Client Only

The content below is a proprietary part of our website. These recorded educational sessions are for our clients only. They are intended for review and reference, and for those unable to attend in person. 

If you are a client and do not have the latest password for this content, please email joel@financialabundanceinc.com or call us at (814) 867-5745.

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Link to 2024 Securities and Exchange Commission Forms ADV/CRS & Business Continuity Plan

Separating Myths From Truth

This session would be the beginning step of your journey toward achieving peace of mind over one’s investments. How do you know whether the information you’re getting is academic or opinion? Do returns in the market come from the market itself or managers?

What are the three warning signs that you’re speculating and gambling with your financial future? This will all be answered along with a number of other questions, as we pull back the curtain on the financial industries myths and techniques….versus the academic truths from over 50 years of scientific research from leading economists, professors, and several Nobel Laureates.

Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) were introduced in 1999 after nearly four years of work by many volunteers from across the industry. These standards were designed to replace a growing number of national standards, which had the same objectives but each took slightly different approaches.

Rebalancing In Action

How can your portfolio be more valuable when your balance is down? Times like these are where you make the money for the long term. Show me the pigs!!

Show Me The Money

How does inflation affect your strategy of taking income and would a 5% withdrawal rate hold up with the combination of this inflation and market volatility we are currently experiencing? We will be breaking down two formulas and how income will be taken in the future. If you are currently taking income or are within five years of retirement, you definitely do not want to miss this session

Understanding Your Portfolio

Once you get past the understanding of portfolio construction and the academic truths that can be applied to building a prudent, well diversified, global-based portfolio, understanding the makeup of the portfolio becomes a lot simpler. This presentation is focused around the volatility of 2018 and 2019 with laser centered attention on the different asset classes or pieces that make up one’s portfolio.

We talked about how to track your portfolio with the information you see on the nightly news and how to properly understand what that information you receive means to you. This particular session was one that led to a lot of clarity and understanding with a number of attendees at our July 2019 sessions. This is a presentation that would be one of the staples and go to for anyone that wants to really understand what they own in a well-diversified portfolio.

Are The Portfolios Broken?

Everyone loves volatility when the market is up, but that isn’t always the case. The current state of the market has been created by what some call a “perfect storm”. There are supposedly three major contributors to the downward spiral the market is taking; current trade, the Federal Reserve, and the most recent election. 

With all the current tariff and international trade news, a split political house, and interest rates soaring, what does that mean for the market and our portfolios in the long run? With international down, should we focus on the S&P 500? Are our portfolios made to deal with a crash or uncertainty in the market? Academically speaking, all of the news we hear is nothing more than noise, because the market returns what it returns. Returns come from the market, not from market managers. In order to get those returns, we need to own equities, diversify, and rebalance. Once one understands how their portfolio truly works, then the noise will be nothing more than noise. 

Gearing Up for the Next Crash

Crashes happen, so what is a crash? A stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of individual stocks’ (company ownership) prices across the significant cross-section (multiple asset classes or industry types) of a market. The S&P 500 (US Large Growth companies’ index) has had three separate 20-29% calendar year drops since 1926 and three separate over 30 % year drops since 1926.

The problem…when the market is at an all-time high, there is fear of a pull back. The market has done very well for a couple years now, as well hit some all-time highs. The statistics and data clearly show that the historical market has had a 2/3rd bias. Two out of every three years is up; one out of every three years is down. What does this mean for the future? We will be pulling back the curtain to discuss market volatility and the impact that it has on income planning for current retirees and future retirees. When is it time to circle the wagons? Should retirees be more conservative, as a defense to down markets? What’s your sleep factor?

Engineering Matters

Where do returns come from? Does engineering and execution have any bearing on returns? What about fees and the cost to constantly readjust portfolios to the current social political economic climate. We’re going to get into engineering in this presentation, pull back the curtain, and expose the academic truths about the science of investing. This is a must see presentation for anyone who wants to understand where returns come from and how to harness them for greater financial security.

Social, Political, and Economic Climate

Where do returns come from? Does engineering and execution have any bearing on returns? What about fees and the cost to constantly readjust portfolios to the current social political economic climate. We’re going to get into engineering in this presentation, pull back the curtain, and expose the academic truths about the science of investing. This is a must see presentation for anyone who wants to understand where returns come from and how to harness them for greater financial security.

Student Loans

College planning and how you treat your student debt load has never been more important than it is today. The historical amounts of debt that college graduates are coming out with is mind boggling. The debt is so enormous that it is considered the next bubble and now higher than credit card debt.

What is the best way to pay back your student loans? This decision that you make in your 20’s, coming out of college, could be the difference in hundreds of thousands of dollars by the time you retire. In this video you will find a generic example and one that many graduate students can apply. Many think that all debt is bad, but is there such a thing as preferred debt? Find out here!

Dividends and Cost-Basis

This rather brief presentation was designed to offer clarity in the area of dividends, cost basis, and share price appreciation. The area of cost basis and share prices can be very confusing to the average investor. We attempt to clarify a area that can be very confusing, especially when you look at most brokerage statements. This presentation is not meant to be a substitute for tax advice. This is designed as a basic primer so that investors can understand definitions and the framework of this area of investing.

Financial Trivia

This presentation was a result of a recent Private Investor Education Session. We decided to test our clients’ knowledge and understanding of many of the financial principles that we continue to coach and reinforce. We had a financial game night that pitted table against table and we received incredible feedback. We’ve decided to trim the bulk of the presentation down to the questions specifically, as well answer them.

