Year: 2024
Presidential election reflection (UPDATED 11-2024)  
November 5, 2024
This client outreach offers four simple reminders on why it's as important as ever to disconnect your long-term investment activities from late-breaking political news. Updated on Nov. 5 for distribution post-election.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Breaking news, Client-focused, Evidence-based investing, General letter/email, Politics, Updated content
Financial readiness: Preparing yourself before disaster strikes  
October 28, 2024
The recent hurricanes are a reminder that disaster can strike when and where we least expect it. This piece acknowledges these storms and the toll natural disasters can take. It offers tried-and-true preventative measures that can help ensure clients are prepared for disaster financially.
Categories: Article, Client-focused, General audience
Quarterly client letter: 2024 Q3  
October 1, 2024
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates in September. With these cuts comes a lot of speculation about what they’ll mean for the economy and market, much of which is contradictory or downright wrong. This quarterly newsletter takes a look at some of the things investors might hear and suggests that the best way to respond is through focusing on a long-term investment plan.
Categories: Client-focused, Economics, Financial planning, General audience, Quarterly client letter
Client question: I’ve got a lump sum in cash, should I invest it right away?  
September 23, 2024
In this new series, we address common client questions, starting with how to invest a lump sum of cash. We examine the merits of investing all at once or little by little with dollar-cost averaging.
Categories: Article, Client-focused, Financial planning, General audience, Wealth management
Lump-sum investing and dollar-cost averaging: A 2-part series (UPDATED 09-2024)  
September 23, 2024
UPDATED FROM 2020: Part 1 describes why lump-sum investing is generally expected to deliver higher end returns. Part 2 covers why other issues may sometimes make dollar-cost averaging the preferred strategy anyway.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Behavioral finance, Evidence-based investing, General audience, Multipart series, Updated content
What we talk about when we talk about volatility: Magnitude vs percentage  
August 29, 2024
The news media often describes market volatility in ways that are attention-grabbing. Unfortunately, this can trigger fear and behaviors that don’t always work in investors’ favor. This article helps readers understand how the media presents volatility, preparing them to parse sensational headlines and avoid making decisions that could negatively impact their long-term goals.
Categories: Article, Client-focused, Economics, Financial planning, General audience
What does it take to take on risk?  
August 23, 2024
Figuring out a client’s risk tolerance is an important building block for any investment plan. This piece serves as a conversation starter to help clients understand their willingness to take on risk—including financial and behavioral factors—so they’re better positioned to meet their goals and manage their financial and emotional health.
Categories: Article, Client-focused, Financial planning, Risk management, Wealth management
A bad day in the market: What now?  
August 7, 2024
The market has taken a tumble this week. And while there may be a number of factors contributing to the most recent volatility, this client letter helps assure clients they don’t have to act on any of them. Instead, they can fall back on their long-term portfolio built to weather the short-term ups and downs in the market.
Categories: Breaking news, Client-focused, General letter/email
Compound returns quick take  
July 29, 2024
This piece serves as a quick primer on compounding returns and explores the levers investors may pull to make the most of this powerful tool, including saving early and putting more money to work inside tax-advantaged retirement accounts.
Categories: Article, Client-focused, Financial planning, General audience, Quick reference, Wealth management
Quarterly client letter: 2024 Q2  
July 1, 2024
As the market continues its rally and headlines and pundits fret about potential global uncertainty, this edition of the quarterly client letter examines the twin emotions of fear and FOMO (fear of missing out) and takes the opportunity to remind your readers of the lessons history has to teach us about long-term investing and a portfolio built to match their goals, timeline and risk tolerance.
Categories: Client-focused, Economics, Evidence-based investing, Quarterly client letter
Equity compensation: Big opportunities, but beware the risks  
June 27, 2024
Equity can be an important part of a new employee’s compensation package or a way for employers to show their appreciation for a job well done. While equity compensation can lead to a nice financial payout, it is not without risk. This article explores the basics of equity compensation, understanding potential downsides—including concentration risk—and how to solve for that risk.
Categories: Article, Client-focused, Evidence-based investing, Financial planning, General audience, Risk management
Young investor’s guide to building a financial future  
June 17, 2024
This piece combines into a single article our two-part series exploring the steps young clients may take as they begin investing for the first time. In it, we discuss the importance of avoiding high-interest credit card debt, embracing long-term investing and making the most of tax-advantaged retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs. We also cover the value of diversification, strategies to avoid speculative behaviors such as market timing and stock picking, and building a plan based on individual goals.
Categories: Article, Family wealth, Financial planning, General audience, Wealth management, Young investor's guide
Young investor’s guide to building a financial future—part 2: Investing for your goals  
June 17, 2024
Part 2 of a two-part series exploring the steps young clients may take as they begin investing for the first time. In the second and final article of this series, we cover the value of diversification, strategies to avoid speculative behaviors such as market timing and stock picking, and building a plan based on individual goals. The article is a follow-up to part 1, in which we discuss the importance of avoiding high-interest credit card debt, embracing long-term investing and making the most of tax-advantaged retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs.
Categories: Article, Family wealth, Financial planning, General audience, Wealth management, Young investor's guide
Young investor’s guide to building a financial future—part 1: Where do you start?  
