Our Deep Rooted Thoughts

I hope everyone is sheltering safely and taking all necessary precautions.  Your health will always be more important than the size of your investment portfolio. While we are being bombarded…

I greatly appreciate your patience with your investment portfolio during these stressful times.  As I have been explaining, the most effective way to grow your wealth is to not let…

This week has seen the world stock markets reverse from all-time highs into negative performance for 2020.  Despite the volatility and breathless reporting on the financial news networks, not one of our clients has called or emailed with concerns.  Kudos to all of you!  I am gratified that you understand that growing your wealth requires accepting some short-term market volatility.

SECURE Act Summary Passed on December 20, 2019, the SECURE Act has a number of provisions that may impact your financial planning.  Below we have listed a few that will…

To the extent that you would like to enhance your own data security, the three strongest recommendations we have are as follows: Use dual-factor authentication when you access any of…

Keeping your financial and personal data secure is very important to us.  We know how important it is to you.  The following is a list of steps we have taken…

Below is the Oak Wealth Advisors Key Numbers document that has helped so many of our clients, friends, and fellow professionals with their planning.  If you have any questions about…

As we approach the end of the third quarter, we want to update you on our views about the markets and the positioning of investments in your portfolio. YES –…

While it will not be official until mid-October, it appears that Social Security benefits will be rising by 2.8% in 2019.  This will be the largest cost-of-living adjustment since 2012….

Wow! The stock market just set a record for the longest bull market period in history. A bull market is defined as a period during which the market is rising…

We all enjoyed the investment markets in 2017. The values of investments climbed gradually throughout the year with almost no declines. In fact, 2017 was a historically calm year in…

While we await the 1099s that report our taxable investment income and taxable IRA distributions for 2017, I wanted to share with you our 2018 Key Numbers document that highlights…

In 2017, the investment markets delivered better than expected returns. As we begin 2018, the prospects remain good for another year of solid investment results. Corporate profits are growing, unemployment…

Ever ridden in a car with worn-out shock absorbers? Every bump is jarring, every corner stomach-churning, and every red light an excuse to assume the brace position. Owning an undiversified portfolio can trigger similar reactions.

We wanted to update you on the first 100 days of the year at Oak Wealth Advisors. It has been a momentous period that we feel has us well positioned to deliver the best possible client service in the future. The fortune cookies that we opened late in 2016 could not have been more insightful.

– Better than nothing, but just barely… Regardless of whom our next President is, for 2017, Social Security recipients will be getting a .3% increase in their monthly checks.  (That…

IRAs and qualified retirement plans like 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and 457(b)s are among the most tax-inefficient assets to leave your heirs. Distributions from IRAs and qualified retirement accounts are taxed as ordinary income and can be taxed up to the highest marginal income tax rates. For wealthy taxpayers, their IRA balances may be subject to the estate tax at 40%. At their death, if the beneficiaries they have named are subject to the highest (39.6%) income tax bracket, the amount received by the next generation from the inherited IRA account may be only thirty-six cents on the dollar.

The Senior Citizens Freedom to Work Act, passed in 2000, allowed seniors to continue working while receiving Social Security benefits.  This Act permitted Social Security benefits planning strategies that helped…

When it comes to retirement spending, everyone wants a simple rule for how much of their savings they can safely spend every year.  For some, the goal is simply to…

Ideally, wealth creation would proceed on a path of steady growth.  However, investment risks exist which require patience, conviction, and discipline in order for financial goals to be achieved.  While…

Changes in longevity require changes in our expectations about retirement savings. In the early 1900s, the average life expectancy of a newborn American was about 50 years. In 1933, the…

As most people know, Oak Wealth Advisors does not invest based on predictions.  Instead, we focus on disciplined investing which leads to greater stability and wealth creation.  We also try…

Accountability is important. It is for this reason we have been disappointed by the media’s failure to hold their “experts” accountable for the recommendations and predictions that they issue. In…

Everyone would prefer the investment markets to make consistent gains without any periods of negative performance.  Unfortunately, that is not the way the investment markets deliver returns. Research into investor…

Deciding when to begin receiving Social Security benefits is a major financial issue for anyone approaching retirement. There is a tradeoff between the amount of the monthly benefit and the…

The wisdom of Dr. Seuss is far reaching. One of his tales that is particularly relevant as we enter 2014 is The Bippolo Seed. In this story, a duck finds…

