Hope, optimism, belief, notion… In our line of work, it doesn’t matter how you say it. We’re banking on the idea that, overall, we’ll see more up than down.
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long term investing
To Be or Not To Be—and Everything in Between
“To be, or not to be: that is the question.”
In his famous line, Shakespeare’s Hamlet was talking about life and, well, its end. The play has many timeless themes, but we never want to mistake drama for wisdom. (Hamlet was a desperate man pushed to the edge, remember!)
Perhaps we could focus on how things happen between now and then. The idea of longevity can have a lot of layers. Consider these three:
- Lifespan: how long you live.
- Healthspan: how long you live independently.
- Wealthspan: how long you live independently, where and how you want.
While we don’t get to dictate how life unfolds, our attitudes and habits can influence all of these things. Our access to health information and data is increasing every day. Many of us already know the decisions that will help us prevent heart disease, and diabetes, and cancer, and Alzheimer’s. That’s power.
For my part, I’m having a good time on this earth. I try to pay attention to ways I might stretch out my healthspan: I am a health hobbyist, you could say. Health is not a formal part of our business, however.
Instead, in our professional capacity, we work with you on your wealthspan—striving to grow your bucket and to connect your money to your life, in order to invest wisely and spend well.
It all goes together: the healthier we are, the longer we might live. The longer we live, the greater the opportunity to compound our wealth—and decide how to deploy it fruitfully.
We can’t know exactly what’s in store for each of us. But here in the present, we can make it more likely for the best things to happen. For many of us, that means living independently, where and how we want, for a long time: our wealthspan.
It’s a grand adventure we’re on, isn’t it?
Clients, if you would like to talk about this or anything else, please email us or call.
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To Be or Not to Be – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services
This text is available at https://www.228Main.com/.
The Last 30 Years and the Next 30 Years
Friends, a lot of things can happen in three decades. In December 2024, our President Mark Leibman celebrated 30 years of affiliation with LPL Financial. There is a lot of work a person can do in that amount of time, and Mark has chosen to spend a lot of it with you and on this enterprise we now share.
He still intends to work until age 92, and he is energized by the work. Mark’s the founder and he’s still in it for the long haul.
So what’s our story, we “next generation” advisors? All three of us may very well have more years in this industry left ahead of us than there are behind us. It behooves us to remember the importance of the long view.
Thirty years. Something about it just sounded so lovely, it got stuck in our brains.
Back in December, we also celebrated our system of longevity discounts. This is one of the ways that we at 228 Main try to walk the walk: we reward the commitment it takes to become an effective investor, so the program includes fee reductions at certain milestones.
Clients get a fee reduction after 5 continuous years with us and then again at 15 continuous years. Beneficiaries or descendants who come on board with us may also take advantage of their forebears’ start date. In this sense, the longevity discount becomes a “legacy” discount.
But this stuff is all contagious, so we couldn’t help ourselves. We told Mark that we needed to add another level: why not include a 30-year discount? Can you imagine the joy of getting to tell a client of 30 years that you would like them to start paying you less? We could. We’re hungry for it.
And we wanted to give Mark this chance. Another excuse to celebrate some of his oldest friends? Yes, please. Why not?
This is what it’s all about. Growing the buckets. For the long haul. As a team. We’re trying to put our money where our mouth is—which is to say, we’re trying to put our policies where our values are.
Want to talk about this or anything else? Write or call, any time.
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The Last 30 Years and the Next 30 – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services
This text can be found at https://www.228Main.com/.
The Hats We Wear
How do we get from where we are to where we’d like to be? Sometimes it’s hard to imagine how we’ll close the gaps. The good thing about the big stuff is that we can only get them done one step at a time. We might wear many hats in life, but along the way… we can only wear one hat at a time. 🙏
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Actions Speak Louder?
In business, it is popular to claim that one is “client-centered,” that the focus is on the clients. Well, we should hope that any service would be client-centered!
So what exactly does that mean to us?
I’ve often said that our only business objective is to grow your buckets. When you do well, we do well. We talk about that a lot, along with the importance of the long view.
So a few years back, when your individual successes began to add up to success for our firm, our costs began to go down. With the savings, we reduced the fees for our loyal clients.
We put in a discount for those with five years’ tenure, and another for fifteen years.
We reviewed these discounts recently, and they spread across the more than 50% of portfolios that have been with us more than fifteen years and the 25% more that have notched at least five years.
It is gratifying to enjoy such loyalty! And it’s also a celebration of the long time horizon that effective investing requires. The effects of compounding have a much greater impact over the long term, too—maybe you’ve noticed?
Many of you have heard me say I plan to work to age 92. But is it work, to talk all day with people I like about stuff I am interested in? It does not seem that way to me. It is an honor to have worked with so many of you for so many years. And it gets easier for me, the bigger and more capable our team here at 228 Main.
Some companies spend their time and money and energy chasing prospective customers. We’re doing very well by striving to grow the ones we already have—and we think that makes things more pleasant for you, too.
Those dollars in fee savings could not be going to nicer folks, in my view. Thank you all, for everything.
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Play the audio version of this post below:
Actions Speak Louder? – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services
This text is available at https://www.228Main.com/.
Some Tricks for Treating Yourself
Our brains are so good at getting used to things that they will keep chasing new pleasures, new experiences, and the next thing to bring us a boost. But research shows there’s more bang for our buck by treating ourselves more frequently, in smaller doses—and our wallets might thank us.
