Year: 2021
Like what you see here?
Become a Content-Sharing Library member today for $325 USD/year, and it's all yours to use as you please (subject to these Terms and Conditions). Plus, we'll add at least 2 dozen new pieces annually (approx. 2 each month). Download a few Free Samples first, or Become a Member today. Questions? Let's talk.
Evidence-Based Investing in Brief
Created: December 16, 2021
Categories: Article, Evidence-Based Investing, General Audience, Report
Description: "What is evidence-based investing?" This 3-page piece provides a relatively brief, yet substantive response to this essential FAQ. It starts with a two-sentence working definition, and then covers evidence-based investing's roots, reasoning and practical application.
Six Financial Best Practices for Year-End 2021
Created: November 7, 2021
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Estate Planning, Evidence-Based Investing, Family Wealth, General Audience, Listicle, Philanthropy/Giving, Retirement Planning, Tax Planning
Description: Share this piece with clients and prospects to offer six financial best practices for year-end 2021. This year's tips cover investment discipline, budgeting, tax-planning, charitable giving, and estate planning considerations in the context of 2021 events. It also optionally references the newly released "Tax Planning in Turbulent Times" report for additional insights.
Tax Planning in Turbulent Times
Created: November 7, 2021
Categories: Estate Planning, Evidence-Based Investing, Family Wealth, Financial Planning, General Audience, Report, Retirement Planning, Tax Planning, Tax Planning Tools & Techniques
Description: This report combines our earlier 3-part tax planning series into a single, 6-page piece. It pairs well with, and is optionally referenced in the separate piece, "Six Financial Best Practices for Year-End 2021."
A Meaningful Message for Thanksgiving/Holidays (2021)
Created: October 26, 2021
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Client Experience, Client-Focused, General Letter/E-Mail, Holiday Greetings
Description: Use this short message to be in touch with your clients for the U.S. Thanksgiving or the general 2021 holiday season. The message shares gratitude and reflects on enjoying the meaning already within one another's lives.
Quarterly Client Letter – 2021 Q3
Created: October 4, 2021
Categories: Breaking News, Client-Focused, Family Wealth, Politics, Quarterly Client Letter
Description: This Q3 2021 quarterly client letter puts recent market highs and lows in the context of more enduring news and views.
Investment Costs, Part 2: Custodian/Brokerage Costs
Created: September 27, 2021
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Client Experience, Expenses, General Audience, Investment Costs, Prospect-Focused, Report
Description: Part 2 of a 2-part series covering investment costs. Part 1 focuses on fund management fees. Part 2 looks at custodian/brokerage (trading) costs, as well as how a fiduciary, fee-only advisor can help families identify and reduce excessive costs.
Investment Costs, Part 1: Fund Management Fees
Created: September 27, 2021
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Client Experience, Expenses, General Audience, Investment Costs, Prospect-Focused, Report
Description: Part 1 of a 2-part series covering investment costs. Part 1 focuses on fund management fees. Part 2 looks at custodian/brokerage (trading) costs, as well as how a fiduciary, fee-only advisor can help families identify and reduce excessive costs.
Tax Planning Part 3: Tax-Wise Financial Planning
Created: August 31, 2021
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Estate Planning, Evidence-Based Investing, Family Wealth, General Audience, Philanthropy/Giving, Retirement Planning, Tax Planning, Tax Planning Tools & Techniques, Wealth Management
Description: Part 3 of a 3-part series on tax-planning. Part 1 defined "the tools of the tax-planning trade," i.e., tax breaks for saving toward life goals such as retirement, healthcare, education, emergency spending, charitable giving, and wealth transfer. Part 2 explored reducing families' lifetime tax bills through tax-wise investment techniques. Part 3 explores integrating all of the above into broad financial planning.
