Insights

First Quarter 2022|Jim Williams| Decision architecture on withdrawal strategies for funding retirement from investment portfolios; how much, how to decide is written about extensively. Most of this writing is rich in calculations, charts, graphs and other numerical presentation. I think many readers find that kind of source material off-putting and lose sight of the forest by being surrounded by trees. This essay will seek to explain a variety of withdrawal frameworks with a minimum of recourse to numbers.

Fourth Quarter 2021|Jim Williams| Over the years, and much more recently, I've had a lot of conversations with folks about the transition from accumulation to decumulation, from work to retirement. These conversations have ranged from coaching and counseling on very simple and straightforward issues to extremely complex ones; from formal and professional to informal and casual.

First Quarter 2021|Jim Williams| Just this last month, the CFP Board announced, based on a Practice Analysis Study (which describes what planners are actually doing in their practices), the addition of a new Principal Knowledge Topic: The Psychology of Financial Planning. As a Principal Knowledge Topic, the Psychology of Financial Planning will be included in the Body of Knowledge required of CFP Professionals. The topic will be included in examination starting in 2022. This topic has grown up from the roots of the financial planning profession and it is good news and none too soon.

Third Quarter 2019|Jim Williams| One of the most pertinent subjects that we address in the practice of financial planning is lifestyle (level of spending, primarily on consumption). It is of central importance to the planning process since the relationship between spending and resources available is the ultimate key to long-term financial security. At a fundamental level, savings is the difference between what we produce and what we consume; assuming the production is greater than the consumption.

Second Quarter 2018|Jim Williams| In considering claiming strategies for Social Security, one can consider many factors, including other resources, age, age of spouse, level of benefit, spouses own benefits, health, estate desires, tax effects, effects on Medicare Premiums, etc. One of the most common processes is to try to predict one's life span in order to maximize the total benefit over that interval. This method boils down to the following general rule: If you live long, it pays to wait; if you live short, it pays to not wait. Problem is, we don't know, for the most part, whether we will live long or short. Also, other considerations may outweigh simple maximization.

Third Quarter 2017|Jim Williams| The breach of the Equifax credit reporting database that occurred several months ago exposed the personal information of almost half of the US population. This event has raised the risk level on personal privacy; exposure of personally identifiable information and identity theft. While it may seem that much personal information is already exposed in a number of ways, and that efforts to minimize exposure may be futile, we believe strongly that it is prudent to take all reasonable measures to maintain information security.