Financial Planning
Women and Financial Planning
The theme for 2018’s International Women’s Day campaign is #BalanceforBetter, “Think equal, build smart, innovate for change”. It is a time to applaud the progress of women’s achievements around the world. However, even with incredible progress, women face unique circumstances when approaching retirement. Women Live Longer Than Men Because women tend to live longer than…
Read MoreCharitable Planning Strategies for the Fragile Decade
As our clients at McLean Asset Management near retirement, we notice that many do not bring up charitable gifting strategies to help optimize their retirement plans. Perhaps it’s a focus on solving the longevity goal of making sure there is enough money to meet yearly expenses exclusive of other goals, or perhaps it’s skepticism or…
Read MoreAre Municipal Bonds Right for You?
No one likes paying taxes. We all want to minimize the amount of taxes that we owe, so we’re always looking for any tips and tricks we can find. Municipal bonds, or munis, often seem like a great solution since they’re billed as being tax free (which we’ll talk about in a bit). Unfortunately, everyone…
Read MoreRebalancing Frequency
Almost everyone agrees that rebalancing your portfolio is one of the keys to having a successful investment outcome. We know that your asset allocation determines how your portfolio will perform. Successful investors spend a lot of time determining what they want to include in their portfolios, and how they want to spread out their assets.…
Read MorePreparing for Retirement When You’re Starting Late
Everyone knows that you’re supposed to start saving for retirement early, but that doesn’t always happen. In fact, if you look at the numbers, it’s actually pretty rare. Most people are woefully unprepared for retirement, but you can change that. Preparing for retirement is a lot like planting a tree. The best time to do…
Read MoreBuilding and Maintaining an Investment Portfolio
Building a diversified and effective investment portfolio is an important part of creating an efficient retirement income plan. Much of the research around retirement income planning tends to focus on other matters and not put a lot of weight on portfolio-creation matters. The basic research tends to assume two asset classes (U.S. large-capitalization stocks and…
Read MoreReview: How to gauge your chances of a phased retirement
A lot of people expect to work past “retirement age.” They either figure that they will need the additional income to live, or they just enjoy their work and everything that comes with it. Planning to work in retirement is a dangerous game. Working longer can have a huge impact on your retirement situation –…
Read MoreWhat Does Your Funded Ratio Score Mean?
We are really fond of the Funded Ratio because it allows us to provide a numerical picture of your retirement income plan. In our retirement income optimization process, you can create a framework by providing your preferences for your financial objectives and the subsequent ways you want to fund them with essential and discretionary expenses.…
Read MoreSome People Are Saying Bonds Don’t Provide Diversification Benefits, and They Couldn’t Be More Wrong
Recently, one of our clients asked our opinion on an article he found. We get these types of questions pretty frequently, and normally we just walk clients through what the article means for their portfolio (and often, why it’s wrong). But this one caught my eye because it is wrong in a new and different…
Read MoreUnderstanding the Funded Ratio
Everyone wants to know where they stand with their finances – Will I be able to have the retirement I want? Do I have enough? Roughly how far do I have to go? Am I overfunded (believe me, it happens)?
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