It’s been over a decade now, and time softens even my most dramatic memories. I was in Chicago for the launch of an intensive year-long coaching program for advisors. My career up to that point had been successful but not focused. This program...
Mar
06
There is no question that viruses are deadly and scary. According to the CDC, the regular, annual seasonal flu quietly kills somewhere between 291,000 and 646,000 people per year worldwide. Viruses are one of the most primitive living organisms...
Feb
27
There was a major selloff in the stock market this week as investors processed information about the coronavirus. As we discussed these events, Austin and I inadvertently found ourselves talking in terms of what we thought could happen next....
Feb
06
There is a new sleeve of our portfolios that we are becoming more and more helpful. Adding to the traditional stock and bond mix, we are using Defined Outcome ETFs. Defined Outcome ETFs are buffered investments around different indexes that...
Jan
30
When I was young, sometimes I daydreamed about the fleet of cars I would own someday. Raising four children in the suburbs has certainly allowed me the opportunity to own a fleet of cars, but it’s not what I dreamed of. Recently, a...
Jan
22
I don’t like index annuities, and I especially dislike variable annuities with complicated riders that supposedly promise you’ll never lose money. With these products, you get lots of smoke and mirrors, high fees, surrender charges, very little...
Jan
21
Recently there has been more news and reports of phishing and spoofing of emails with trusted third parties like advisers. If fact, we have even seen some of these first hand. Because there are malicious individuals out there always after money...
Jan
16
A classic either/or question that comes up from time to time in client discussions. Based upon our own life experiences, we all tend to lean one way or the other as it relates to spending now or saving for later. As with many decisions in...
Jan
13
To help curb much of the anxiety and uneasy feelings of financial markets today, we can take a lesson from Mark Cuban on protecting our invested assets. In 1999 Cuban sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo! in a deal valued at $5.7 billion dollars. As part...
Dec
30
As the New Year turns I would encourage anybody who doesn’t have one, to go get a financial plan put together. But remember, just having one will not solve everything immediately all by itself. It’s a continual process, and your plan gets out of...
Dec
11
Thoughts on Time: Time and again, couples, when they set an appointment for an initial visit will say things like “We’ve been planning on coming to see you for years”, to which I always reply “Why did you wait so long?”. Generally, their...
Dec
06
Thoughts on Bonds Bonds are a crazy animal. With interest rates trending down bond funds look fantastic, yielding much higher returns than you would normally expect. But the only reason they are higher in value is because interest rates are...
Nov
29
Thoughts on Collaboration and Accountability Accountability is a powerful driver of success that most of us want to avoid like the plague. Just like planning it’s not very fun and sexy. Years ago, I decided it was time to get back in shape. At...
Nov
21
Avoid this Investing Pitfall There are often times when we’re too smart for our own good. Our success and genius in our work lives provides a false sense of competency in the realm of financial planning and investment management. For example:...
Apr
08
Our client process is designed to guide you successfully thru your financial goals. It starts with the creation of your initial personal financial statement, cash flow, and financial plan. From there, we meet semiannually to update your plan...
Apr
07
Schulz Wealth uses Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) as the basis for all of our portfolio decisions. We strive to identify dimensions of equity returns like momentum, value, and small-cap outperformance. Portfolio tilts are applied toward factors...
Feb
13
Most people trust their financial advisor. Problem is, most advisors should not be trusted. I know that’s a strong statement, but after spending over twenty years in this industry, I know it’s true. I review investment portfolios all of the time....
Dec
21
My sophomore year at The University of Texas, I had a marketing class in the UTC, an annex to the business school, tucked right next to the Perry Castaneda Library, known on campus as the PCL. I remember walking to class past the huge PCL, with...
Dec
11
There are often many important questions around how to invest money in your 401(k). For most of us, what we are able to accumulate in our 401(k) during our working lives is going to be a critical component to our retirement. Because of this, it...
Nov
21
I was reminded recently how different we are, as Americans, compared to the rest of the World as it relates to financial independence. First off, a wide majority of humans still live in undeveloped regions and subsist at a very basic level,...
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