Year: 2022
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When Should You Take Your Social Security?  
Created: December 9, 2022
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Family Wealth, Financial Planning, General Audience, Listicle, Retirement Planning
Description: This 3-page piece summarizes some of the most common factors that may influence whether to start taking Social Security sooner or later, and emphasizes planning based on manageable factors, rather than hopes or fears that are beyond our control.
Six Financial Best Practices for Year-End 2022  
Created: November 11, 2022
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Economics, Estate Planning, Family Wealth, Financial Planning, Fixed Income, General Audience, Listicle, Philanthropy/Giving, Retirement Planning, Risk Management, Tax Planning, Wealth Management
Description: Share this piece with clients and prospects to offer six financial best practices for year-end 2022. This year's tips cover cash flow management, tax planning, healthcare coverage, and general financial planning in the context of 2022 events, including higher interest rates, inflation, and market volatility.
A Meaningful Message for Thanksgiving/Holidays (2022)  
Created: November 2, 2022
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Client Experience, Client-Focused, General Letter/E-Mail, Holiday Greetings, Philanthropy/Giving
Description: Use this short message to be in touch with your clients for the U.S. Thanksgiving or the general 2022 holiday season. The message shares gratitude and reflects on spreading gratitude on to others.
Back to the Investment Basics: White Paper  
Created: October 14, 2022
Categories: Back to the Basics, Evidence-Based Investing, Financial Planning, General Audience, Scary Market Insights, White Paper
Description: This nine-page white paper combines our recently published, multipart Investment Basics series into a complete piece covering five investment essentials: how important it is to save (so you have money to invest); how to invest efficiently in broad markets; why to avoid chasing or fleeing rising or falling prices, being patient, and investing according to your personal financial goals.
Back to the Investment Basics: Part 5 — Patience and Personal Persistence  
Created: October 12, 2022
Categories: Article, Back to the Basics, Behavioral Finance, Evidence-Based Investing, Financial Planning, General Audience, Scary Market Insights
Description: This part 5 is the last installment in our multipart Investment Basics series, and covers two more essentials: being patient and ensuring personal financial goals drive the decision-making. Earlier parts explored the history of investing; how important it is to save (so you have money to invest); how to invest efficiently in broad markets; and why to avoid chasing or fleeing rising or falling prices.
Quarterly Client Letter – 2022 Q3  
Created: October 3, 2022
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Client-Focused, Economics, Evidence-Based Investing, Fixed Income, Quarterly Client Letter, Scary Market Insights
Description: This quarterly client letter reflects on having entered bear market territory, and why it still makes sense to remain invested in a globally diversified portfolio that reflects each investor's personal financial goals. It references both current commentary as well as historical insights.
Back to the Investment Basics: Part 4 — The Price You Pay Matters  
Created: September 27, 2022
Categories: Article, Back to the Basics, Evidence-Based Investing, General Audience, Scary Market Insights
Description: This part 4 in our multipart Investment Basics series covers how stock prices are set. Earlier parts explored the history of investing; how important it is to save (so you have money to invest); and how to invest efficiently in broad markets. Next up (and to wrap), we'll cover investor resolve, and setting personal financial goals.
Back to the Investment Basics: Part 3 — Our Marvelous Markets  
Created: September 16, 2022
Categories: Article, Back to the Basics, Evidence-Based Investing, General Audience, Scary Market Insights
Description: Part 3 of a multipart series reminds investors to consider current market events in proper historical context (part 1), while depending on investment basics to move past today's challenges and future unknowns. In part 2, we covered the importance of saving. In this part 3, we cover market returns. In upcoming parts, we'll cover three more investment basics: market pricing, investor resolve, and personal financial goals.
Back to the Investment Basics: Part 2 — First Save, Then Invest  
Created: September 6, 2022
Categories: Article, Back to the Basics, Behavioral Finance, General Audience, Scary Market Insights
Description: Part 2 of a multipart series reminds investors to consider current market events in proper historical context (in part 1), while depending on investment basics to move past today's challenges and future unknowns. In this part 2, we covered the importance of saving. In upcoming parts, we'll cover four more investment basics: market returns, market pricing, investor resolve, and personal financial goals.
Back to the Investment Basics: Part 1 — Remembering Summers Past   Free Sample (Click on title to download)
Created: August 29, 2022
Categories: Article, Back to the Basics, Behavioral Finance, Breaking News, Economics, Evidence-Based Investing, Free Samples, General Audience, Politics
Description: Part 1 of a multipart series reminds investors to consider current market events in proper historical context, while depending on investment basics to move past today's challenges and future unknowns. In upcoming parts, we'll cover five investment basics: saving, market returns, market pricing, investor resolve, and personal financial goals.
Market-Timing Traps and Temptations  
Created: August 3, 2022
Categories: Article, Breaking News, Evidence-Based Investing, General Audience, Scary Market Insights
Description: This commentary points to the surprisingly strong July 2022 returns (after awful returns during the first half of the year) to remind investors why market-timing remains ill-advised. As always, markets don't set prices based on whether news is good or bad, but whether it's better or worse than expected.
Our Take On Direct Indexing (UPDATED)  
Created: July 30, 2022
Categories: Article, ESG Investing, Evidence-Based Investing, General Audience, Report, Tax Planning, UPDATED Content, White Paper
Description: UPDATED FROM DECEMBER 2021: With the elimination of trading costs and the ability to purchase partial shares, more providers have been offering direct indexing to smaller accounts for relatively modest fees. But just because investors can engage in direct indexing, should they? It depends on the circumstances. This three-part report defines direct indexing, reviews its downsides, and describes its potential useful applications.
