Today's Wealth Management Pulse
SmartAsset outlines a three‑step wealth‑building plan for early‑30s earners
Financial planners recommend that workers first capture any employer‑matched retirement contributions, then set aside 10‑20% of gross pay for savings, and finally eliminate debt with rates above roughly 10%. They also advise establishing a 3‑6‑month emergency fund in a high‑yield account to ensure liquidity.
Also developing:
Cash Has Been a Better Portfolio Diversifier than Treasurys, Morningstar Finds. Where to Nab Attractive Yields
Morningstar’s latest report finds cash‑equivalent assets, now holding $7.64 trillion, have become the top portfolio diversifier, out‑performing Treasury bonds. The average seven‑day yield on the largest taxable money‑market funds sits at 3.45%, offering solid short‑term returns despite recent Fed rate cuts. Over the past three years cash has posted the lowest correlation with equities, while long‑duration Treasurys shifted to a positive 0.65 correlation with stocks by the end of 2025. Investors can capture these benefits through money‑market funds, high‑yield savings accounts, CDs and short‑term T‑bills.
Shift From Tax Prep to Strategic Wealth Building
Most people drive their business looking in the REARVIEW mirror. Tax Prep is just reporting history. 📉 Tax Strategy is designing your future. 🚀 If you only talk to your CPA in April, you’re missing out on the moves that build generational wealth....
This Unique TIPS ETF Is Earning Its Stripes
The WisdomTree Inflation Plus Fund (WTIP) is a one‑year‑old TIPS ETF that differentiates itself by blending Treasury Inflation‑Protected Securities with a dynamic commodities basket and a modest 2.66% bitcoin allocation. In the wake of the Iran‑related energy price surge, the...
TIPS Bond Ladders: An Inflation Shield for Retirees
Retirees are especially vulnerable to inflation because they rely on fixed‑income streams, and traditional bond ladders can lose real value as prices rise. Treasury Inflation‑Protected Securities (TIPS) adjust principal with the CPI, offering a direct hedge. Northern Trust’s FlexShares 2035...
How Life Expectancy Expectations Shape Retirement Saving Habits
A new TIAA Institute report finds that workers who expect longer retirements save significantly more, while only one‑third of Americans correctly estimate life expectancy at age 65. Those who anticipate a 30‑year or longer retirement are far more likely to...
New 11%+ Yield ETF Boosts High‑Yield Portfolio
It is officially Dividend Week. Why Dividend Week? Because I’m obsessed with one thing: increasing the value that Dividendology provides. And over the past few months, I’ve been working on something behind the scenes that ties directly into that. Recently, we added an ETF...
One of Warren Buffett’s Final Shareholder Letters Had a Warning Most People Missed
In Berkshire Hathaway’s 2024 shareholder letter, Warren Buffett warned that "fiscal folly"—government policies that weaken currencies—could erode the value of paper money. He emphasized that fixed‑coupon bonds offer little protection against such currency erosion and reiterated Berkshire’s commitment to deploying...
Three Core Family Office Archetypes: Founder, Administrative, Philanthropic
Family Office Archetypes Family Offices come in all shapes and sizes, but there are common themes 1. The Founder’s Family Office Where the visionary who created the fortune still calls the shots • FO created after founder's...
Tax Attorneys Warn Credit‑card Cash‑back Rewards May Be Taxable Income
Tax attorney Jasmine DiLucci says cash‑back credit‑card rewards are not automatically tax‑free and can increase taxable income for business users. The IRS treats cash‑back as a purchase‑price reduction, which reduces deductions and creates a back‑door tax bite. Consumers could face...
Record Highs Test Discipline, Not Just Profit
I fast regularly — not for health metrics, but for discipline. You choose to sit with discomfort when relief is available. You make decisions on a longer time horizon than your immediate craving. As of April 17, the S&P 500 is at...
