Osbon on the Money

There are two camps of thought when it comes to spending. The first is: Earn more than you spend. If you identify with the first, this article isn’t for you. The second is: Spend less than you make. Follow this second mantra and so many good things happen. But how? Here’s where to start and what to ignore when it…

If there’s a future college student in your household, you probably know that 529 is numeric for “tax-advantaged educational investment account.” But did you know that you can utilize the 529 of any of the 50 states? That’s a lot of choice, so which one is the best, meaning best for you? Morningstar has just released its annual survey, and our…

Taxes are often the most ignored element of investing. But after all is said and done, it’s not what you earn, it’s what you get to keep, so taxes definitely matter. Whether you have a professional investment manager or you’re a do-it-yourselfer, you should be aware of a technique you can use to take control of your investment taxes. We call it anti-taxing; it’s also known…

A noisy group of over-regulators and stock pickers are braying that ETFs are, among other things, dangerous, flawed, and ruining the markets. With the market turmoil on August 24th these critics have gained some press traction. But are they correct? Let’s check the facts… Horses blame cars Those faulting ETFs for stock market problems are generally from one of two groups…

Does your investment advisor believe in lifetime employment in one place? This one does. The typical revolving door career path in wealth management rarely benefits the client. It often involves multiple moves from firm to firm, almost always for the purpose of higher compensation, followed by the sale of one’s book of business to another firm or another advisor. That…

It happens every time. A new client entrusts Osbon Capital with investment management of all their accounts. The clients are smart, capable, successful people who expect the best for themselves. But when they show us all their accounts… they are a mess!  Here are the three most common scenarios we see and how to fix them. Stop the self-inflicted complication It’s…

Sounds improbable, doesn’t it? Sounds like you’d need to be Warren Buffett, get insider access to some secret investment vehicle or have an extraordinary amount of luck. No, no and no. All it took was an initial investment, discipline and patience. Here we go We’re all familiar with the S&P 500, the most popular and most vanilla index of them…

Have you ever made a big money decision that you regret? It happens to all of us. Like it or not, we come preloaded with a variety of biases, brain glitches that lead to bad decisions about money and other important issues. So how do we defend ourselves from ourselves? Start with this list of three cognitive bias traps. Once you recognize them…

When we buy products or pay for services we expect the best. When it comes to your money manager how do you know he/she is constantly striving to deliver the best for you, namely, value well in excess of cost? Are you getting everything you expect and deserve? Consider these six service situations as a test. Uncompromising standards Here’s how…