All About Your Benjamins™

https://youtu.be/K-MaolSI814 I've been fortunate to get to know Josh Brown on a personal level and I can assure you he is an even better person than you think he is. I'm happy to share the story of how I weaseled my way into calling him a mentor in person with you whenever conferences start back up--it all started with an email late one Friday night and now I take him out for dinner every fall when I visit NYC. JB and I in the basement of Bobby Van's in front of JP Morgan's old vault. Given my respect and admiration for JB, it was a huge honor to have him join me as my first guest on The Pursuit. I'm not going to spoil any of the conversation--just hit play, sit back, and enjoy! The Reformed Broker The Compound YouTube Disclaimer: Nothing on this blog should be considered advice, or recommendations. If you have questions pertaining to your individual situation you should consult your financial advisor. For all of the disclaimers, please see my disclaimers page.

The headlines that may or may not be impacting your financial plan and portfolio... https://youtu.be/BeHrXTdPJsQ Week In Review Articles The WSJ: Trump Signs Covid-19 Aid Bill Averting Government Shutdown The WSJ: Five Investment Trends That Skyrocketed in 2020 The WSJ: Year Ends With Record-Setting Month in U.S. for Covid-19 The WSJ: The U.K. Has Finally Cut Ties With the EU. Here’s What Has Changed. People who root for others to lose are miserable human beings. You don't want them in your life, your social feeds, your texts, your gatherings. Surround yourself w/those who want to lift others up. The idea that someone else has to lose for you to win is very last century stuff. — Adam Singer (@AdamSinger) December 27, 2020 Weekly Mixtape Morgan Housel: Last Man Standing "And the most important point is that the best returns you can earn for the longest period of time are rarely the highest returns in any given year, or even decade." The Street: Two Ways to Align Your Money with Your Values "So, instead of focusing on money simply as a thing to accumulate, think about your money in terms of what it can do for you. Truly align your finances with your values by spending money on what you care about." The Reformed Broker: Happy New Year, Don't Die "If you’re reading this blog post, chances are you’re focused on allocating your assets, not choosing which debt to pay off and which bills to ignore. So you’d most likely take your own problems back out of the pile too. It could always be worse." Brian Plain: Reflecting On A Year Unlike Any Other "As we reflect back on our past year, focusing on impact – both negative and positive – can be particularly useful. Here are some specific questions around impact that can help." Michael Baker: Your Timing May Never Be Perfect...And That's OK "For anyone that has not created a financial plan, the best thing you can do is START NOW. One lie we tell ourselves is that we’ll get our financial lives in order when we  (FILL IN THE BLANK). Then we become experts at moving our own cheese. Don’t expect your timing to be perfect because it most likely won’t be." Ryan Krueger: 4,000-To-1 Long Shot "Knowing the efficiency of all the investing approaches, analyzing the risk metrics of individual securities or funds, or even relying on some balanced allocation...all take a back seat to the WHO. Getting that part wrong can mess up the math in a hurry. Getting it right, and investing time to get it better, can provide the very best reason to Plan at all." Mr. Stingy: You Don't Always Need The Best. What You Need Is Good Enough "I think so. I think the 90% is good enough for most people. Heck, the 90% will probably make you do better than most people." Of Dollars And Data: Running Out of Time Before Running Out of Money "That’s why my biggest takeaway from 2020 is that you can lose with a winning hand.  You can make all the right choices and still end up with a bad outcome. Not everything is in our control.  Yet, many of us save and invest as if it is." Anne Tergesen: Tiny Changes Can Help You Achieve Savings Goals for Retirement "Here’s a suggestion for those planning to make big changes in the new year: Consider making them small instead." Mark Suster: How I Lost 65 Pounds In 18 Months Without Any Fad Diets or Gimmicks "I made maintaining my weight a habit rather than chore. A way of life rather than a restriction." Outside Online: We've Reached Peak Wellness. Most of It Is Nonsense. "Wellness—the kind that actually works—is simple: it’s about committing to basic practices, day in and day out, as individuals and communities." All About Your Benjamins: “Pay Yourself First”–How I Invest My Money