Estate Planning Lessons From Tony Hsieh's Contested $500M Will
Tony Hsieh, the Zappos founder, died in 2020 leaving an estimated $500 million estate with no documented will. In early 2025 a seven‑page document allegedly signed by Hsieh in Pakistan and witnessed by non‑existent individuals surfaced and is now before a...
Adviser Links: Shadow Advisers
Charles Schwab is rolling out a $5 block‑trade fee and AI‑driven client agents in June, while expanding its Pledged Asset Line lending to 45 RIAs. Wealth.com announced a $65 million Series B round led by Schwab, and OpenAI acquired Hiro Finance to...
The Advantages of Investment Trusts
Investment trusts have demonstrated strong long‑term wealth creation, with a 1999‑era portfolio turning a £1 stake into £7.42 (≈$9.5) today, equating to a 7.8% compound annual return. The article contrasts this success with the collapse of split‑capital trusts after the...
MB520: The Wealth Leaks Costing You Thousands Every Year (And Why Your Advisors Miss Them) – With Andrew Majd
In a recent interview, Andrew Majd of Dew Wealth Management outlines a three‑pillar wealth framework—protect, grow, and manage—highlighting that many high‑income individuals unknowingly leave costly gaps in their financial plans. He stresses that missing insurance, inadequate estate structures, and limited...
Military Wealth-Building Levers Financial Planners Should Know
Military households enjoy a suite of under‑used benefits—tax breaks, subsidized health care, the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), VA‑backed mortgages, deployment savings programs, and education credits—that can accelerate wealth when applied deliberately. Financial planners who capture recurring discounts, use advance pay...
I Will Retire in My Early 50s. I Have $3.2 Million — only $200,000 Is in a Traditional IRA. Have...
A 45‑year‑old investor with $3.2 million in assets plans to retire by age 52. Their portfolio includes $506,000 in a Roth IRA, $197,000 in a rollover IRA, $36,000 in a Roth 401(k), and only $200,000 in a traditional IRA, with the...
Zephyr's Adjusted for Risk: Mike Khouw on Options for Income and Risk Management
In a Zephyr Adjusted for Risk podcast recorded from Lake Tahoe, market strategist Ryan Nauman interviews YieldMax ETFs strategist and CNBC contributor Mike Khouw about the surge in options‑based exchange‑traded funds. Khouw outlines YieldMax’s single‑stock call‑write approach, which aims to generate...
The Hidden Factors that Shape Your Retirement Decades Before It Begins
The article emphasizes that retirement security is forged in a person’s 20s and 30s, when decisions about when to start investing and how to prioritize life milestones have lasting effects. Early contributions harness compounding interest, while directing funds away from...
What to Do After Losing Money on a Real Estate Investment
The article guides investors who have lost money in a passive real‑estate syndication through a practical recovery roadmap. It first urges investors to determine whether the asset is merely distressed or a total loss, as this drives tax treatment and...
Do I Earn Too Much to Have an IRA?
The article explains that a single taxpayer earning $120,000 in 2025 exceeds the traditional IRA deduction phase‑out range of $79,000‑$89,000 if covered by an employer plan. If the taxpayer is not covered, there is no income limit and the contribution...
‘Some Stocks Have Risen, but Others Have Flopped’: I Will Soon Inherit My Parents’ $1.5 Million Estate. Do I Fire...
Quentin faces a $450,000 brokerage account that costs a 3% annual fee, eroding nearly half of its projected growth. The advice is to fire the broker, move the assets into low‑cost index funds, and adopt a balanced 60/30/10 stock‑bond‑cash allocation....
Invest in Untapped Operating Leverage for Hidden Profit Explosions
My favorite type of investment? Businesses with embedded operating leverage that hasn't fully flexed yet. The market is notoriously bad at pricing long-term optionality. It sees the red line and the green line moving together today, but misses the "breakout"...
I Get a 15% Discount on My Company’s Stock. Am I Foolish for Not Buying?
A 15% discount on company shares through an employee stock‑purchase plan (ESPP) is common, but it isn’t a guaranteed profit. The article warns that buying employer stock adds concentration risk, especially if the firm’s fortunes decline, citing Enron as a...
