It turns out that the wealth management secrets of the Ivy League aren’t what they’re cracked up to be. Bill Abt, a former beer company executive, got 6.2% returns on a portfolio he manages for Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis. Over the same 10-year period, Harvard’s massive $37 billion endowment returned 4.4%. Yet Abt costs… Continue reading →

During a recent quarterly market review call, we received the following question from a young man at the University of Texas: How much net worth separates the wealthy from the merely well off? It was a great question, albeit one that’s highly subjective. I think of somebody wealthy as having enough assets put away and… Continue reading →

It was Dr. Martin Luther King who said “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Weighty words indeed, but they feel apropos of the back-and-forth we see in Washington over a rule meant to protect investors from unscrupulous financial advisors. To catch you up, the Obama administration was on… Continue reading →

You probably think of your own home as your largest expense in life. Perhaps your kids, if you think of them as expenses. A recent study, in fact, estimated that buying a house and raising a child cost about the same — $245,300 for the house and $278,300 to raise a child from birth to… Continue reading →

Being a good financial advisor is a lot like being a good personal physician. You have to listen to what the patient means, whether they are saying it out loud or not. Every primary practice doctor has this experience. The patient comes in, gets weighed, blood pressure taken, and the doctor does his or her… Continue reading →

The recent stock market news has been downright scary. “Biggest one-day points plunge! Stocks in freefall! Bear market begins!” You’re probably expecting me to say “Don’t worry, everything is going to be fine.” But I won’t — because I can’t. I don’t know if stocks will recover tomorrow or take another big dive. I don’t… Continue reading →

Sometimes in life, if you are lucky, there is a moment when all of the pieces come together–personally and professionally. For me, joining Rebalance has been one of those times when a new challenge and opportunity showed up at just the right moment. But first, let me tell you a little bit about my personal… Continue reading →

Rich people — really rich people — have an inside joke about spending in retirement: They called it “skiing.” Not skiing as in snow skiing, but “Spending our Kids’ Inheritance.” They use it in reference to splurges, such as pricey wines, cruises through Europe, second homes, or whatever strikes their fancy. They don’t feel bad… Continue reading →

In a funny and timely bit of analysis, a stock reporter at CNBC pointed out that billionaire investing icon Warren Buffett could buy every NFL team. After all, he has $92.1 billion. The combined value of every franchise comes to $80.7 billion. He could write the check and still easily be in the fraction-of-the-1% club… Continue reading →