What does it mean for our business to be “client-centered”? (Wait, shouldn’t all business be “client-centered”?…) In this week’s video, Mark and Caitie talk about the role the firm plays in our relationships with you, what the client’s job is, and more.
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Clients, there’s been plenty of buzz in the public sphere. Policy changes are on their way in many arenas, including potential tax breaks, increases in the national debt, and cutbacks in benefits.
Some of you have been wondering what it will all mean for you. It makes sense to have questions, especially when so many issues are in play right now. Here are a few of the policies that could impact you or someone you know:
We know the pendulum swings back and forth, and mandates to change law are sometimes modified before they can even go into effect. But it still can pay to do some planning when changes could be headed our way.
You may have questions about where to start, and the answers will depend on the particulars of your own situation. Instead, we’ll try to speak generally to some of the personal choices you might consider.
No matter what stage of life you find yourself in, it may be more important than ever to make sure that your long-term money is invested for the long term, meaning that long-term money is invested for growth—rather than stability.
Think of it this way. Higher government deficits may mean higher inflation, which typically makes the value of things go up while hurting the purchasing power of dollars. Rather than burying those dollars in the backyard—where the erosion will be worse!—we put them to work, buying stock.
Stock represents indirect ownership of the real assets of companies—it’s in mining operations and railways, factories and foundries, offices and stores, and on and on. Investing for the long term means we have a chance to capture the growth of dollars out there in the world, at work.
A lot of it comes back to this: so much seems beyond our control, yet it always pays to think creatively. How do we make the most of it?
Call or email us when you’re ready to talk.
Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
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by Mark Leibman
We’re inspired by recent conversations with clients and friends whose plans, as they say, have come to fruition.
Fruition—the realization or fulfillment of a plan or project—scarcely begins to describe the satisfaction and joy we’ve seen.
What types of projects?
There’s recent retirees who downsized to a maintenance-free home, going to art festivals instead of pulling weeds, having more dinners with their descendants, and seeing more ball games. There’s the people going on that Alaska cruise or the tour of Italy. There’s the people turning hobbies into true avocations.
These are just some of the plans we’ve seen come to fruition for people we are close to.
A wise person once said that a plan is a dream put into writing. We are in the business of trying to make the arithmetic work for people who would like to try to make their dreams come true. We’ve written before about the best way to retire, and the point is, dreams are personal.
What are you trying to do? Where do you want to wind up?
One of the privileges of long experience in our work is seeing the realization or fulfillment of those plans made long ago. But life sometimes throws curve balls. So we’ve also seen adjustments made by people who would have preferred to avoid the need to adapt. Not everyone we love lives as long as we wished, health may be fleeting, and circumstances often present a mixed bag. Nevertheless, sound plans usually put us in better shape to deal with the unanticipated.
Money is not the most important thing in the world. But it is also true that our resources can buy us options we might otherwise not have. Wealth may free up our time, and time is what life is made of. Dreams and arithmetic working together may make the best things more likely.
If you would like to discuss your dreams and plans in greater detail, please write or call.
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What a journey thus far!
I started at the kitchen table. Bought the office building at 228 Main when I could neither afford it nor afford to pass it up. Struggled and juggled for years. Fit a snowbird lifestyle into the middle of it. Survived personal tragedy, a cruel disease that slowly took the life of my high school sweetheart.
And through it all, we grew. More and more people entrusted more and more wealth to our care. More and more teammates helped me hold up my end of the deal.
They say it is not the strongest or the smartest who survive and thrive, but those who adapt and adjust to change.
But then, there are the things that have not changed. We are a team of four advisors—myself, Greg, Caitie, and Billy—along with two full-time service team members, Whitney and Brenda. All of us serve one book of business. Everyone gets access to the same set of services. One story, one philosophy, one book of business.
You may not recognize how different this makes us. (But you also know I’ve never been one to follow the crowd!)
Many financial advisor shops, however, are a collection of sole proprietors, each on the prowl for new business all the time. There may be other four-advisor shops that work more like four separate teams that happen to compete nearby each other—not like teammates who play together, toward the same goal.
We believe we are organized differently—and better.
With a team set-up, any client can call any one of us. Four advisors, two service team members, one team. No matter who picks up the phone, we’re committed to getting you pointed in the right direction.
That’s what the team means to me, today.
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Clients, this week we’ve got a little behind the scenes tour: what happens in our in-house research process?
Here are some of the things we like to think about (so that you don’t have to!).
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Who are we to get in the way of your peace and calm? Your choices are yours. Don’t let anybody “should” all over you!
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We can make flexibility a part of our lives and our financial planning. Our day-to-day is forever changing, and so it’s important to take some time to re-evaluate and make sure we are on track to get where we want to be. If our lives require a different plan, we make one! No one can white-knuckle their way to their dreams.
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“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:
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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Play the audio version of this post below:
Who are we to get in the way of your peace and calm? Your choices are yours. Don’t let anybody “should” all over you!
Want content like this in your inbox each week? Leave your email here.
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