Have you heard of ESG? Many investors today are selecting investments in part based on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria.

Don't like fossil fuels, weapons, or pornography? Want to focus on companies that have diverse boards, executive teams, and overall workforce? Have religious beliefs you want to follow when it comes to investing? Then ESG may be right for you.

Hear Kevin discuss solutions for those seeking to align their investments to their ESG values and discuss challenges and investment considerations in doing so. He'll also share several recent client examples that have pursued ESG investing.

What we discuss on this episode: 

1:07 - Watching the Olympics

3:26 - Why ESG has become a trendy conversation

8:46 - Where do you draw the line?

12:38 - Picking investments

17:26 - Challenges with ESG

22:04 - How many clients prioritize this?

Contact:

True Wealth Design Website: http://www.truewealthdesign.com/

Call: 855-893-7526

Schedule: http://bit.ly/calltruewealth

Do you know a smart, financially savvy person that still hires a financial advisor? Ever wonder why they do so?

Many family stewards often seek an advisor to take care of their family's finances if they cannot. Know a couple where one spouse took care of the family finances and then passed, leaving the surviving spouse the fear and frustration of picking up the financial pieces all while going through the grieving process? Family stewards seek to avoid this.

Yet married couples often get even more and unexpected benefits from working with a financial advisor. Communication is the essence of healthy relationships. Quite often meeting with an emotionally intelligent financial advisor can enhance the communication and understanding between spouses while bringing objectivity to the financial and emotional aspects of the relationship.

Hear Kevin relate his story of when he and his wife met with a financial advisor and how it helped them get more aligned. He also shares a client story where spouses weren't on the same page regarding retirement but through open communication and sound financial planning, they are now excitedly turning the page into retirement together.

What we discuss on this episode: 

1:05 - Vacation

2:43 - Why a podcast review inspired this topic

4:41 - Who will take care of my family if something happens to me?

9:07 - We need to hear what's important to both spouses

12:55 - Finding the best way to communicate

18:12 - Couples that aren't on the same page

Contact:

True Wealth Design Website: http://www.truewealthdesign.com/

Call: 855-893-7526

Schedule: http://bit.ly/calltruewealth

What type of investor are you? Are you conservative, moderate, or aggressive?  

These qualitative descriptors are how most think of risk. But what is conservative to you may not be conservative to another.  Rather than using non-measurable descriptions of risk, your customized retirement plan needs to be the foundation to objectively measure risk. Then and only then can the three types of risk -- required return, risk capacity, and risk tolerance -- be accurately evaluated and aligned.

Why is this important? Take too little risk and it can be a conservative way to go broke. Take too much and you may go broke more quickly. Like the story of the Three Bears you want it just right.

Timestamps:

2:20 - What is risk tolerance?

8:30 - How this applies to our planning.

12:38 - Taking emotions out of the risk conversation

18:14 - Client examples

22:45 - Ongoing process for every individual

Contact:

True Wealth Design Website: http://www.truewealthdesign.com/

Call: 855-893-7526

Schedule: http://bit.ly/calltruewealth

Timestamps:

0:58 - Back from first successful camping trip

4:03 - What does this hierarchy have to do with finance?

6:39 - Looking back on undergrad school

12:37 - Moving up the pyramid

15:27 - Client stories to illustrate this idea

26:12 - Differences between gender

30:21 - Exploring these levels with clients

Contact:

True Wealth Design Website: http://www.truewealthdesign.com/

Call: 855-893-7526

Schedule: http://bit.ly/calltruewealth

Having reasonable assumptions for investment returns is critically important for many reasons. These assumptions will impact your retirement plan, investment allocation, and your peace of mind.

Why peace of mind? Well, if you are expecting something unreasonable, no doubt you're likely to be dissatisfied and more likely to be undisciplined.

Hear Kevin review 10-year return forecasts from leading money managers Blackrock and Research Affiliates. What are domestic and foreign stocks likely to do? How about bonds and real estate?

Tune in to find out and become a more informed investor.

Timestamps:

4:05 - Gauging Expectations For A Retirement Plan

11:32 - Why 10 Years?

14:50 - Diving Into The Data

29:07 - How Well Have These Predictions Done?

33:51 - How Kevin Uses These Expectations When Putting Together A Retirement Plan

Contact:

True Wealth Design Website: http://www.truewealthdesign.com/

Call: 855-893-7526

Schedule: http://bit.ly/calltruewealth

One of the beginning steps in every retirement plan is to value your assets and project their values into the future. Valuing assets like stocks and bonds is easy (though making accurate projections becomes more difficult.) Complexity increases even more when you consider illiquid assets like real estate and business ventures.

Hear Kevin discuss how to model illiquid assets in your retirement plan. Learn why focusing on rental income is shortsighted and how scenario analysis with low to high values can be helpful for business owners.

If you ever plan to sell real estate, this episode will be helpful. And the more of your net worth is in illiquid assets, the more you need to understand these key concepts to have a well-constructed retirement plan.

Timestamps:

3:34 - Illiquid Assets

8:04 - What’s Caused More Interest In Real Estate?

10:00 - Common Mistakes In Real Estate

16:09 - Treat It Like A Business

19:47 - Incorporating This Into A Retirement Plan

21:47 - Projecting Illiquid Assets

Contact:

True Wealth Design Website: http://www.truewealthdesign.com/

Call: 855-893-7526

Schedule: http://bit.ly/calltruewealth

Hear Kevin describe a conversation he recently had with a podcast listener aged 57. He's planning on working for several more years and was wondering if now is too soon to get serious about planning for retirement.

Kevin discussed the qualitative and quantitative benefits clients often get from the Retire Smarter Solution as well as some time-sensitive issues you need to address well before you retire.

While it's never too early to start, as your time becomes more valuable, your assets accumulate, and the cost of a mistake becomes larger, it tends to make sense to hire an expert. This way you can make sure you're making the most of what you have.

Timestamps:

1:24 - Ray’s Call With Kevin

4:54 - Getting Clarity

6:37 - Putting Together A Spending Plan

10:08 - Concrete Information

12:22 - Are Clients Better Off The Earlier They See An Advisor?

17:26 - Make The Most Of What You Have

Contact:

True Wealth Design Website: http://www.truewealthdesign.com/

Call: 855-893-7526

Schedule: http://bit.ly/calltruewealth