May 30, 2024
Part 1 of a two-part series exploring the steps young clients may take as they begin investing for the first time. This first article discusses the importance of avoiding high-interest credit card debt, embracing long-term investing and making the most of tax-advantaged retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs. In part 2, we’ll cover the value of diversification, strategies to avoid speculative behaviors such as market timing and stock picking, and building a plan based on individual goals.
Categories: Article, Family wealth, Financial planning, General audience, Wealth management, Young investor's guide
Making best use of your behavioral biases  
May 2, 2024
Many pieces about behavioral biases explore ways in which they harm investors. This piece looks at ways to harness some of them to improve on investors' financial well-being. This piece also references, and pairs well with the recently updated report and series, the "ABCs of Behavioral Biases."
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Behavioral finance, General audience, Retirement planning
The ABCs of behavioral biases (UPDATED 04-2024)  
April 22, 2024
UPDATED FROM SEPT. 2019: This collection of materials includes: (1) a 6,000-word white paper, (2) the same materials broken into a seven-part drip series and (3) a PowerPoint presentation on "The ABCs of Behavioral Biases." From anchoring to FOMO, from hindsight to tracking-error regret, this series covers the most common financial behavioral biases that lead investors astray.
Categories: ABCs of behavioral biases, Advisor role/value, Article, Behavioral finance, Evidence-based investing, General audience, PowerPoint presentation, Updated content, White paper
Quarterly client letter (2024 Q1)  
April 1, 2024
Reflections on strong Q1 markets and the importance of avoiding stock picking and market timing in hot and cold markets; also includes an homage to the late Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman.
Categories: Behavioral finance, Client-focused, Evidence-based investing, Quarterly client letter
Financial quick takes: Financial goals—your tickets to ride  
March 27, 2024
This "quick take" piece reviews why it's important for investors to have well-crafted personal financial goals driving their overall investment strategies and selections, and how to establish and maintain relevant goals over time.
Categories: Article, Evidence-based investing, Financial planning, General audience, Quick reference
Protecting women’s wealth  
March 16, 2024
This article describes some of the hurdles women face in protecting their wealth, including longevity and earning challenges, as well as ways to build greater financial stability through targeted financial planning.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Client experience, Estate planning, Family wealth, Financial planning, General audience, Prospect-focused, Wealth management
Bringing order to your investment universe: A 3-part series  
February 20, 2024
This three-part series walks readers through how to transition from a chaotic collection of assets and accounts into a well-structured investment portfolio. Each part explores the separate planning pieces involved in minimizing the taxable impact of a desired transition while successfully moving toward a more orderly investment portfolio, and it encourages investors to hire an experienced financial planner to assist them. This series is also available in white paper format for use as a separate prospecting resource.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Bringing order to investing, Client experience, Evidence-based investing, Expenses, Family wealth, General audience, Tax planning
Bringing order to your investment universe: White paper  
February 20, 2024
This white paper walks readers through how to transition from a chaotic collection of assets and accounts into a well-structured investment portfolio. It explores how to strike an effective balance between minimizing the taxable impact of a desired transition while successfully moving toward a more orderly investment portfolio, and it encourages investors to hire an experienced financial planner to assist them. Each part in this three-part piece is also available in stand-alone format for use as a drip series.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Bringing order to investing, Client experience, Evidence-based investing, Expenses, Family wealth, General audience, Tax planning, White paper
Evidence-based investment insights series: 14 parts (UPDATED 2024)  
January 16, 2024
UPDATED FROM 2019: This is a series of 14 shorter pieces for explaining evidence-based investment principles in a step-by-step approach. Use the series for drip marketing via e-newsletter, emails, mailings or as video script to introduce your investment approach to prospective clients or to review key benefits with existing clients. Collection will download as a zip file containing 14 Word documents. A compiled 26-page white paper and eight-page report also are available for separate download.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Behavioral finance, Evidence-based insights, Evidence-based investing, Fixed income, General audience, Sustainable investing, Updated content
Evidence-based investment insights series: Report (UPDATED 2024)  
January 16, 2024
UPDATED FROM 2019: This eight-page report strikes a happy medium between the full 26-page white paper and the individual installments available in the Evidence-Based Investment Insights series. Compiling key messages from the entire series, this report offers a mid-length, single document overview of evidence-based investing. Share the paper as a printed handout or in PDF form with clients and prospects. Use it as a giveaway to collect emails on your website or for other similar purposes.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Behavioral finance, Evidence-based insights, Evidence-based investing, Fixed income, General audience, Report, Sustainable investing, Updated content
Evidence-based investment insight series: White paper (UPDATED 01-2024)  
January 16, 2024
UPDATED FROM 2019: This 26-page white paper compiles the entire Evidence-Based Investment Insights series into a single document you can use to design your own company white paper. Share the paper as a printed handout or in PDF/booklet form with clients and prospects. Use it as a giveaway to collect emails on your website or for other similar purposes. A set of individual installments for "dripping" the series and a shorter report version are available for separate download in January 2024.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Behavioral finance, Evidence-based insights, Evidence-based investing, General audience, Sustainable investing, Updated content, White paper
Quarterly Client Letter – 2023 Q4  
January 1, 2024
Commentary on the strong 2023 annual returns nobody saw coming, along with timeless advice for informing 2024 investment decisions.
Categories: Client-focused, Evidence-based investing, Quarterly client letter