Financial matters are stressful for many, and Oak Wealth Advisors takes pride in minimizing these stresses for our clients.  While alleviating the stress associated with the holidays is not our…

Tapering, when used as a verb, means to grow gradually lean. However, the two times during the second quarter of 2013 when tapering was used as a verb by Chairman…

If only it was as easy as just saying we were going to stop making bad decisions… We make decisions every day.  While most of them have insignificant consequences, the…

2012 is a year for which Oak Wealth Advisors will always be particularly proud. Almost all of our clients enjoyed portfolio performance that exceeded their custom benchmarks on an after-expense…

Most investors have some municipal bonds in their portfolios, either through individual holdings, mutual funds, or exchange traded funds.  Municipal bonds are generally considered among the safest investments.  That viewpoint…

This old Wall Street adage came about as a description of how many traders on Wall Street would take summer vacations and did not want to be holding stocks when…

Spring has officially arrived, flowers are blooming, and our 2012 investment returns have everyone in a good mood.  In fact, the investment returns this year are far better than we…

The familiar refrain of:  “I’ll get to it before I die,” can often be applied to our personal record keeping.  We all know it is important, it can simplify things in the future, yet it is almost never a top priority.

On a recent trip to Disney World, I came across a very special box that was titled the Ultimate Financial File. It was appropriately located between Fantasy Land and Tomorrow Land. Unfortunately, I did not have time to view its contents. However, the discovery of the box inspired me to create a list of the documents that should be included in the Ultimate Financial File.

It is always tempting to believe that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Investors who succumb to this temptation chase the latest tip or invest…

In early November, I had the pleasure of having lunch with Bill Strauss, the Senior Economist and Economic Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.  As the lead economist…

In the wake of the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) credit downgrade of the United States debt obligations (our bonds, bills, and notes that are owed to investors both domestically and…

We will probably not see any meaningful increase in inflation in 2011 or 2012.  Despite polls of consumers who collectively are certain inflation is just around the corner, and numerous…

When investors hear the term risk, their thoughts turn to losing money.  Ironically, the financial services industry and academics define investment risk as the volatility of prices.  Volatility measures how…

____________________  will win the Super Bowl. ____________________  will win the Oscar Award for Best Picture. Making predictions is fun and relatively painless if you are wrong when forecasting things like…

As we approach Thanksgiving, I wanted to share with you some research I have read over the course of the year that centers on the relation between money and happiness….

The investment markets have already been reacting as if they know the outcomes of the mid-term elections. We have experienced abnormally robust returns in September and October. These returns are…

In 2010, most stock market experts predicted a relatively modest year following a calamitous 2008 and a dramatic recovery in 2009. While the S&P 500 stock index is up around…

The perception has long been that investing in bonds is a safe way to generate investment income without much risk.  Today, numerous articles and letters to the editors of financial…

Sovereign debt? That’s someone else’s problem, right?Nations get into trouble when they do not manage their financial affairs prudently. Often it seems the easiest way to balance a budget is…

One year from the bottom of the worst recession in our lifetime, it is important to reflect on the recovery and the lessons learned about financial risk taking. Through March…

Throughout my career, I have found incredible consistency among the clients I have assisted in their desire to minimize their income taxes to the fullest extent allowed by the law….

2009 is set to finish as one of the strongest years of investment market returns in history. Most every asset class will finish the year with a double digit return,…

As the year comes to a close and we gather with family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope all of us will take time to think about what we…

With our children, we use discipline to help them improve their behavior. Applying discipline to financial decision making also provides benefits. While most people do not consider how their emotions…

Everyone loves predictions! Unfortunately, it is human nature to be attracted to them like moths to flames. Consider that most people watch weather forecasts with high expectations for accuracy only…

Numerous independent research reports and data from multiple sources suggest that the economy is emerging from the recession and the market recovery that started on March 9th is sustainable. In…

While the media continues to remind the public of all the problems that still exist, the S&P 500 index has rallied over 35% from the low it set back on…

No one can predict the future, but we did have some large positive advances in the stock market on very limited good news the week of March 9th.  In fact,…

As Oak Wealth Advisors approaches its first 100 days of operations, it seems appropriate to reflect on what has transpired during the period and what lies ahead.  First, and foremost,…