Retirees With $600K Can Reach $1.5M by 2026, New Analysis Shows
A fresh analysis reveals that retirees who begin retirement with $600,000 can potentially amass $1.5 million by 2026. The projection hinges on modest withdrawal rates, favorable market performance and steady Social Security income, offering a realistic roadmap for mid‑level retirees and...
Elser Financial Planning Takes $1.1 Billion Stake in Merchants Bancorp
Elser Financial Planning filed an SEC 13F on April 15, 2026 showing it bought 26,983,101 Merchants Bancorp shares worth about $1.1 billion, a new position that now represents 57.2% of its reportable assets. The move underscores strong confidence in the regional lender...
Pay Off Credit Card Debt Before Stock Investing
Don't invest your money in the stock market if you have credit card debt Unless to get the full employer match for your 401k (assuming good % matching and vesting rules) Get rid of that 25% interest asap Don’t work backwards
How Corporations Pay Zero Taxes—And You Can Too
~88 profitable U.S. corporations paid $0 in federal corporate income tax while you paid payroll tax, income tax, property tax, sales tax, capital gain tax, etc to fund activities you don’t even support. The big guys know how to...
From AI to Energy, ‘Thematic’ ETFs Make It Easy to Invest in Hot Market Trends
The U.S. ETF universe has now eclipsed the number of listed stocks, with roughly 4,630 ETFs versus 4,200 equities. This expansion fuels the rise of thematic ETFs that let investors target fast‑growing trends such as AI‑driven data‑center infrastructure, volatile energy...
Lord Abbett's Top 3 Mutual Funds to Watch for Strong Long-Term Returns
Lord Abbett, a privately held asset manager with $250 billion under management and 184 seasoned professionals, highlighted three mutual funds that earned Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The Global Equity Fund posted a 17.1% three‑year annualized return, driven in part by...
TwinFocus Plans to Avoid Venture for Family Office Clients, ‘Dubious’ on Asset Class
TwinFocus, a leading multifamily office, announced it will largely steer its family‑office clients away from venture‑capital allocations, labeling the asset class as "dubious." Head of the firm, Paul Karger, said the firm prefers to avoid managers operating in overly crowded...
Ask an Advisor: Will Collecting My Late Husband’s Social Security Impact My Paycheck?
A surviving spouse can claim the deceased partner’s Social Security survivor benefit, which equals the higher of the two spouses’ amounts. Because Sharon turned 66, she is just shy of her full retirement age (66 years 10 months), so filing now would trigger...
Vanguard Pays Dividends on Its Australian ETFs Today
Vanguard announced that dividend payouts for its suite of ASX‑listed exchange‑traded funds are being made today. The distribution covers the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (VAS) and all other Vanguard ETFs on the Australian market, with reinvestment plan participants receiving...
Wells Fargo Warns Primary Residence Can Swing Tax Bill by Thousands
Wells Fargo released an advisory explaining that the state where a homeowner claims primary residence can change a taxpayer’s liability by thousands of dollars. The bank warns that mis‑identifying domicile can trigger double‑digit state income‑tax rates in high‑tax states, while...
Germans Shift €5.5bn From Stocks to €18bn Funds
Good Morning from Germany, where investors are moving money out of individual stocks and into investment funds. In Q4 2025 alone, Germans pulled €5.5bn from individual stocks, the largest outflow in more than a decade. At the same time, they...
Daily Smart Money Habits Build Long‑Term Savings
Financial transformations don’t happen overnight, but making a few smart money habits a part of your daily routine can help you reach your savings goals. https://t.co/WHyTeag1eo
Thanks to Government Policy, Your 60/40 Portfolio May Not Cut It Under Stress
Canadian government bond yields remain low at roughly 3.4% despite mounting fiscal deficits, climate‑tax initiatives and regulatory burdens that mirror the United Kingdom’s recent policy path. In the UK, 10‑year gilt yields have risen to about 4.9%, a level that...