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RMD at Age 73: What’s Up with That?
We have noticed that the rules about IRA account withdrawals can cause some confusion, particularly among those who are getting close to the “Required Minimum Distribution” age.
Here, we’d like to cover what the basics might mean for most people, though it is not intended to be advice or a recommendation for your specific situation.
For traditional or rollover IRA account owners, withdrawals after age 59½ are free of penalty, but income taxes must be paid on the amounts withdrawn. One may withdraw money or not, in accordance with their needs and plans.
But beginning at age 73, the rules change.
For each year beginning with the year you turn 73, a “Required Minimum Distribution” (RMD) must be withdrawn:
- “Required” means there is no option about it—it must be done.
- “Minimum” means that you must withdraw at least the calculated amount, though you may withdraw more if you choose.
- “Distribution” is simply the word the IRS uses for withdrawals.
The way the numbers work, the RMD starts out at a little under 4% of the account balance at age 73. Then, the RMD rises gradually each year. The RMD gets to a little over 5% at age 80 and closer to 10% by age 92. The withdrawals will be taxable—that is the whole object of the exercise, from the IRS’s perspective.
Even with those requirements, IRA accounts may still have significant balances until advanced ages.
Here are just a few fine points:
- The calculation begins with the prior year-end balance.
- The factor used comes from an IRS table, and we can do the arithmetic for you.
- The withdrawal may be made any time in the calendar year.
- If you have multiple IRA accounts, it can get confusing. Some people consolidate and simplify their finances at this point.
For more information, the IRS explains more details about RMDs online, available here. Please also keep in mind that different rules apply to inherited IRAs, Roth IRAs, and certain other situations, so do seek specific advice for your situation as necessary.
As for our role, our object for each client is to help have your money do what you need it to do.
So the question of how you should manage your accounts and your withdrawal strategy is best answered in a one-on-one discussion. If you would like our help talking through your situation, please call or email us. Happy to help.
This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific tax issues with a qualified tax advisor.
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You Just Never Know
We’d like to think that with age comes wisdom. But it’s not just racking up the years. We try to learn from our experiences—and integrate those lessons into our thinking.
I can’t speak for anyone else on our 228 Main team, but I can say that I am still a little surprised I’m here.
And I mean that in every way. I didn’t know the turns my career would take, and yet the path I took here is still the one that made the most sense. It’s led to the best possible outcomes. I didn’t know my current neighborhood even existed until we found a place to live in it. I didn’t know the mental health struggles I would explore in my early 30s, but I wouldn’t be who I am today without them.
What’s it all mean? The lesson I take is this: I couldn’t have called any of this ahead of time, so, therefore, maybe there are more surprises ahead.
We’ve heard from a few of you about the unexpected turns in your lives. One of them was, “I never thought I’d own a yoga mat.”
Another one was, “I never thought I’d be living in a house again.”
Big stuff, small stuff—you just never know. It’s possible to feel like you’re in the driver’s seat and that the road will keep bringing us twists and turns. Sometimes we crest a hill in the sunshine, and it’s like our whole future is laid out before us.
And sometimes we can only see as far as the headlights reach.
Having a team to support us along the way can make such a difference. I wasn’t alone through any of my own twists and turns. My team included professionals and specialists, everyone from my primary care doc to a new accountant to help my household.
It included my loved ones, friends, and the people in my life I knew I could text any time, day or night.
Who’s on your team?
Let’s assume the twists and turns will continue to surprise us—and sometimes delight us! We’re here for all of it. You just never know.
And we’re glad to share it with you.
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Play the audio version of this post below:
You Just Never Know – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services
This text is available at https://www.228Main.com/.
We Choose the Orchard!
We believe in saving for the future, but the present is where we live. Your retirement flow might go toward any mix of spending: cash for bills, a stash for unexpected events, or maybe it’s for that adventure in the Florida Keys! None of it takes a pile of money: instead, we tend the orchard for the fruit crop.
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“Is It Investable?”
Clients, we love hearing from you about what you’re seeing. Life changes at such a clip, it’s helpful to hear about the patterns and evolutions that pop up in our everyday lives.
When someone pitches us an idea, we don’t start with the obvious question. The obvious question would be, “So, is this investable?”
The real question is, “What’s this mean?”
This happens to us in our own research process. We don’t start with the hottest investment headlines. Instead, maybe we read something about a new technology, then dive in and realize it’s a true innovation in its field.
Then the real question whispers, “Hmm… What does this mean?”
We follow that thread and wonder, “How could people use this in the future?” or “What would the world look like if this were normal?” or “What should companies be doing now to get ready for this?”
Little clues about the future might sprout from these questions. Dorie Clark talks about this idea in her book The Long Game. We don’t have to limit ourselves to one topic with laser focus. We don’t need perfect clarity.
Sometimes, we’ve got enough signals to work with. “Interesting” can be a good enough guide. “Interesting” can lead us to meaningful.
The research process is not a mission: it’s an experiment. Flexible, not rigid. Curious. Open.
We optimize for interesting.
We do the research, put the evidence in context, and go from there. Maybe it would be nice to be able to boil it down more than that, but then… if it were any simpler, everyone would be doing it, right?
It’s fun to be us, and it’s fun to be in it with you.
Investing involves risk including the potential loss of principal. No investment strategy can guarantee a profit or protect against loss.
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