Financial planning
Client question: How can I give my kids a head start on investing?
February 28, 2025
This piece explores what clients may do to help give the kids in their lives a leg up for their financial future. It touches on 529 plans, custodial accounts and custodial Roth IRAs. It closes with a suggestion that clients may use opening an account as an opportunity to teach kids about financial responsibility. Consider personalizing this article by mentioning how and why you’ve opened accounts for the kids in your life. Or perhaps touch on experiences you’ve had teaching kids about investing.
Categories: Article, Client-focused, Financial planning, General audience
Counterintuitive money advice: Investing against the grain
February 3, 2025
When it comes to money, making smart decisions isn’t always easy. In fact, there are a lot of times where the intuitive move isn’t always the best one. This piece explores counterintuitive strategies that can help clients make sound financial choices.
Categories: Article, Client-focused, Financial planning, General audience
Your 2024 year-end planning guide
December 9, 2024
Share this piece with clients and prospects to offer financial best practices for the end of 2024. This year's tips include putting stuck cash to work, updates on retirement account rules, maximizing gifts to charity with a QCD and a reminder to take time to rest and recharge.
Categories: Article, Client-focused, Financial planning, General audience, Prospect-focused
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
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
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
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
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
4 financial best practices for year-end 2023
November 15, 2023
Share this piece with clients and prospects to offer four financial best practices for year-end 2023. This year's tips cover managing cash reserves, maintaining one's investment portfolio, tax strategies and time management.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Evidence-based investing, Financial planning, General audience, Listicle, Tax planning, Wealth management
Unsung Money Mentors: Personal Financial Columnist Sylvia Porter
May 30, 2023
In a recent piece, "Who Is 'the Media'?" we offered our broad take on “the media,” and how to identify islands of investment insights across the oceans of daily news. In this follow-up, we focus on America’s first personal financial columnist Sylvia Porter (1913–1991), and the impact she made on the global financial press. This piece is also part of our continuing series on Unsung Money Mentors.
Categories: Article, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Evidence-based investing, Financial planning, General audience, Unsung money mentors
Is Social Security Going Bust?
March 26, 2023
An analysis of what is projected for Social Security, some of the fixes Congress is exploring to replenish its reserves, and why taking Social Security early just to avoid potential cuts in benefit, is only shifting financial risks rather than eliminating them.
Categories: Article, Family wealth, Financial planning, General audience, Politics, Report, Retirement planning
4 Ways to Apply the 80/20 Rule to Your Financial Pursuits
February 5, 2023
The "80/20 rule" suggests 80% of an outcome is often the result of just 20% of the effort you put into it. In that spirit, this piece offers 4 financial best practices where the 80/20 rule applies. These include staying invested across varied markets, emphasizing asset allocation over stock-picking, having a basic financial plan to guide the way, and freezing your credit report to minimize financial fraud.
Categories: Article, Evidence-based investing, Financial planning, General audience, Listicle, Security, Technology
What’s in the SECURE 2.0 Act?
January 3, 2023
A five-page overview of key provisions in the newly enacted SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, including updates that impact: (1) savers/investors, (2) employers/plan sponsors, (3) current spending (such as emergency expenses), (4) Roth accounts, (5) RMD requirements, and (6) charitable giving.
Categories: Article, Breaking news, Family wealth, Financial planning, General audience, Report, Retirement planning, Tax planning
When Should You Take Your Social Security?
December 9, 2022
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.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Family wealth, Financial planning, General audience, Listicle, Retirement planning
Six Financial Best Practices for Year-End 2022
November 11, 2022
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.
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
Back to the Investment Basics: White Paper
October 14, 2022
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.
Categories: Back to the basics, Evidence-based investing, Financial planning, General audience, Scary market insights, White paper
Back to the Investment Basics: Part 5 — Patience and Personal Persistence
October 12, 2022
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.
Categories: Article, Back to the basics, Behavioral finance, Evidence-based investing, Financial planning, General audience, Scary market insights
Six Ways a Recession Resembles a Bad Mood
June 14, 2022
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.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Economics, Financial planning, General audience, Listicle, Report, Scary market insights
Healing What Hurts: The Essential Role of a Financial Therapist
February 16, 2022
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).
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Behavioral finance, Estate planning, Family wealth, Financial planning, General audience, Report, Wealth management
Tax Planning in Turbulent Times
November 7, 2021
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."
