Keep Three Buckets in Your Retirement Boat
Category: Investing
One way to improve your investment experience is to walk through our lifeboat drill. Brad Rempe shares three 'buckets' to include.
Keep Your Eyes on the Horizon and Wings Level
Category: Investing » Alternative Investments
We often get asked by clients about different ideas they heard from a friend, a new exclusive deal they got invited into, or, most frequently, a specific company or stock that a friend gave them the scoop on. The reality is that a lot of the “great ideas and deals” never amount to any real return, and many end up going to zero.
Making the Most of a Bear Market
Category: Investing
If you’re a young professional, negative market returns can carry less weight than you might think. Let’s use 2022 as an example.
Market Madness
There is just something about the NCAA Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Tournament. There is tremendous excitement in many families and workplaces as tournament brackets are filled in with predictions about the outcomes of 67 games over a three-week period.
Markets Move. So Should You.
Category: Investing
The primary reason for portfolio rebalancing is to maintain the risk profile of the policy portfolio that the client has chosen. However, periodic rebalancing has the added benefit of ?buying low? and ?selling high?.
Media Drama: Facts or Fiction?
Category: Investing
The dramatic nature and slant that the media add to their stories to get us interested in reading the page. Do a quick self-check to see through the production and into the facts.
Minor Decisions, Major Effect
Category: Investing
Mutual Funds and ETFs: What’s the Difference?
Category: Investing
There are structural differences between an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) and a mutual fund that can create advantages to using one over the other.
The Challenge of Entering a Bull Market
Category: Investing
A Q&A with Senior Lead Advisor, Phil Kruzan.
The Future is Uncertain. Better to Prepare than Predict.
Category: Investing
Because I work for Foster Group, a firm dedicated to truly caring for the financial lives of those we serve, a lot of the conversations we have with regard to this uncertainty relate to money
The Influence of Trust
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
A good relationship with our clients comes down to a handful of things. One of those things is whether a client trusts that we know more than they do about the type of investing we do at Foster Group.
The Once a Year Approach to Looking at Investments
Last year was a very up and down year in the market. That’s not abnormal. In fact, it’s what happens most years. December 12 was the only time last year that I looked at the numbers. In not looking at the numbers throughout the year, I not only minimized worry, but also created the opportunity for a happy surprise.
The Seesaw of Finance
Category: Investing
There are parallels between concepts in finance and concepts in physics. Let's take a look.
Things to Ponder This Holiday Season
Category: Foster Group
At Foster Group, the most important thing we do is help our clients have peace of mind. The planning, investing and conversations that lead to peace of mind vary from client to client. The benefits, however, are similar.
Thinking About Stock Market Volatility
Category: Investing
What caused the stock market to rise by over 20% in the second quarter of 2020 even as the COVID pandemic was out of control? How about the over 11% rise in the fourth quarter of 2021 as inflation ticked up and the Fed was warning of rate increases? It seems a little more obvious why the US stock market has fallen in the first 6 months of 2022, but should it have fallen more…or less?
Three Categories of Risk for Retirement Income
Risks can often feel much different to retirees. The overarching risk for retirees is that something takes place that results in a permanently lower standard of living. Retirement researcher, Wade Pfau, has identified three major categories of risk for one’s income in retirement.
Time to Revisit Your Cash Reserve Fund
Category: Investing
Nearly four out of ten Americans lack enough money to cover an unexpected $400 expense? The statistics on this have remained consistent over the years. One of the first steps in building a strong financial foundation is creating an emergency fund. The idea is to prepare for the unexpected expenses of life.
Timing Isn’t Everything
Category: Investing
Attempting to buy individual stocks or make tactical asset allocation changes at exactly the “right” time presents investors with substantial challenges.
Trouble With Mean Reversion
Category: Investing
Two Dimensional Mutual Funds Will Be Converted to Exchange Traded Funds on September 10th
Category: Investing
Two Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) mutual funds that are held in after-tax accounts managed by Foster Group at Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade will be converted by DFA to Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) on Friday, September 10th.