wealth management

In this video, Austin and I talk about Equity Indexed Annuities. We’ve been analyzing quite a few of these lately and there are two major takeaways: They are complicated. They provide a guaranteed income...

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...

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...

A recent Wall Street Journal front page story, “The Morningstar Mirage,” stated what most advisers should already know: Morningstar ratings don’t mean much. In my experience, those who rely upon star ratings do so for one of three reasons: ...

The Wall Street Journal did a whole series of articles last week on the big shift major mutual fund companies are seeing away from active management. See: Wall Street’s ‘Do-Nothing’ Investing Revolution. The evidence against active management has...

It’s hard to believe the year is halfway over. Now is a good time to review and determine what steps need to be taken to finish out the second half. Here are five topics to help you put together a nice mid year review. Income and taxes. If your...

Back in the 90’s I sold a lot of variable annuities. I worked for a large financial services company that strongly encouraged the use of variable annuities and there were some advantages. For one, it was a great way to gain access to multiple...

Buying and maintaining life insurance policies is a pain. On the surface, it seems like a pretty simple transaction but it is actually one of the most complex pieces to the Financial Fitness puzzle. Media bias and aggressive sales tactics...

Several years ago I took a test at Lifetime where they put me in a mask on a treadmill and tried to kill me. The trainer measured through my mask how much oxygen I was able to absorb while taking me to the maximum effort my heart and lungs could...

  Many years ago I wrote “Never Worry about Money” along with some other personal goals on a small laminated card that I carried around in my wallet. That was, and remains today the primary focus with regard to my own personal finances. For me,...

It is pumpkin carving time at The Schulz house. My youngest daughter is old enough to carve on her own and the other night we prepared for the annual ritual with craft paper on the kitchen table and all of our carving tools at the ready. G has a...

Yes, I love market risk!  The risk associated with the stock markets is completely beyond our control so most investors would not make such a bold statement. Instead, many make it harder than it has to be by timing the market, making sector or...

by Rob Schulz, CFP® June 24, 2011 There is a lot of negativity out there and the stock market has reacted with increased volatility. If I were a gambler, I would bet the market will continue it’s downward trend over the course of the summer.  But...

by Rob Schulz, CFP® June 6, 2011 I always ask my clients “why” when we discuss their financial goals and objectives. Why do you want to reduce debt? Why do you want to save for retirement? Reducing debt and saving are not goals, they are...

Myth: Cash value life insurance is one of the worst financial products available. Truth: Many lives will be financially devastated by Dave Ramsey’s advice on life insurance. Dave Ramsey and his advertising client Zander Insurance make their case...

Year End 2007 Market Commentary   For 2007, the volatility in the equity market over the course of the year was significant. Most economists point to these factors that affected the equity markets last year, and will likely continue to influence...

  One of the most important lessons learned over the last few years in the stock market is that volatility kills a poorly managed portfolio.  How? Let’s do the math: Examplele 1:    Fred invested $100,000 in Investment A that earned 50% in the...