Last week I had the good fortune to be invited to an event at the Burridge Center for Finance at the Leeds School of Business on the subject of sustainable investing. Presenters included Professors Asaf Bernstein & Simona Abis, and Angela Bricmont the Chief of Finance for Denver Water, which provides service to 1 in 4 people in Colorado. They all …
False Courage
Whenever the market takes a tumble, I get a vision of a video I want to send out to clients that I have neither the acting chops nor the production budget to make a reality. I envision a bored-looking man sitting in what looks like a World War 1 trench. There’s dirt being kicked up, distant booming and whatnot. People …
The First Longitudinal Study of Financial Planning
Financial planning has a curious chicken and egg problem. You see, most of the major studies about financial health in the United States are cross-sectional. Studies such as the Survey of Consumer Finances or the National Financial Capability Study are often used to assess everything from financial literacy to the impact of parental education on their children’s financial wellbeing. But …
Capacity Crossroads
The term “Capacity Crossroads” was coined by writer Michael Kitces, a well-known thought leader in the field of financial planning. It was designed to evoke the idea of the “two paths ahead” decision as writers such as Robert Frost have given attention to over the years, and addresses a decision a financial planning firm owner must make: To stop taking …
Welcoming Olivia Lieb
This week we’re delighted to announce our new team member, Olivia Lieb, who joined our team at the start of the month. Olivia joined our team at MY Wealth Planners, bringing on board her passion, creativity, and warmth for guiding and supporting the people and local businesses in our Longmont community. She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality Management in …
Granted – What’s Financial Planning Worth Anyway?
Not a day of the week ending in Y goes by without someone standing up on a soapbox somewhere and decrying the financial planning profession. We’re little more to be trusted than used car salesmen, we can’t generate investment alpha, and the fees will eat your returns! Or so the soapbox man says. One rather famous financial influencer has even …
The Passing of a Good Man
It was announced earlier today that Patrick Mahoney, the CEO of the Financial Planning Association passed away. I had a good relationship with Patrick, who took the helm of the FPA during a time of controversy in the FPA when a recent initiative had given pause to the chapters of the association as to whether the national FPA organization controlled …
The Death of the SIMPLE IRA
You may not be aware, but one of America’s retirement plans has died. Okay, not died (does a statute ever really die?) but it is on life support, a vegetable, or otherwise is essentially on its way out; if not quickly, quietly. The SIMPLE IRA is a form of small business retirement plan you may or may not be familiar …
Recruiting an Employee in a Financial Planning Firm
As you might have seen, over the past few weeks, we’ve been in the recruiting process to add a wealth planner assistant to our team. This hybrid role includes reception, office management, and data entry. Essentially, someone who can help run the office and support the team while we focus on client-facing and service work. Two years ago, we hired …
Social Security Fairness Act
Last week, congress passed and the president signed the “Social Security Fairness Act,” which was aimed at filling a gap between those who had paid into Social Security during their working years but were then disqualified from receiving Social Security benefits because they spent the majority of their career paying into Social Security alternative programs such as PERA or other …