We tend to model our lives, and our financial plans, as a straight, uninterrupted line moving upward and to the right. We assume that our income, our capacity, and our circumstances will remain relatively constant, simply growing steadily over time. But life is rarely linear. It is cyclical. It operates in seasons. An accurate graph […]
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Why good health is a financial strategy
When we sit down to project a client’s retirement, one of the biggest variables we have to account for is longevity. Thanks to modern medicine, we are living longer than any generation in human history. From a financial planning perspective, a longer life means your capital has to stretch further. But there is a glaring […]
Continue readingEmpty nest financial planning
There is a very specific kind of quiet that descends on a house when the children finally leave. It affects our hearts, but it also affects our financial planning. If you’re in this situation, or know someone who is, here’s a little of the new reality… For a couple of decades, the home has been […]
Continue readingGuarding the basecamp
When we sit down to build a financial plan, our eyes are naturally drawn to the summit, not the basecamp. We focus our energy on the big, inspiring goals: retiring with dignity, leaving a meaningful legacy, aiming for financial independence or funding our children’s education. We engineer our long-term investments to weather global economic storms […]
Continue readingRedefining true financial wellbeing
When working with a qualified and experienced financial planner, you should have a partner who will be exceptionally well-positioned to diagnose a balance sheet. They can easily spot a gap in risk cover, identify underperformance in a portfolio, and structure a tax-efficient estate plan. We are taught to read the numbers like a novel. But […]
Continue readingThe high price of “someday”
There is a very common narrative that high-achievers tend to buy into. It is the idea of the deferred life. We work relentlessly in our thirties, forties, and fifties, pouring all of our surplus time and energy into building our careers and our portfolios. We tell ourselves that we are making sacrifices now so that […]
Continue readingInheritance without instruction
When families who have spent decades building a substantial financial foundation sit down to talk about money, a quiet, often unspoken anxiety usually surfaces. As they look to the future, they worry about the impact their wealth will have on their children. Will the capital empower them to build meaningful lives, or will it remove […]
Continue readingWhy “enough” is not a Number
There is a subtle psychological trap that catches almost every successful person we meet. It is rarely discussed in financial textbooks, but it causes more anxiety than a market crash. It is the phenomenon of the moving finish line. It usually starts early in our careers. We tell ourselves, “I will feel secure when I […]
Continue readingAsking better questions
When we sit down to discuss finances, the natural instinct—is to get straight to work. We want to be productive. Because of this, the conversation almost always begins with a variation of the same well-intentioned question: “How can I help you today?” or “What are your financial goals?” These questions come from a good place. […]
Continue readingWhy your brain is working against your retirement
How are you feeling about your retirement plan? For many, this is a stress-filled question, leading them to avoid diving too deep! For others, they like to spend a lot of time looking at spreadsheets when planning for the future. They love analysing cash flow, projecting inflation, and debating asset allocation. But the biggest variable […]
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