Blog

09 Sep 2016

Posted at 09:28h in The Friday Brief by
One of the most important things to know about your financial relationship is whether you are a customer or a client. The differences may be subtle or obvious, but understanding them and feeling confident in the role you have accepted is vital in determining the quality of your financial future. As a customer, you are pitched to, or persuaded to buy. As a client you are advised. 'K'nowledge and 'R'esponsibility align differently in the two dynamics as illustrated below:

02 Sep 2016

Posted at 11:42h in The Friday Brief by
Did you know that you can buy a stroller (for a baby) made by Aston Martin? Did you know that it would cost you $4,000? I present this, for now, without comment. We'll come back to it momentarily.
Sometimes, when I tell people about the sort of work we do at Beacon, I get the sense that some view our primary mission and value as simply the building of wealth. And of course, that's part of what we do, and an important one at that. No one exactly hires us to make a nice La-Z-Boy shape out of their pile of money and just sit on it for 30 years. After all, the bank will pay them a couple pennies a year to do that. But the concept and reality of inflation would make that course of action pretty detrimental to most folks, so we build wealth for clients the best we know how, harnessing the power of the capital markets as efficiently as possible, and as effectively as human behavior allows.

26 Aug 2016

Posted at 10:30h in The Friday Brief by
The BrickMy wife is a genius, and I will tell you why. Whenever we go out to eat, no matter where we go, she is strictly "no phones." I don't care if we're having a conversation about movies and one of us might be tempted to IMDB an actress, or if out of habit I pull out my phone to tweet something dumb--doesn't matter. NO PHONES AT DINNER.

19 Aug 2016

Posted at 12:19h in The Friday Brief by
The beauty of the Olympics, their deep appeal, is what they reveal about the human spirit, whether in the 'thrill of victory' or 'the agony of defeat.' Under every colorful uniform there's a talented human being with a life-long story of struggles, challenges, hopes, dreams, and fierce commitment to be the best they can be. The medals of gold, silver, and bronze for which they compete are reward indeed, but they fall infinitely short of describing their accomplishments.

12 Aug 2016

Posted at 11:40h in The Friday Brief by
In our continuing effort to provide our clients with the best services and technology available, there's always the challenge of providing the information you want and need without overwhelming you with unnecessary complexity. We believe we've struck the perfect balance with our latest enhancements to our secure online client portal. All the information is still there, we just made it faster and easier to see what you want to see.

05 Aug 2016

Posted at 11:01h in The Friday Brief by
Today's Brief focuses on some powerful financial and budget planning options available to IRA owners. It was inspired, in part, by a recent blog on Health Savings Accounts  by our friend Ryan Smith of Stonegate Financial. IRAs are a powerful tax-deferred saving vehicle owned by many as the result of rollovers from other retirement plans such as 401(k)s, 403(b)s and other pension plans, or they were started outright to begin retirement savings in earnest. While IRAs have been around for decades, their features and options change often with new budgets and IRS rulings.

29 Jul 2016

Posted at 11:58h in The Friday Brief by
With the pep rallies concluded, Democratic and Republican captains and their teams are charging onto the field to commence a battle for the White House unlike any other. The game plans couldn't be more different on issues like immigration, regulations and taxes, but on trade there doesn't seem to be any line of scrimmage at all. But on this one, Trump is on offense and Clinton, defense.

22 Jul 2016

Posted at 12:31h in The Friday Brief by
Imagination is "the greatest creative force in the universe," claimed Albert Einstein. The keys at my fingertips, the computer transforming the clicks into hundreds of 0's and 1's, the copper lines and fibers of light delivering them to the device in front of you with its thousands of tiny light emitting diodes that project the letters you are reading, all started in the imagination. In fact, as you look around, you might be hard pressed to find anything within your reach that doesn't have its origins in the imaginings of creative people.

15 Jul 2016

Posted at 12:00h in The Friday Brief by
unnamed3 Our hearts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those murdered and maimed in Nice, France last night during their celebration of Bastille Day. Since BREXIT, US equity markets have come roaring back and then some. Increasing confidence that the Fed will pause their interest rate increases, a stronger-than-expected jobs report in the US on Friday, and the speedy transfer of power in Great Britain to Theresa May as Prime Minister have all added to the optimism driving stocks higher. The S&P 500 has had four record-high closes this week, yet other indexes have not, notably the Nasdaq, which remains almost 4% below last year's high. It means that most stocks, and significantly many that have driven our economy of late (technology) remain off their highs.

08 Jul 2016

Posted at 12:43h in The Friday Brief by
sunset-summer-golden-hour-paul-filitchkinOne of the major goals we often help clients plan for is financial independence.  Imagine the freedom of knowing you do not have to work.  You would be free to start the company you have always dreamed of, serve an organization you are passionate about regardless of pay or take an extended trip with your family or friends.  Maybe you would worry less about money and the minutia of your daily finances.