The Wealth Consigliere

The Democratic Presidential race has brought two major issues to the voters.   Medicare for ALL and higher taxes on the wealthy.   While they “trend” on social media ultimately it is our vote that counts.   In addition to the election we read many announcements about bankruptcies this week.   We will look at the failures and see if there are similarities that can benefit our business.   Our capitalist system works and making knee jerk conclusions can be dangerous.   Let’s look. Old Gen The capitalist business model doesn’t play favorites.   This week several old school firms filed for bankruptcy protection.   We will examine two that failed for different reason.   The Boy Scouts filed because of the harassment charges against them were adding up.   The scouts oath to do the right thing seems to mean different things to different people.   The other firm that filed was Pier One.   Low prices drive traffic but...

Relationships are the life blood of our personal and professional lives.   We are constantly reminded of this fact by our “friends” at Hallmark and recently at Tender.   Relationships are on our minds as we recently celebrated Galentine’s or Valentine’s day.   Heck, we spent a record amount on Valentine's this year.  Our blog this week discusses the importance of relationships for Wealth Advisory firms and more importantly their clients.   First Date We put too much pressure on our first date.   “Can you set me up?” makes some major assumptions that you like the same type of person that I like and more importantly they will like me!   Referrals are a major source of growth for most wealth management firms.   The assumptions here are even greater and potentially serious.   A diversified portfolio that works for me might not work for you and your family.   What can we do?   Our experience is to spend time with th...

I know we are tired of the impeachment debate around calling witnesses.  Polls showed that 75% of the people wanted witnesses so we are going to scratch that itch with our monthly podcast recommendations.  Our favorites are organized in three sections. True Crime The golden age of radio featured stories before we were addicted to our TV or to streaming services.  Podcasts have joined the fight with True Crime stories cast with stars from movies.  Our favorite is Blood Ties . Education Most Podcast lovers prefer voice over print.  Our favorite educational podcast is The Journal .  The tagline of money, business and power works! Morning Most of us listen to podcasts on our morning commute.  In the morning we want to be entertained and our favorite Morning Show is Snacks Daily .  The hosts play-off of each other better than me and my friend Dave do on the tables in Vegas. Our final recommendation is for Mayor Pete....

I was surprised that only 35% of adults have 20/20 vision .  This reality made me think how many investors have 20/20 wealth vision and what can we do to increase their score?  Our blog this week will examine what we should do.  I admit the content has been improved by my new colleagues at Burford Brothers .  I still retain my three subject focus but their conclusions have real world client experience.  Hope you agree. DIY Our examination begins with a common human bias of D.I.Y. (Do it yourself).  How hard can it be to build a portfolio and insure it meets my family's needs?  As it turns out the disclaimer of "don't try this at home" applies to wealth management too!  The internet and CNBC make it seem easy.  DIY success is exciting but it can be ephemeral.  DIY failure is painful and embarrassing.  We need to find a partner that we can share in our success and blame them when we fail. DIY has lower fees but we get what we...