Tax Planning Part 2: Tax-Wise Investment Techniques
Created: August 12, 2021
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Estate Planning, Evidence-Based Investing, Family Wealth, General Audience, Philanthropy/Giving, Retirement Planning, Tax Planning, Tax Planning Tools & Techniques
Description: Part 2 of a 3-part series on tax-planning. Part 1 defined "the tools of the tax-planning trade," i.e., tax breaks for saving toward life goals such as retirement, healthcare, education, emergency spending, charitable giving, and wealth transfer. Part 2 explores reducing families' lifetime tax bills through tax-wise investment techniques. Part 3 will explore integrating all of the above into broad financial planning techniques.
Tax Planning Part 1: Tools of the Trade
Created: July 27, 2021
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Estate Planning, Family Wealth, Financial Planning, General Audience, Philanthropy/Giving, Retirement Planning, Tax Planning, Tax Planning Tools & Techniques
Description: Part 1 of a 3-part series on tax-planning. Part 1 defines "the tools of the tax-planning trade," i.e., tax breaks for saving toward life goals such as retirement, healthcare, education, emergency spending, charitable giving, and wealth transfer. Part 2 explores reducing families' lifetime tax bills through tax-wise investment techniques. Part 3 will explore integrating all of the above into broad financial planning techniques.
Quarterly Client Letter – 2021 Q2
Created: July 1, 2021
Categories: Breaking News, Client-Focused, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Evidence-Based Investing, Quarterly Client Letter
Description: This 491-word Q2 2021 quarterly client letter compares recent speculative ventures like FINRA-fined Robinhood’s IPO filing, with the 50th anniversary of index investing.
Inflation Part 2: What We Can Do About It
Created: June 24, 2021
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Breaking News, Economics, General Audience, Inflation, Scary Market Insights
Description: Part 2 of a 2-part series on inflation. Part 1 defined inflation, put current events in greater context, and described the difference between "good" and "bad" inflation. This Part 2 explores why forecasts for inflation remain as fuzzy as ever, and how investors can best prepare for whatever may happen next.
Inflation Part 1: What We Know
Created: June 15, 2021
Categories: Article, Breaking News, Economics, General Audience, Inflation, Scary Market Insights
Description: Part 1 of a 2-part series on inflation. Part 1 defines inflation, puts current events in greater context, and describes the difference between "good" and "bad" inflation. Part 2 explores why forecasts for inflation remain as fuzzy as ever, and how investors can best prepare for whatever may happen next.
Three Advisor Firm Fact Sheet Cover Letter Templates
Created: May 26, 2021
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Alliances, Client-Focused, General Letter/E-Mail, Prospect-Focused
Description: These three cover letter templates complement our Advisor Firm Fact Sheet (found at https://www.wendyjcook.com/advisor-firm-fact-sheet/), and are available at no added cost to any advisor who purchases this product. Use them to share your custom-branded fact sheet with prospects, clients, and centers of influence (such as attorneys or CPAs). Content-Sharing Library members also can download and adopt these cover letters for use with any firm brochure or fact sheet they’ve created.
Protecting What’s Yours (After You Pass) Part 2
Created: May 17, 2021
Categories: Article, Estate Planning, Family Wealth, Financial Planning, General Audience, Philanthropy/Giving, Protecting What's Yours, Tax Planning, Wealth Management
Description: Share this two-part piece on estate planning basics with clients and prospects. Part 1 is 464 words, and reminds readers how important it is to have a basic will or trust. This part 2, at 1,413 words, offers step-by-step guidance on creating and maintaining an effective estate plan. Both pieces pair well with a 2019 Library piece, "Protecting What's Yours (While You're Alive)."
Protecting What’s Yours (After You Pass) Part 1
Created: April 29, 2021
Categories: Article, Estate Planning, Family Wealth, Financial Planning, General Audience, Philanthropy/Giving, Protecting What's Yours, Tax Planning, Wealth Management
Description: Share this two-part piece on estate planning basics with clients and prospects. Part 1 is 464 words, and reminds readers how important it is to have a basic will or trust. Part 2 (coming soon) will offer step-by-step guidance on creating and maintaining an effective estate plan. Both pieces pair well with a 2019 Library piece, "Protecting What's Yours (While You're Alive)."
