Americans love “set and forget it” products. Like rotisserie roasters and slow cookers that prepare delicious dinners while we’re miles from the kitchen, any approach that takes out complexity is beloved in our harried, overworked society. That’s why index funds are growing so rapidly. Why pay an advisor good money to pick stocks when the… Continue reading →

It was Dr. Martin Luther King who said “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Weighty words indeed, but they feel apropos of the back-and-forth we see in Washington over a rule meant to protect investors from unscrupulous financial advisors. To catch you up, the Obama administration was on… Continue reading →

You probably think of your own home as your largest expense in life. Perhaps your kids, if you think of them as expenses. A recent study, in fact, estimated that buying a house and raising a child cost about the same — $245,300 for the house and $278,300 to raise a child from birth to… Continue reading →

Quick question: What title does your financial advisor use? What’s actually on his or her business card? If the words are “financial advisor,” the feds could come calling with pointed questions. The problem is one of legal responsibility. In the final weeks of the Obama administration the government was set to raise the bar on… Continue reading →

Being a good financial advisor is a lot like being a good personal physician. You have to listen to what the patient means, whether they are saying it out loud or not. Every primary practice doctor has this experience. The patient comes in, gets weighed, blood pressure taken, and the doctor does his or her… Continue reading →

The headlines are outrageous and heartbreaking. Seventeen dead in a Florida high school, victims of an angry young man with a powerful weapon in his hands. This follows, of course, the mass attacks in Las Vegas, in Orlando and in Newtown, Conn. Never mind the estimated 96 guns deaths daily around the country, most of… Continue reading →

What could be more complicated than love? Money, hands down. The strange, beautiful chemistry that binds two people together can make us blind to many faults. That’s good, because we certainly have faults of our own to conceal. Where things can turn sour, of course, is when we have to talk to our partners about… Continue reading →

The recent stock market news has been downright scary. “Biggest one-day points plunge! Stocks in freefall! Bear market begins!” You’re probably expecting me to say “Don’t worry, everything is going to be fine.” But I won’t — because I can’t. I don’t know if stocks will recover tomorrow or take another big dive. I don’t… Continue reading →

Sometimes in life, if you are lucky, there is a moment when all of the pieces come together–personally and professionally. For me, joining Rebalance has been one of those times when a new challenge and opportunity showed up at just the right moment. But first, let me tell you a little bit about my personal… Continue reading →