Inflation. Is It Good or Bad and What Can You Do About It?
Inflation has been one of the buzzwords in the news media for the past couple of years. Let's explore if it is good or bad and what can you do about it.
2025 Key Financial Data Sheet
Category: Foster Group
Chart of the Month – January 2025
Market conditions are usually not a good reason to change your portfolio. Instead of trying to position your portfolio based on where you think interest rates and inflation will be, talk to your advisor about how your portfolio will support your overall plan.
What if Inflation Isn’t Quite Done? | Financial Perspectives
This month, Kent Kramer and Caleb Brown discuss insights on how inflation could impact your financial plan and portfolio. Learn how to prepare for inflation, plan for future spending, and invest wisely for your retirement.
What I Learned About Cash, Awareness, and Random Acts of Generosity
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
The key to it all is intentionality, which may seem odd when the subject is random generosity. But if you’re not intentional about carrying cash, being aware, and engaging people in need, you’re going to miss the opportunity to experience even more joy during the holiday season!
Are You Hungry?
Category: Financial Planning » Charitable Giving
Often times, we think about giving to those in need or supporting our favorite non-profit organization(s) at Thanksgiving and Christmas or, with end-of-year gifts. This is great, however, the need to feed is ongoing. So the question, “Are you hungry?” is more about “Are you interested in learning more about how you can become more generous than you already are today?”
The Power of Invitation
Category: Financial Planning » Charitable Giving
How can extending a powerful invitation create an opportunity for connection? Let's take a look!
The Intersection of Finance & Life Well-Being with Professor Meir Statman | Financial Perspectives
Category: Investing » Financial Science (Academia)
This week, join Kent Kramer for an insightful conversation with best-selling author, Professor Meir Statman, a leading expert in behavioral finance. Discover how financial security, optimism, and resilience contribute to overall life well-being. Professor Statman shares his inspiring personal journey and offers practical advice on balancing financial wealth with life’s other important aspects, such as family, health, and meaningful relationships.
2024 Year-End Financial Checklist
Category: Financial Planning
Since we are close to flipping the calendar to 2025, this is a great time to sit down and reflect on the past financial year and anticipate what might be ahead.
The Ruling on the Field is Under (Fiduciary) Review
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
Today, all sports have adopted official replay and the goal is to: Get the call right. Make the correct decision. Similar in use is the role of a fiduciary financial advisor. Having an objective resource to review one’s situation, incorporate goals, evaluate risks, and utilize precedence helps deliver peace of mind around financial decisions.
The Gift of You
Category: Foster Group
Time is a unique asset. We can’t save it for the future. We spend it with every minute that goes by. But as with other assets, we can be generous with our time. Here are four examples of people I know personally, who inspire me by their active generosity.
Avoid Being Surprised by Insurance Policy Changes
Category: Financial Planning
It’s that time of year — you know, the time when you receive a large envelope from your insurance company with your renewal documents. Do you look at the documents? Check out a few of the items we’re seeing in the marketplace today.
Selling Your Business: Tax Implications and Qualified Small Business Stock Opportunities
Category: Financial Planning » Education Planning
Selling a business involves numerous considerations, particularly the tax implications for key shareholders. There are potential tax advantages available to business owners and key employees that can help mitigate these costs. Let's take a look.
Two Ideas for Year-End Tax Savings | Financial Perspectives
Category: Financial Planning » Charitable Giving
In this special edition of Financial Perspectives, Kent Kramer is joined by Foster Group advisors Marcus Iwig and Caleb Brown as they share essential year-end tax planning tips. Discover how to make tax-efficient charitable donations from your IRA, maximize deductions by combining multiple years of giving, and convert pre-tax retirement accounts to Roth IRAs.
Chart of the Month – November 2024
When we examine the historical relationship between equities and cash, it becomes evident that while cash may offer safety and short-term stability, equities tend to outperform over time. For long-term investors, remember that your plan should influence the portfolio and that reacting to market conditions is not a wise reason to change your plan.
What’s Next?
Category: Foster Group
Recently, I came across a TedX talk that featured Dr. Riley Moynes. After retiring from the financial industry, he wrote a book called,” The Four Phases of Retirement”.* Because the talk was helpful for me, I wanted to share the four phases with you.
“My Portfolio is Doing Well / Poor Compared to What?”
Merriam Webster defines a benchmark as “something that serves as a standard by which others may be measured or judged”. For investors, the question to ask is what should be my standard, my benchmark, in determining the success or failure of my overall investment portfolio?
Webinar: Elections & Your Money
How will the election affect your financial life? In this webinar, learn how financial markets might react and how you might be tempted to respond.
How Deep Is Your Bullpen?
Category: Financial Planning » Charitable Giving
You can’t have a championship team without a deep bench at your disposal. Foster Group takes the same approach, while we have a dedicated advisory team for every client we also have advisors with various skill sets that we can pull out of the bullpen and into a meeting at the right time.
You Can Be Crazy, Just Don’t Be Stupid
Category: Foster Group
Are you restless with your current career? Here are some steps to help you plan for a “crazy” career change and set some smart guardrails.