Quarterly Client Letter – 2021 Q1
Created: April 1, 2021
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Client Experience, Client-Focused, Evidence-Based Investing, Quarterly Client Letter
Description: This 416-word Q1 2021 quarterly client letter reminds clients why it's just as important to ignore hot hands as cold fears in ever-changeable markets.
Understanding The 2021 Recovery Rebate Stimulus Payments
Created: March 12, 2021
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Breaking News, Client-Focused, Family Wealth, Tax Planning
Description: An 864-word overview summarizing how the newly passed American Recovery Act of 2021 Recovery Rebate Stimulus Payments work: Who will receive them, how much they can expect to receive (if anything), and the three ways they may qualify for full or partial payments based on their 2019, 2020, and/or 2021 AGI.
SPACS, NFTs, and Other Jungle Creatures
Created: March 11, 2021
Categories: Alternative Investments, Article, Evidence-Based Investing, General Audience, Report, Technology
Description: Use this 1,117-word report to describe some of the latest trading trends to clients and prospects, put the activity in the context of similar historical runs, and explain why long-term investors should avoid the excitement of short-term speculation.
Cryptocurrency: What’s It All About – Part 3
Created: February 21, 2021
Categories: Alternative Investments, Article, Cryptocurrency, Economics, Evidence-Based Investing, General Audience, Report, Technology
Description: Share this three-part series on cryptocurrency (and related blockchain technology) with clients or prospects to describe the terminology, the risks and benefits of using it, and why trading in it is currently closer to speculating than investing. Part 1 covered understanding cryptocurrency. Part 2 covered the risks and benefits of earning/spending cryptocurrency. This part 3 explores trading in it. Share as a series of articles or videos, or combine all three into a single report.
Cryptocurrency: What’s It All About – Part 2
Created: February 9, 2021
Categories: Alternative Investments, Article, Cryptocurrency, Economics, Evidence-Based Investing, General Audience, Report, Technology
Description: Share this three-part series on cryptocurrency (and related blockchain technology) with clients or prospects to describe the terminology, the risks and benefits of using it, and why trading in it is currently closer to speculating than investing. Part 1 covered understanding cryptocurrency. This part 2 covers the risks and benefits of earning/spending cryptocurrency. Part 3 will explore trading in it. Share as a series of articles or videos, or combine all three into a single report.
GameStop Client Reach-Out
Created: February 1, 2021
Categories: Article, Breaking News, Evidence-Based Investing, General Audience, General Letter/E-Mail
Description: Share this 855-word piece with clients and prospects to offer a synopsis (to date) of the unfolding marketing volatility generated by GameStop and similar short-sold stocks, and to remind them of the essential differences between long-term investing versus short-term trading.
Cryptocurrency: What’s It All About – Part 1
Created: January 27, 2021
Categories: Alternative Investments, Article, Cryptocurrency, Economics, Evidence-Based Investing, General Audience, Report, Technology
Description: Share this three-part series on cryptocurrency (and related blockchain technology) with clients or prospects to describe the terminology, the risks and benefits of using it, and why trading in it is currently closer to speculating than investing. This part 1 covers understanding cryptocurrency. Forthcoming parts cover the risks and benefits of earning/spending cryptocurrency (part 2), and trading in it (part 3). Share as a series of articles or videos, or combine all three into a single report.
Quarterly Client Letter – 2020 Q4
Created: January 4, 2021
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Breaking News, Client-Focused, Evidence-Based Investing, Financial Planning, Politics, Quarterly Client Letter, Tax Planning
Description: This 487-word Q4 2020 quarterly client letter reviews the wild ride 2020 delivered and why it’s important to stay the course through both bear and bull markets. It lists the ways you’ll be helping them do that, in the context of current financial and political news.