Blog

THE DISTILLERY

Moot Maturity?

It’s said that the future of our profession will be right brained. Soft skills like communication, coaching, and empathy will, theoretically, become more valuable in the age to come, as our once revered analytical skills are replaced by a computer; something rather easy to accomplish due to the formulaic nature of math and analysis.

Perhaps Read More >

The Bond Argument

Last week’s bond refresher was a preamble to the bond argument we’re having today. Months ago, a client asked this pertinent question: why don’t The Advocates use individual bonds for defensive positions in our allocations? Why insist on using ETFs?  It’s Read More >

Bond Basics for the Right-Brained

When I was in banking, I only knew bonds as EE Bonds that could be redeemed at my teller counter, often requiring a managerial assist to complete the redemption. That’s me; I was the manager. And my bond experience was limited to overriding teller transactions.

Bonds are deceptively simple. You buy them for a specific dollar amount, Read More >

Apocalypse Someday!

If ambulance-chasers are the bottom feeders of the law industry, then big doom forecasters are their counterparts in ours. If you have good education and experience with markets and investments, you might spot them easily and avoid them. If not, they can be convincing enough to spur investors to action.

The common bond between these two Read More >

Model Behavior

Our five model allocations utilize increasing percentages of growth securities as you move from model one to model five. They’re designed to incrementally increase aggressiveness in order to suit a variety of client needs. At onboarding, or in the wake of a life event, we’ll help you select the most appropriate model for your family.

Finding Read More >

Breaking Concentration

A classic analogy for the relationship between hazard and risk is that of a person swimming in shark infested waters. The hazard is the shark with its razor teeth and underwater prowess.

The person willing to get into the water exposes themselves to the shark, creating the risk of being killed or injured in an attack, Read More >

We’re the Victorians of the Future

Once, while working from my home, I realized I hadn’t gotten up in a long while. I got up, stretched, and made my way to the kitchen for a refill of my water jug. I noticed the light in hall bath was left on. Shaking my head, I opened the door to flip the switch and a wall of bubbles smacked me in the face.

I stood in disbelief as the Read More >

Planning for the (Potential) Impact

I remember this silly episode of The Simpsons I saw a long time ago. A hurricane comes and blows down the neighbor’s house. Because he was very religious, he didn’t carry insurance. He saw it as a form of gambling and therefore, sinful.  He then goes insane, checks into an asylum, and recovers all in the span of 20 cartoon minutes.

I’ve Read More >

What’s Reasonable Anyway?

One of our clients has a tag line in their email signature that’s been there for years. It reads something like “Safety Third, google it”. I extend my apologies to this person as I confess that, until a few weeks ago, I failed to google it.

Our newest advisor, Chuck, asked about it and thus reminded me to look into it. I’m glad Read More >

Spare Them What You Can

Legacy planning is a euphemism used to put a friendlier face on the reality of planning for your own death. In 12 years, I’ve only met a handful of clients who were truly resistant to this part of the financial planning process, but I’ve never met a client who liked it.

It’s depressing. No one wants to face an existential crisis Read More >