Getting Income

When we do our complete and holistic planning process, the most important area that we focus in on is income planning. This session we’re going to unpack this crucial and often miss understood area and hone in on taking income in retirement. When it comes to retirement income planning, should one use bonds, dividends and interest, annuities, real estate investment trusts, CD’s, cash, buckets, or the stock market?

There’s not a lack of information in our current technological environment, but there is a lack of direction. We will break it down and simplify it for you in this session. This is a must review if you’re in retirement or 5 to 8 years out from needing to activate income tributaries. Our goal is always your “peace of mind” when discussing your investments. We believe education leads to clarity, and only with clarity can one find confidence and peace of mind.

British Go…Cheerio?

As you may know, the United Kingdom exited from the European Union with the vote on June 24. This created a ripple in the market and a huge amount of media attention. Once again the hype and the doom and gloom does not seem to portray the reality of what this means to the average investor. Understanding the basic tenants of investing means pursuing a scientific and logical approach. A dose of common sense as to the real repercussions of the UK decision to break away can mean all the difference in whether you profit from the hype or fall prey to it.

Benefits of International Investing

In this particular session that we’ve recorded called, “The Benefits of International Investing”, we discuss the merit of having international companies in a diversified portfolio. Remember the three basic rules:

1) Own Equities 
2) Diversify 
3) Rebalance

Investors need diversification in order to accomplish rebalancing. International equities are just another diversifier for a market-based, prudently engineered portfolio.

This Time It’s Different

This presentation discusses each of the historical US market crashes over the past 90 years. Since 1928, there have been 92 market drops of 10% or more, compared to 26 market drops of 20% or more. Since 1946, it has taken the market just 111 days, on average to rise back to pre-crash levels. The market has always continued to hit new highs; however the journey is like going up a flight of stairs playing with a yo-yo.

Validation

This private investor education session centers around the idea of validation. We all need validation I believe continuously in areas that have a dramatic impact on our lives. Relationships, career, finances and health. We look for validation constantly, we go to the doctor, maybe check their investment balances regularly or look to a love one to get a smile or an encouraging word at times. Validation is a human need. We asked the question can we do any better as investment advisors? The results and answers to that question are found in this presentation.

Is It Time to Put All of Your Money in the S&P 500?

US large companies are hitting historic highs in 2014. Should investors put more or all of their money in them and capitalize on the hot sector?

While some may be inclined to get onto this train of seemingly skyrocketing returns the S&P 500 has offered thus far this year, the wise know that volatility works both ways. The risk is two-fold. Now that the S&P 500 has appreciated, there is a legitimate risk that this ride is over and that any material change to shift resources in this direction may be poorly timed. In other words, the ship may have already sailed. This is the risk of market timing and chasing the market at its very core and the reason actual investor returns frequently do not match fund performance (as evidenced year after year in Dalbar’s Quantitative Analysis of Investor Behavior studies.) Investors see an asset appreciate and then buy (too late). Once in, they frequently get the luxury of the ride down and then sell for a loss. Then they look around for another hot asset, lather, rinse, and repeat. Ten minutes of coaching can save investors form making huge mistakes when they think they are missing out.

The Dimensions of Risk and Return

This presentation explains how to focus on those “risks” that are prudent, return a “risk premium”, and what that premium or expected return is on academically structured investments.

We believe that it is the markets that give us returns and not the investment managers. Free Market economies are thus very resilient. They always come back, and the rebound is usually fast and furious. It has been proven time and time again that the average individual investor panics and, therefore, does not realize rebounding market returns.

There is a common belief that investors don’t like volatility. Investors actually love volatility when the market trend is up. Volatility is very healthy for the market and is the reason why there is an “equity premium” in the market for all who participate. If there were no element of risk, investors would have to settle for Treasury Bill-like returns. Volatility makes it possible for the markets to give us those generous long term returns that help us all reach our financial goals.

The Sky is Falling…

Wow, the last couple of weeks have seen quite a bit of volatility. The talking heads, prognosticators, gurus, and oracles are starting to come out of the woodwork! This short presentation addresses the social, political, and economic climate of past market fluctuations in an attempt to head off the fear peddling that is prevalent whenever we start to see a couple weeks of red in the stock market. Save yourself some financial indigestion; spend 15 minutes to get coached up on the reality of what past market downturns have created.  Education leads to clarity, clarity to confidence, and only with confidence can one attain peace of mind. Get coached up!

Rebalancing and Standard Deviation

Rebalancing is logical and recognized by most investment professionals as valid. However, emotionally, it is the most difficult part of investing; remember sell high and buy low, not the inverse. Most of the fund managers in the industry do just the opposite; sell as it’s going down and buy as it’s going up. This is the direct result of chasing the market, not portfolio management.

One of the market areas that takes the most coaching on our part and the most focus on the clients part, is understanding the concept and practical applications of rebalancing.

This session we are going to attack that subject in great detail and we’re going to discuss fund rebalancing and portfolio rebalancing.

Putting Risk to Work for Your Portfolio

The greatest area of confusion and misunderstanding in investing comes from the concept of RISK. Many so-called investment professionals (stockbrokers and financial planners) only have a cursory grasp of risk. There is a vast difference between knowing risk exists and truly understanding it. You can put risk to work for your portfolio by understanding its many forms.

My Rudder

This session is a bit out of the ordinary. Based on record volatility and underlying political uncertainty in 2011, we at Financial Abundance felt a need for people to understand some of the core guiding principles that have allowed us to communicate a level of confidence and peace about our investment strategies. We are known for our abundance – a “glass half full,” optimistic outlook – but this opinion is not based on Pollyanna perceptions or an ignorance-is-bliss mind set. It is based on very calculated reasoning, backed by sound academic and scientific truths, as you will see in this presentation.