Foster Group - Financial Planning Insights

Barbell Portfolios Can Be Hard To Hold On To

Category: Investing

By Marcus Iwig

11/03/2021

Barbells work great at the gym because they put weight on a bar in such a way that it’s balanced, leaving room in the middle for someone to use it to workout. We often see portfolios that are designed like a barbell at the gym: lots of risk in one account and lots of cash or very short-term securities in another. In aggregate, it might produce some balance, but the reality is that it can create some real challenges.

Cloudy Markets Still Have a Silver (Tax) Lining

Category: Investing » Diversification

By Marcus Iwig

04/24/2020

During negative market cycles, there are some planning and investment strategies that might strengthen your financial plans. One such opportunity is tax-loss harvesting

Why Index Funds Don’t Work for Some People

Category: Investing

By Marcus Iwig

03/24/2022

Index funds are popular investment tools for good reason. They are low cost, effective ways to capture market return. Choosing to use index funds is only half the battle though; you must use them correctly to truly benefit.

Navigating the Noise: A Reality Check on Fearful Headlines

Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles » Accept Uncertainty

By Marcus Iwig

03/05/2024

Sometimes headlines are right, but remember they are created to get your attention, not necessarily to provide you with helpful information.

Home Sweet Home, or an Investment?

Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance

By Brittany Heard

11/24/2020

Homes are commonly thought of as investments. It’s easy to see why. For most of us, it’s the single biggest thing on our balance sheets for years.

Tailoring Your Financial Plan to Match Your Goals

Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles » Align Purposes and Portfolio

By Brittany Heard

04/02/2024

If you are a client of Foster Group and have met with your advisor recently, you may have discussed what’s important to you, what we are planning for as it relates to your goals, and what you hope to achieve.

Positives About the Market

Category: Investing

By Daniel Hawthorne

01/19/2023

2022 was a historically painful year as an investor with stock markets experiencing a bear market, and bond markets having one of their worst years ever. However, as we enter 2023, I’d like to consider the positives.

Three Categories of Risk for Retirement Income

Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles » Accept Uncertainty

By Daniel Hawthorne

09/30/2022

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.

Can Your Lifeboat Stay Afloat

Category: Investing

By Foster Group

02/17/2017

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Have You Come to Terms with the Reality of Your Retirement?

Category: Investing

By Jason Brown

11/21/2023

People come to terms with the fact they will one day retire. Maybe not in the next year or two but sometime in the next five. Often, it’s a reality they’ve been denying.

The Once a Year Approach to Looking at Investments

Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles » Align Purposes and Portfolio

By Jason Brown

02/13/2024

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.

YOLO, Meme, and EMH: What’s Your Investment Style?

Category: Investing

By Guest Blogger

03/16/2021

Guest Blogger, Marlena Lee, PhD. While it’s not the intended victim of the YOLO traders, will the efficient market hypothesis be a casualty of these events? The answer depends a lot on your definition of efficient markets.

Equilibrium Markets in the Time of COVID

Category: Investing

By Guest Blogger

09/09/2021

Over the years, Foster Group has utilized a number of mutual funds and exchange traded funds managed by Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA). DFA was founded in 1981 on the idea of making academic investment research and empirically based portfolio management accessible to investors. In this article, Professor Kenneth French describes how markets responded to the events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

10 Obstacles to Investing – and How to Overcome Them

Category: Investing

By Guest Blogger

11/29/2021

In the following article David draws on his years of experience talking with investors and academics alike to address some common hesitations all investors face from time to time.

Changing with My Aging

Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles » Align Purposes and Portfolio

By Alex Battani

08/23/2019

At age 30, I have time to recover from an extended market correction. But, what about when I approach retirement? How might my plan and asset allocation need to change?

What Do I Focus on NOW?

Category: Investing

By Joe Bantz

03/13/2017

Mutual Fund Survivor- the next great TV show

Category: Financial Planning » Taxes » 1040

By Joe Bantz

08/11/2017

It’s Worth the Trip!

Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles » Align Purposes and Portfolio

By Joe Bantz

03/12/2021

We had completed our hike successfully, and the challenges made it more memorable and satisfying. The same is true for all of us as investors.

An Investment Portfolio Is Like a Good Smoothie

Category: Investing

By Joe Bantz

10/04/2021

Recently, I rediscovered the benefits of homemade smoothies for breakfast. They are nutritious, natural, easy to make, efficient, and delicious! This morning, I was thinking about how a good investment portfolio is like a good smoothie!

Market Madness

Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles » Align Purposes and Portfolio

By Joe Bantz

03/30/2022

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.

Having Faith When It’s Scary

Category: Investing

By Joe Bantz

08/11/2022

Market volatility can sometimes be downright scary. The other day, I read that the quarter ending June 30th was the 16th worst quarter in the history of the stock market. Even worse, the first quarter was bad too, making it one of the very worst six-month periods in nearly a century. How does an investor respond?

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