You Bring Your Vision; We’ll Draw the Map
At Foster Group, we work to capture the visions of our clients and their families, and then we create a roadmap to help them pursue those visions
Five Things to Consider Before Referring Your Client to a Financial Advisor
Category: Foster Group
How do you ensure that you are making a good recommendation for your client, especially when you are putting your reputation on the line?
The Invisible Tax
Category: Financial Planning
One of the things married couples often do not consider in their planning is what I like to call the “Invisible Tax.”
Important Updates on IRA Tax Reporting
Category: Financial Planning » Charitable Giving
It is the taxpayer’s responsibility to keep records of distributions made to charity and contributions to their IRA and account for those on their tax return.
Don’t Leave Your Last Round to Chance
I certainly would argue that building a business is more than just a dice game, but both involve risk. How you fill out your scoresheet in Yahtzee is a good example of what business owners might decide to do with their business profits.
True Wealth Often Appears in the Most Unexpected Places
Category: Foster Group
What is true wealth? That’s a question we ask our clients at Foster Group. It’s a question we ask ourselves. I’d like to share a story that reminded me of what this means to me.
Water Cooler Advice May Be All Watered Down
While executive benefits such as stock options, other equity compensation, and deferred compensation can be powerful accumulation tools, knowing how they fit into your overall financial picture can be challenging.
Barbell Portfolios Can Be Hard To Hold On To
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.
Spending That Can Wreck Retirement
Category: Financial Planning » Cashflow
In more than a decade of working with clients, I’ve discovered that one thing tends to do more damage to financial plans than any other.
Chart of the Month – Feb 2023
Category: Investing » Diversification
Recently, a client asked me about sectors. What are they? And how do they fit into a portfolio?
Bad News
Is the title to this blog supposed to be clickbait? Of course it is. That is the point of this blog. Bad news sells.
Chart of the Month – Mar 2023
Category: Investing » Diversification
Is there conclusive evidence that one sector is better than another when it comes to returns?
Chart of the Month – Aug 2023
Increasing interest rates have many effects, not only on the economy, but also on stocks. Given the recent rally, we wanted to highlight that rising rates do not always mean that stocks will go down. While the stock market is not making new all-time highs just yet, the market has been resilient to a regime thought to be a drag on the markets.
Chart of the Month – Mar 2022
Are you feeling the pain at the pump? What is driving oil prices higher?
Chart of the Month – Oct 2022
Category: Investing » Equity / Stocks
As an investor, perspective is important. At the end of the day, a diversified, low cost, properly allocated portfolio based on your financial plan is what matters.
Chart of the Month – December 2023
Category: Investing » Diversification
This year, we have seen a runup in several large names, mostly in the technology space. They have been dubbed the “Magnificent Seven” by financial news publications. Why might this matter to an investor?
Celebrating Saying Goodbye Day
In our family, we have a tradition in which, the night before our kids’ birthdays, we pause for a moment to recap the last year by reminiscing about their successes and failures. It dawned on me that these are the same feelings investors experience and learn from on their financial journeys.
The Gift of Fandom—and Financial Wisdom
What do investing and being a loyal sports fan have in common? More than you might think. Read on to discover how the ups and downs of fandom can mirror the journey of long-term investing—and why both are worth the ride.
5 Ways to Make Your Investment Portfolio More Tax-Efficient
Category: Investing
Just like you pay taxes on the income you earn at your job; you also must pay taxes on the income or gains earned on your non-retirement investments.