have looked at four myths that keep investors from having a positive investment...
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Investment Myth #4: Past Performance = Future Results
Despite the disclaimer on every advertisement for an investment product reminding customers that “past...
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Investment Myth #3: Superior Skill = Better Performance
A keen intellect and extensive experience are valuable traits for an investment manager to possess. Unfortunately,...
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Investment Myth #2: Timing Is Everything
We’ve all heard the saying, “Buy low, sell high.” Seems pretty straightforward, right? Actually, it’s...
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Investment Myth #1: Investing = Gambling
*This is the first in a series of posts that will debunk common investment myths. I will conclude the...
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2 Simple Retirement Plans for Small Businesses
When it comes to saving for retirement, most everyone has heard of the 401(k) and the IRA. If you’re...
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Why I Started a Financial Planning Firm
Starting a financial planning firm from scratch wasn’t an easy decision. In the end, I felt compelled...
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3 Reasons You’re Ignoring Your Finances And What It’s Costing You
Is updating your will, getting life insurance, making a budget, or enrolling in your company’s 401k plan...
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6 Keys to Success in Investing You Won’t Hear From Wall Street
As a financial advisor, I am often asked: “Where should I put my money right now?” The financial industry...
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