Categories: Estate planning, Evidence-based investing, Family wealth, Financial planning, General audience, Report, Retirement planning, Tax planning, Tax planning tools & techniques
Tax Planning Part 1: Tools of the Trade
July 27, 2021
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.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Estate planning, Family wealth, Financial planning, General audience, Philanthropy/giving, Retirement planning, Tax planning, Tax planning tools & techniques
Protecting What’s Yours (After You Pass) Part 2
May 17, 2021
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)."
Categories: Article, Estate planning, Family wealth, Financial planning, General audience, Philanthropy/giving, Protecting what's yours, Tax planning, Wealth management
Protecting What’s Yours (After You Pass) Part 1
April 29, 2021
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)."
Categories: Article, Estate planning, Family wealth, Financial planning, General audience, Philanthropy/giving, Protecting what's yours, Tax planning, Wealth management
Quarterly Client Letter – 2020 Q4
January 4, 2021
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.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Breaking news, Client-focused, Evidence-based investing, Financial planning, Politics, Quarterly client letter, Tax planning
Six Financial Best Practices for Year-End 2020
November 29, 2020
Share this 818-word piece with clients and prospects to offer six financial best practices for year-end 2020. This year's selection is based on some of the changes that took place in 2020, including charitable giving tax breaks, general tax-planning opportunities, altered lifestyle planning considerations, and more.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Financial best practice lists, Financial planning, General audience, General letter/email, Listicle, Philanthropy/giving, Risk management, Tax planning
Finding Your Fiduciary Financial Advisor (UPDATED)
August 18, 2020
UPDATED FROM FEB. 2015: This six-page, three-part special report helps investors choose a fiduciary advisor, UPDATED for recent changes under Reg BI. Part 1 describes the broad financial environment and the importance of the fiduciary relationship. Part 2 covers additional qualities to seek, and Part 3 offers tips on how to review an advisor's credentials. Pairs well with the separate, July 2020 Library piece, “What Is Fiduciary Investment Advice?”
Categories: Advisor role/value, Client experience, Evidence-based investing, Financial planning, Finding a fiduciary advisor, General audience, Report, Updated content, Wealth management, White paper
Eight “Best/Worst” Wealth Strategies During the Coronavirus Free Sample (Click on title to download)
June 28, 2020
Share this 833-word document with clients and prospects to cover eight of the most and least effective ways for they can spend their time and energy shoring up their financial well-being in the time of the coronavirus.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Alternative investments, Article, Evidence-based investing, Financial planning, Free samples, General audience, Listicle, Wealth management
How To Be Positively Skeptical | Part 2: Understanding Your Emotions
April 29, 2020
Use this second, 844-word installment of a 4-part series to help clients and prospects strengthen their ability to differentiate solid evidence from bogus claims, especially during the coronavirus crisis. Part 1 described why the ability to be "positively skeptical" is important. This part 2 covers how to recognize when emotions are interfering with reason (and what to do about it). Parts 3 & 4 will help readers hone in on their fact-checking skills.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Behavioral finance, Breaking news, Evidence-based investing, Financial planning, General audience, How to be positively skeptical, Technology
A CARES Act Overview (Updated 4/3/20)
April 1, 2020
Share this 1,450-word CARES Act Overview with clients or (slightly modified) with prospects to provide an approachable but relatively substantive summary of critical content within the Act. The overview is organized by audience, such as items applicable to employees, to employers, to businesses, to students, etc. It includes a list of resources referenced, for additional insights. (UPDATED 4/3/20 to reflect SBA clarifications.)
