Blog

Took Their Ball and Went Home: Staying in Play with Job-Creators

Valentine’s Day was tough on New Yorkers who hoped to benefit from the more than 20,000 new jobs from Amazon’s move there (not to mention all the additional jobs from construction and supporting the new employees). For others, the event is the hoped-for moment where the relative power of corporations, governments and labor shifts back to governments and possibly labor. Expect those who protested against Amazon’s breaks to be disappointed. Instead, the move will be seen as evidence of corporations continuing to gain strength. Read more

4 Ways to Repay Student Loans Effectively

Written by  Connor Engbers, Wealth Advisor

If you have paid attention to the news recently, you probably heard about the current “crisis” involving student loan debt. With constant talks of student loan repayment and forgiveness and the rising cost of education, debt is piling on the younger generation. And here comes another set of graduates entering the workplace with an outrageous amount of debt in May. Read more

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Changed Things More Than You Realize

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made a lot of changes. It was the single largest tax reform bill in nearly 30 years. However, the impact of the TCJA might be a lot broader than most realize. Almost every small business owner in the country is impacted by a new tax deduction called 199A. Read more

Digital Assets – You Already Own Some, Whether You Know What They Are Or Not

By Jamie Hopkins

Recently I gave a presentation to a large group, over 300 in attendance. I asked the group, “How many of you own a digital currency?” Only about three or four hands went up. I was shocked. Read more

Yo-Yo Vertigo: Understanding Market Volatility

By Kevin Engbers, CFP®, Wealth Advisor

In 31 years as a financial advisor, I’ve witnessed several seasons of heightened market volatility. Real estate mogul Tom Lewis offered the best metaphor I’ve seen for this market behavior: walking up a staircase with a yo-yo. Your eye is immediately drawn to the yo-yo’s small fluctuations when the real movement is the person going up the staircase. Read more

Risk Tolerance vs. Risk Capacity: A Key Difference

By Kevin Engbers, CFP®, Wealth Advisor

On the surface, the terms “risk tolerance” and “risk capacity” appear to be interchangeable. Yet, the difference between the two is crucial and best handled by an advisor who knows their craft well and understands the different shades of meaning. Although risk tolerance and capacity are concerned with risk, the difference will have real impact on how your financial plan comes together. Read more

7 Year-End Planning Tips from a Wealth Planner

Published by Mark Petersen, Vice President Affluent Wealth Planning

The holidays are upon us, so that must mean it’s time for year-end income tax planning, right? In the past, I would have said yes, but that changed 12 months ago when the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 was passed. Read more

The 4 Pitfalls of No Plan

There are some things in life you just can’t plan for: an unexpected illness, job loss, death of spouse, disability…While these major events can impact your life, having an effective game plan can help ensure that it doesn’t ruin your financial well-being. Read more

What eight years in the nonprofit world taught me about generosity

By Nik Aamlid, Wealth Advisor

There’s an interesting paradox that I’ve discovered over the years: “You give more, you get more.” Read more

Improving The Traditionally Allocated Portfolio

Published by Tyler Schlumpf

We’re going to introduce a few mathematical concepts in this article that are crucial to building a portfolio. For those that are already moving their cursor up to the X in the right hand corner, just stick with it! These concepts, whether we choose to learn them or not, have a significant impact on the way we combine investments and are important to understand as we discuss portfolio construction. Read more