Are You Really Ready to Exit Your Business?
It’s one thing to turn in the office keys and ride off into the sunset as a former W-2 employee, but what about those who started and built businesses?
Asking the Right Question
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
As a paramedic, my dad built a career out of caring for people, and in virtually every instance, did so by starting with one simple question: "What hurts?" For over 30 years now at Foster Group, we've been asking the same question.
Avoiding Probate Just Got a Little EasieràFor Certain Estates
Category: Financial Planning » Estate & Transfer Planning
Currently in Iowa, if a decedent owns personal property that totals $25,000 or less and that property would normally pass under a Will or the intestate statute, you can skip probate with just an affidavit.
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.
Balance Sheet Liquidity: What Is It? How Do I Approach It?
Category: Financial Planning » Cashflow
I am extremely fortunate to work with many different types of clients. Some of my favorite clients are the owners of privately owned businesses. There are always opportunities to have conversations that go well beyond managing investments.
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.
Baseball and Investing: Managing Behavior for Success
Money is emotional and our “news” cycle is a catalyst. Investors react to what they hear and how they feel, oftentimes to their own detriment.
Blind Spots
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
Brock Purdy and the Importance of Inconsequential Decisions
Category: Financial Planning
One seemingly small decision that no one thought would matter made a significant difference for the Bay Area team and its fans...
Building a Framework for Family and Charitable Gifts
Recently, a colleague and I sat down with a married couple who is on the cusp of making significant wealth transfer and philanthropic decisions that will impact their family for generations to come. Naturally, their first question was, “Where do we start?”
Business Owners, Beware of the “Missing Middle”
For many family businesses, the lack of clear succession plans is the most significant challenge.
Can You Ever Have Enough?
Category: Financial Planning » Retirement Planning
There is always more stuff to do or buy. There are always more “what if’s” for which to account. It’s a rare creature who has found contentment in what they already have, a person who no longer searches for the next thing or feels empty because of what they do not have.
Can Your Lifeboat Stay Afloat
Category: Investing » Asset Allocation
Cars, Planes, and Market Crashes
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
Since becoming a pilot about 6 years ago, I’m often asked about plane crashes. If you are an investor, the odds of enduring a market crash are almost 100%. Just as I have to do when flying, at Foster Group, we plan ahead for a market correction by using sound planning and investing.
Celebrating 50 Years of Equal Credit Opportunities for Women
Category: Foster Group
As a woman in finance, I often like to think about how far we, as women, have come. A lot has changed for women in finance in the last 50 years, and I hope to see even more changes in the next 50!
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.
CFP or ChFC, What’s the Difference?
Category: Foster Group
Knowing the educational scope of a specific designation will help you feel comfortable that the financial advisor you are working with has the knowledge and experience to help you pursue your goals.
Changing with My Aging
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?