Categories: Advisor role/value, Breaking news, Client-focused, Financial planning, Philanthropy/giving, Politics, Report, Scary market insights, Tax planning
Quarterly Client Letter — 2019 Q4
January 2, 2020
Use this 540-word quarterly client letter to reflect on one- and 10-year retrospectives in the new year, including how and why to separate short-term reactions from long-term strategy.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Client experience, Client-focused, Economics, Financial planning, Quarterly client letter
You, Your Retirement, and the SECURE Act – GENERAL Audience
December 24, 2019
Use this 1,300-word document to provide a GENERAL AUDIENCE with an overview of what to expect from the newly enacted U.S. SECURE Act -- emphasizing how you might assist them in applying the changes according to their best interests. Refer to separate piece tailored for CLIENT use.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Estate planning, Financial planning, General audience, Retirement planning, Tax planning
You, Your Retirement, and the SECURE Act – CLIENT Audience
December 24, 2019
Use this 1,300-word document to provide CLIENTS with an overview of what to expect from the newly enacted U.S. SECURE Act -- emphasizing how you will be assisting them in applying the changes according to their best interests. Refer to separate piece revised for GENERAL AUDIENCE use.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Client-focused, Estate planning, Financial planning, Politics, Retirement planning, Tax planning
16 Things You Can Do To Prepare for the Next Recession
October 18, 2019
16 things investors can do to truly strengthen their financial well-being, instead of engaging in market-timing in reaction to a potential recession. Share this 783-word overview with clients and prospects.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Expenses, Family wealth, Financial planning, General audience, Listicle, Retirement planning, Scary market insights, Wealth management
FAFSA Application Advice for College-Bound Kids
September 6, 2019
This 482-word message alerts parents and their college-bound children that there's no time to waste when submitting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application as soon as October 1 arrives. It describes how FAFSA works, and why time is of the essence.
Categories: Article, Family wealth, Financial planning, General audience
What Is Monte Carlo Analysis?
August 23, 2019
This 1,000-word article in our "What Is ...?" series describes how investors can benefit from a Monte Carlo Analysis, includes caveats on best use, and provides a basic illustration on how it works. An accompanying Monte Carlo Sample pdf file provides the assumptions used in the illustration.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Client experience, Financial planning, General audience, Retirement planning, The "What Is ...?" series
Protecting What’s Yours (While You’re Alive)
July 25, 2019
Use this 1,300-word article in its entirety or broken into three parts to cover three tools an individual can employ to protect their health and wealth care interests while they are alive: (1) the financial power of attorney, (2) the trusted contact, and (3) the healthcare advance directive (including a living will and healthcare power of attorney). Includes a summary, when each applies, common scenarios and additional tips for each.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Estate planning, Family wealth, Financial planning, General audience, Protecting what's yours, Report, Wealth management
Good Advice (UPDATED)
May 27, 2019
UPDATED FROM 2016: This 605-word piece reminds your clients and informs prospective clients that the best-interest advice you offer goes well beyond stock-picking tips. It reinforces why a good financial adviser remains relevant even as low-cost funds, automated investing and simplified financial planning are on the rise.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Evidence-based investing, Financial planning, General audience, Updated content, Wealth management
What Is Liquidity?
May 14, 2019
This 768-word article is part of our ongoing "What Is ...?" series. It defines liquidity, offers some approachable examples of how it works, and considers it within the context of an overall investment portfolio. Share this piece with clients or prospects as an article, post, or video script, or for similar purposes.
Categories: Article, Evidence-based investing, Financial planning, General audience, Real estate investing, The "What Is ...?" series, Wealth management
Money Management Lingo
March 27, 2019
This 860-word document provides a beginner's guide intro to some of the most common terminology advisors tend to use when introducing prospective and new clients to money management services. For example, it differentiates assets, funds, accounts and custodians -- explaining which roles each play. (Note: Non-U.S. advisors might want to swap out some of the examples with illustrations of their own -- such as referencing your country's tax-advantaged accounts rather than U.S.-based IRAs.)
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Client experience, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Financial planning, General audience, Real estate investing, Tax planning, The "What Is ...?" series
Six Financial Best Practices for 2019
December 17, 2018
Six financial best practices encouraging investors to ignore market volatility and take practical steps toward enhancing their financial well-being. Use this piece as is to share with prospective clients, or modify it slightly for client use. This piece represents the second in an annual series, potentially pairing well with "Ten Financial Best Practices to Jump-Start Your New Year," published in December 2017.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Article, Client experience, Estate planning, Financial best practice lists, Financial planning, Listicle, Prospect-focused, Scary market insights, Security, Wealth management
Ten Financial Best Practices to Jump-Start Your New Year
December 18, 2017
Use this 1,050-word list of ten financial best practices for prospecting and public education about basic retirement planning, risk management, estate planning, budgeting, debt management, investing and more. A call to action at the end invites readers to be in touch with you for an exploratory conversation. Tailored for U.S. readers, this piece can be readily revised to apply elsewhere.
Categories: Advisor role/value, Financial best practice lists, Financial planning, Listicle, Prospect-focused, Retirement planning