If you’re like most business owners, you spend most of the day running your company—working with employees, customers, and trying to grow it. Then you might make time for family, friends, and maybe (hopefully!) some hobby or activity that you enjoy. However, I’m guessing time for retirement planning is pretty far down the list. And this might seem rational: it’s... Read More
Every couple of months I come across an article warning consumers of the perils of timeshares. Simply Google “Are timeshares worth it?,” and you will find dozens of articles and posts on the subject. Most of these articles detail why a timeshare is a “bad investment,” and usually the analysis is correctly assuming the purpose of the purchase is monetary... Read More
“…people always live forever when there is an annuity to be paid them,” or so says Fanny Dashwood, the step-daughter in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. She says this in persuading her husband against making annuity payments to her step mother-in-law. We never find out how the annuity would have worked out for Mrs. Dashwood, but the US government doesn’t... Read More
Whether it’s an employee of one of the many technology companies we have in Portland, a retiree, or an entrepreneur, they all want an answer to the same question: am I on track to achieve my financial goals? And like any goal, answering the question requires knowing both the objective and the starting point. What do you want to accomplish... Read More
This past weekend, I had the joy of watching the movie The Sandlot with my 7-year old daughter and 4-year old son. My joy came from my kids laughing at all the moments in the movie that I laughed at the first time I saw it 25 years ago. They particularly enjoyed this scene and learning what a “pickle” is... Read More
In 1986 the Lost Angeles Lakers had what some were saying could be the best team in the history of basketball. They started the season hot, jumping out to a fantastic 29-5 record, but ultimately were eliminated in the playoffs before even playing for the NBA championship. The anointed “best team in the history of basketball” wasn’t even the best... Read More
For busy corporate executives, managing personal finances with the rigors of a demanding job can be a lot to handle. But what happens when requirements from the corporate office directly impact the family finances? In this post we’ll go under the hood to uncover the basics of a 10b5-1 Trading Plan and key considerations when faced with implementing one. What... Read More
For many corporate employees, the accumulation and growth of their employer’s stock over time becomes the source of significant wealth, but with that accumulation and growth the risk that comes along with investment concentration in a single company grows as well. In fact, it is not uncommon at all to review a long-time corporate employee’s balance sheet and find that... Read More
In Part 1, I explained at a high level the mechanics of how Cordant generates a paycheck for clients from their portfolios in retirement. In this “Part 2,” I want to follow up with examples of how we evaluate other available strategies and why we use the “total return” approach described in Part 1. We are continually researching and evaluating... Read More
Interest Rates and Stock Markets “Interest rates are bound to rise.” We’ve all heard this for the last 10 years. And while it may be true, it might not matter for long-term investors. In fact, contrary to popular belief, history tells us that the relationship between interest rates and stock market returns isn’t as powerful as we’ve been led to... Read More