JOJO Fund Survives Tough Market, Signal Still Works
I've spent years building $JOJO through a market that punished every bond strategy on the planet. The fund is still here. The signal still works. I'm asking you to look at it. @leadlagreport https://t.co/Yf5AlkpIwg
Price Appreciation, Not Dividends, Drives Equity Returns
From Al Rappaport's paper, "Dividend Reinvestment, Price Appreciation and Capital Accumulation": "Do dividends rather than price appreciation really dominate equity returns? To the contrary, I will show that price appreciation is the sole source of investment returns that increase accumulated...
HELOC and Home Equity Loan Rates Monday, April 20, 2026: Get the Cash Locked Inside the Walls of Your Home
Home equity lenders are offering HELOCs at an average variable rate of 7.24% and fixed home equity loans at 7.37%, based on high‑credit borrowers with CLTV under 70%. FourLeaf Credit Union currently promotes a 5.99% introductory HELOC for 12 months...
Map Risk Allocation to Portfolio to Avoid Surprises
High level suitcoining here. This is how you talk to Boomers. Mapping risk allocation to port allocation is smart/ prudent, limits nasty surprise potential and helps behavior.
Most US Stocks Lag Treasury Bills, Buy the Market
The majority of US stocks (59%) have underperformed Treasury bills over their lifetime and 45% end up having a negative cumulative return. “Don’t look for the needle in the haystack. Just buy the haystack.” - Jack Bogle Video: https://t.co/yQSLZ1RFLj
Too Scared to Dive Into a Fixed-Rate Annuity? Interest Rates Make It Worth Dipping Your Toe In
Fixed‑rate annuities, especially multi‑year guarantee annuities (MYGAs), are offering yields around 6.30% for seven‑year terms, markedly higher than current savings‑account rates near 3.75%. A $100,000 MYGA would grow to roughly $153,000 tax‑deferred, outpacing cash equivalents by about $24,000 over the...
Essential Resources: Solo 401(k), Referrals, CFP Study Guide
🆕 Adviser links: solo 401(k) plans, asking for referrals, and how to study for your CFP. https://t.co/WtwhOCvP7h chart: https://t.co/WtwhOCvP7h https://t.co/INsvGsnpNj
Pay Off Credit Cards to Avoid 20‑30% Interest
Getting rid of your credit card balance prevents interest accumulation, and credit cards often have annual percentage rates (APRs) that range from 20% to 30%. https://t.co/SuHgkcrCoQ
Why a £100,000 Handbag Can Now Function Like a Bank Account
Luxury goods such as Hermès Birkin bags, Rolex watches and high‑end art are increasingly being used as collateral for short‑term, non‑recourse loans aimed at ultra‑wealthy borrowers. Lenders provide cash within hours, bypassing credit checks and relying solely on the resale...
Vanguard's NY Municipal Fund Offers Triple Tax-Free Returns
About a year ago, Vanguard launched a municipal bond fund for New York residents ticker $MUNY that is triple tax free for New York residents with a low expense ratio. Seems pretty good.
Cash on Sidelines Costs You Missed Investment Gains
If you’re tempted to keep your money in cash on the sidelines, consider the impact of opportunity cost, or the potential gains you miss out on when choosing one investment over another. https://t.co/FpZVau3NQD
Educating Seniors to Safeguard Their Money and Taxes
I want to help protect seniors/their money via education and in person workshops. I have personal experience w/my beautiful dad, am a #CPA in TX/FL and have a teachers heart. Manage #financial risk. Add #tax tips. What are others doing?...
Investing at Market Peaks Beats Timing Any Other Day
Are you ready to have your mind blown? Since 1989, money invested when the market is at all-time highs has actually outperformed money invested on any given day. 🤯🤯🤯 https://t.co/qDhqxMLUZg
Holding Stocks Wins, But Discipline Remains Tough
In hindsight, buying and holding stocks was the right choice this past year. That's easier said than done. This is a nice personal essay from financial newsletter ace @SamRo on how hard that is even for someone like him. https://t.co/ondBWl2hlM