Another company leveraging community to help grow and spread financial education is Finimize and in this episode, I’m joined by their CEO Max Rofagha. The story of how Max found his way to the world of finance is fascinating given that he had no background, other than an interest in his own personal finance and the willingness to ask a…Continue Reading→

Public.com popped up on my radar a few months ago and once I opened an account, I realized this was a company I wanted to learn more about. In this episode, I’m joined by Leif Abraham, co-CEO of Public.com and he not only shares the story behind Public but also shares some great information about entrepreneurship and starting a business.…Continue Reading→

I felt it was time to bring All About Your Benjamins The Podcast back on a regular monthly schedule and make some minor adjustments to the programming. We’ll still cover financial planning topics but we’ll also focus on entrepreneurship, Fintech, and the future of finance. You’ll also find audio from videos that fit the All About Your Benjamins brand. Let’s…Continue Reading→

Apple Podcasts: Click Here To Listen On Google Podcasts I wouldn’t call this a Crypto and Digital Assets 101 class, but as I’ve begun receiving more questions about cryptocurrency I thought it would be great to bring Tyrone Ross baby (he’s a former AAYB podcast guest on the subject) to discuss the topic—covering some of the basics, along with some…Continue Reading→

We’re three weeks into social distancing and it appears that not all of America understands the severity of COVID-19. In this special episode of All About Your Benjamins, I’m joined by Frank Sawyer to discuss not only the health risks but the risks to the healthcare system that extend beyond just those infected with the coronavirus. Frank is an executive…Continue Reading→

Technology has brought the average investor greater access to new and different types of investments.  Investors can now invest at lower costs, better tailor their portfolios to their goals and preferences, and even invest in specific sectors and themes. Thematic investing is beginning to gain traction by allowing investors to move from sectors to themes like cybersecurity, cannabis, and e-sports.…Continue Reading→

It’s been said, “experience is a master teacher, even when it’s not our own.” Phil Pearlman, the Chief Community Officer at StockTwits, has experienced multiple economic cycles, market crashes and recoveries, business successes and failures, and other life events making him a master teacher we can all learn from. In this episode, we briefly touch on current market conditions and…Continue Reading→

Click Here To Listen On Apple Podcasts At the end of 2019, Congress passed and the President signed the SECURE Act which brought potential changes to your financial planning.  I’m fortunate to have been connected with Jamie Hopkins who is a retirement income expert, his Twitter account says so, and an expert in the SECURE Act. He breaks down the…Continue Reading→

“Family Governance–turning new wealth into old money” is front and center on Jason Howell’s website, and the concept of family governance is not one I was familiar with from a financial planning standpoint. From the quote, you can determine that the act of turning new wealth into old money is accomplished by involving the entire family. But what exactly does…Continue Reading→

The lack of financial literacy in America is a well documented issue, and while many financial advisors discuss the statistics, few have built their firms to really make an impact. I briefly learned about Genti Cici’s mission at the Inside ETF’s Canada conference this summer as he and I spent about 30 minutes talking between sessions. I found out that…Continue Reading→

Life never goes as planned; sometimes it’s for the better and sometimes it not. Being flexible is important to handle life’s events and it’s important for your financial plan to be flexible as well. Check out this great post by my friend Jeremy Walter in addition to checking out my thoughts on today’s Rundown. Go ahead and subscribe to the RLS…Continue Reading→

It only makes sense that today’s Rundown deals with risk tolerance–I am at the Riskalyze Fearless Investing Summit, after all. Go ahead and subscribe to the RLS Wealth Management Rundown Flash Briefing. Disclaimer: Nothing on this blog should be considered advice, or recommendations. If you have questions pertaining to your individual situation you should consult your financial advisor. For all of the disclaimers,…Continue Reading→

Eventually, I’d like to find a way to incorporate wellness and health into my financial planning process–I haven’t figured out how to do it quite yet, so the most I can do is talk about it and encourage my clients to find ways to take care of themselves. A couple of weeks ago, I practiced what I always preached and…Continue Reading→