How many of you reading this have an estate? If you think you have an estate, then please keep reading – this should be you and everyone else reading this. That is, everyone has an estate. Many individuals believe that to have an estate they must have a certain amount of “stuff”, net worth, income, social status, etc. Furthermore, these same individuals may feel estate planning involves complex documents, high legal fees, considerable time. While this may be true for some estate plans, it’s not always the case. Additionally, many individuals feel that estate planning involves planning for incapacity or death. Although not pleasant to discuss, planning for one’s incapacity or death is an important part of their overall financial plan. Having these discussions before incapacity arises (a possibility) or death occurs (a certainty) can help ease the stress for loved ones dealing with these situations of and when they […]
December, 2018:
Can You Beat the Market?
In investing and finance, the words “beat the market” appear from time to time either as part of an investment strategy, conversation, or a combination of both. Investors can often be lured by the phrase in the hopes of achieving returns superior than the market or “above average”. When we refer to the market, we’re generally referring to a benchmark such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (The Dow) or the S&P 500. First off, I’d like to offer a bit of clarity before attempting to answer the titular question. If fact, I’d like to ask two questions and answer both – because they will have different answers, even though they look similar. First, I think it’s appropriate to ask this question: Can the market be beaten? To which I answer, yes. The market can be beat, and there are times where certain investments have done better than the market. […]
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
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And if you’ve come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed “advisor’s advisor”.