Choosing and managing investments is perhaps the most obvious element of wealth management, however other financial tasks demand equal care and attention. Indeed, there’s little point in carefully managing an investment portfolio if its gains may be lost through poor budgeting, inefficient tax planning, ineffective use of retirement accounts, ill-advised real estate transactions or inadequate insurance coverage.
That’s why LBA takes a holistic approach to wealth management, one that assures that all the pieces of investing and financial planning fit together. We work with our client’s accounting, estate planning and insurance professionals to address complete legal and financial needs.
As clients evolve through different phases of life, periodic reviews allow us to assess how needs can change over time, including:
- Estate planning
- Tax planning
- Insurance coverage
- Social Security
- Retirement planning
- Elder care
- Charitable giving
- Succession planning
- Generational asset transfers
- College saving
- Real estate
Reflections & Observations: Watershed Moments
In this newsletter edition we cover the following:
– Staying Invested Part II
– Leading Economic Indicators
– IoT and Data Usage
– Revocable Trusts
– Assisted Living
– Recommended Read: The Good Life
POSTED IN: Reflections & Observations
Staying Invested Part II
In our spring newsletter, we emphasized the importance of staying invested over the long term by (1) illustrating the outsized impact of the stock market’s best days and (2) explaining how staying invested increases the likelihood of positive returns. While our analysis last spring focused on the broader implications of a long-term strategy, the strategy only works if the security you are holding is a quality company with durable, competitive advantages that drive success in both strong and weak markets.
Leading Economic Indicators
Two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth has traditionally signaled that an economy is in a recession. However, in the US, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is responsible for officially designating recessions. The NBER’s analysis relies on three criteria related to economic trends: depth, diffusion, and duration.
IoT and Data Usage
Over the last decade, we have seen the proliferation of “smart” devices—devices that collect our data and track our usage patterns to enhance our overall experience. There are smart mobile phones, TVs, speakers, and cars, as well as smaller everyday items like toothbrushes, vacuums, and coffee brewers. You may be wondering how all of these products became smart, seemingly overnight. What changed?