Insights on markets, emergent trends, history, innovation, risk management, global economics, strategy, policy, and other topics that catch our attention. Inspired by ongoing research, conversations and events. Written and edited by Osbon Capital Management and published every Thursday morning.
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Investment Journey
It happens to many of us. You get to the point where you decide about your family’s investment management. It can happen when the dollar amounts or time required to manage investments exceed what’s comfortable for a do-it-yourself situation, or the legal, tax or estate planning aspects get too complicated. Four prospective clients are going through that right now: an entrepreneur couple, a lawyer, an independent woman and an investment executive. If you are curious about how they do it, read on about this real-time investment journey with real people.
New Technology For Estates
Where do you keep your most important information and documents? Are they secure, easy to access and available to share with others who need them? A new tool from Fidelity just made that whole issue much simpler and more convenient – for you and your family. Fidelity now lets you store, access and share digital copies of your family’s most important documents, at no cost. This is cloud computing at its best and most personal. Read on for simple next steps.
Three Budget Habits of the Truly Wealthy
Budgeting is like dieting, when it’s too strict it quickly falls apart. Fortunately there are simple ways to get around the challenges linked to budget discipline. Lead by example and teach your family members to follow these habits and you’ll ensure their financial stability in any environment. Here are three tried and tested habits:
Are Your Millennials Missing Out?
It’s not surprising that financial literacy is a top concern parents have for their kids. Whether it’s watching children struggle with money decisions, or worrying about them responsibly handling their eventual inheritance, parents have good reason for concern. Kids don’t learn much about personal finances in school, and in many families it’s not a typical dinnertime topic. Here are some steps you can take to build strong family habits around shared financial literacy:
The First 100 Days. Now What?
In one way, the United States has been a very stable place for decades. We’ve only had four Presidents in 24 years. They each got their First 100 Days. Now it’s time to focus the lens on our newest POTUS. What has he actually done, and can investors learn anything from it?
Fear as an Enemy of Success
Fear is healthy. It’s an essential instinct that has kept our species alive. We all know that gut-level feeling of fear, followed by a reaction of fight or flight. When fear strikes in the investment world, we often see investors trip and stumble as the urge to flee takes over. A race for the exits can be costly, and with the benefit of hindsight, is often the wrong reaction to the many varieties of panic, doubt, what-ifs, truly bad news, and sudden change that investors face.
Who Are You Investing For?
When you compare who benefits from your portfolio, how does your view of investing change? Investing for your own retirement is not the same as building a surplus that will eventually go to your kids or future grandkids. With different people in mind, you and your advisor may make different decisions about risk, reward and time horizon. Let’s look at a few different perspectives of people living in the future.
How Big Is Your Financial Cushion?
At some point in your financial life you have more money than you need to live on, so you invest it. But even after you have built a big nest for the money eggs, you still need a cushion, an emergency fund, or some readily available cash that’s always there when you need it. But how much do you need? Here are four ways to help you find the answer.
Buffett’s Bet on the Index: Year 9
It’s that time of year again – time to update the scoreboard on the million dollar wager Warren Buffett made with Protégé Partners in 2008. It was a ten-year bet, pitting a basket of five hedge funds chosen by Protégé against Buffett’s no-frills pick, Vanguard’s S&P 500 Index fund. There’s just one year left to go. Which side is on top?