Quarterly Client Letter – 2022 Q2  
Created: July 4, 2022
Categories: Client-Focused, Economics, Evidence-Based Investing, Fixed Income, Quarterly Client Letter, Scary Market Insights
Description: This quarterly client letter touches on a series of disorienting conditions in current markets, such as the fact that stocks and bonds are down simultaneously, and reinforces sticking with one's long-term, globally diversified portfolio, including a value tilt when appropriate.
Six Ways a Recession Resembles a Bad Mood  
Created: June 14, 2022
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Economics, Financial Planning, General Audience, Listicle, Report, Scary Market Insights
Description: This piece helps your clients and prospective clients put current market and recessionary concerns in perspective by describing six ways a recession resembles a bad mood. For example, they're both difficult to define, best seen in retrospect, and part of life. Besides describing what recessions are and how they work, a main message is that investors can't control the world around them, but they can control how they react to it. And you, as their advisor can assist with that.
How Do We Choose the Funds We Use? (DRIP SERIES)  
Created: May 26, 2022
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Evidence-Based Investing, General Audience, How Do We Choose Funds We Use, Scary Market Insights
Description: This five-part DRIP series can be sent via emails or blog posts to remind clients and other investors why your rigorous, multi-step investment selection process is important for looking past today’s unsettling news in pursuit of their greater financial goals. It also reinforces the value you add as their investment advisor. We've also released a separate REPORT version if you'd like to distribute the information as a single document.
How Do We Choose the Funds We Use? (REPORT)  
Created: May 17, 2022
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Evidence-Based Investing, General Audience, How Do We Choose Funds We Use, Report, Scary Market Insights, UPDATED Content
Description: UPDATED FROM November 2015: This 4-page REPORT reminds clients and other investors why your rigorous, multi-step investment selection process is important for looking past today’s unsettling news in pursuit of their greater financial goals. It also reinforces the value you add as their investment advisor. We've also released a separate DRIP SERIES if you'd like to distribute the information as a multipart email or blog post series.
Investing in I Bonds  
Created: May 4, 2022
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Client-Focused, Evidence-Based Investing, Tax Planning
Description: An overview of what I Bonds are, why currently high interest rates might make them an appealing place to store cash reserves and/or emergency funds, caveats to consider, and how you can help clients incorporate them into their greater investment portfolio.
Quarterly Client Letter – 2022 Q1   Free Sample (Click on title to download)
Created: April 4, 2022
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Breaking News, Client-Focused, Economics, Evidence-Based Investing, Fixed Income, Free Samples, Politics, Quarterly Client Letter
Description: This quarterly client letter explores the essentials of investment planning amidst current market volatility, aggravated by inflation, interest rates, and economic concerns. It optionally points to the recently completed three-part report on the same.
Interest Rates, Inflation & Investing: Report Version  
Created: April 4, 2022
Categories: Alternative Investments, Economics, Evidence-Based Investing, Fixed Income, General Audience, Interest, Inflation & Investing, Politics, Report, Retirement Planning
Description: A compiled, three-part report that combines our multi-part series covering current concerns about interest rates (part 1), inflation (part 2), and what these influences mean to investors (part 3).
Interest Rates, Inflation & Investing, Part 3  
Created: April 1, 2022
Categories: Alternative Investments, Article, Breaking News, Economics, Evidence-Based Investing, Fixed Income, General Audience, Interest, Inflation & Investing, Politics, Report, Retirement Planning
Description: Part 3 in a 3-part series covering current concerns about interest rates (part 1), inflation (part 2), and what these influences mean to investors (in this part 3).
Interest Rates, Inflation & Investing, Part 2  
Created: March 24, 2022
Categories: Article, Breaking News, Economics, General Audience, Interest, Inflation & Investing, Politics, Report
Description: Part 2 in a 3-part series covering current concerns about interest rates (part 1), inflation (in this part 2) and what these influences mean to investors (part 3).
Interest Rates, Inflation & Investing, Part 1  
Created: March 16, 2022
Categories: Article, Breaking News, Economics, Fixed Income, General Audience, Interest, Inflation & Investing, Politics, Report
Description: Part 1 in a 3-part series covering current concerns about interest rates (in this part 1), inflation (part 2) and what these influences mean to investors (part 3).
Ukraine  
Created: February 24, 2022
Categories: Breaking News, Client-Focused, Evidence-Based Investing, General Letter/E-Mail, Politics, Scary Market Insights
Description: A timely client reach-out with timeless reminders to guide investing during the current Russian/Ukraine crisis.
Healing What Hurts: The Essential Role of a Financial Therapist  
Created: February 16, 2022
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Behavioral Finance, Estate Planning, Family Wealth, Financial Planning, General Audience, Report, Wealth Management
Description: This 3-page report describes the value a financial therapist can add to someone’s wealth management team when their own or a family member’s mental health may be interfering with their financial well-being. Points include when and how financial therapy can help, and how to identify an appropriate fit (including how your firm can assist in the selection).
Fighter Planes and Market Turmoil  
Created: January 26, 2022
Categories: Behavioral Finance, Breaking News, Client-Focused, General Letter/E-Mail, Scary Market Insights
Description: Use this client reach-out to quell nervous reactions to current market volatility and encourage clients to stick with their existing investment plans.
Quarterly Client Letter – 2021 Q4  
Created: January 3, 2022
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Behavioral Finance, Client Experience, Client-Focused, Evidence-Based Investing, Quarterly Client Letter
Description: This quarterly client letter explores recent and future market returns in the context of investors' personal financial goals--considering the "parts" and the "whole."