Wisdom for Your Wisdom Years

Two weeks before this episode aired, Rory McIlroy won the Masters championship for the second time, and a back to back win at that -- a veryrare feat in golf. Rory became the fourth to ever do it, alongside the best golfers of all time Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods (Nick Faldo also went back to back in 1988 and 1989). Heading into the final day of the tournament, Rory had a commanding six shot lea...

When markets become volatile, many people start to get nervy. It feels like a time to pull back, to move to cash and wait until the storm blows over and things return to "normal." As Matt counsels, however, for a well designed financial plan volatility isn't bad, it's actually an opportunity!   Follow Matt Murphy  Web: https://www.benetaswealth.com Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/jb7SNc LinkedIn: ht...

Every time a scam hits the headlines, most people think to themselves: "this wouldn't happen to me." And yet, scams happen all the time, even to smart, well-informed people! Many think scammers are bottom feeders, spamming poorly-worded, suspicious looking emails, texts, and links that are too obvious to fool any but the most gullible. While there are plenty of those kinds of scams in the world, t...

Matt recently spoke at the University of Central Florida to students interested in pursuing a career in wealth management. One student asked him a prescient question: how did he learn how to talk with clients about money, especially the psychological side of the conversation? Matt's response wasn't about technical knowledge, or certifications and credentials. It was about, as Socrates says, knowin...

Matt reviews a few conversations he's had with clients that came seeking a second opinion about the financial advice they had gotten. The conversations highlight a common problem that is unfortunately not talked about much. Meetings with financial advisors often focus primarily, maybe even exclusively on portfolio performance, missing the context of the bigger picture -- things like tax strategies...

Some wealth management firms offer integrated financial advisory, in which they combine investment management, tax planning, estate planning, insurance and more under one roof. The concept is attractive -- you have one place with one point of contact for managing your complete financial life, and your service should be coordinated between professionals. Investment decisions should align with tax p...

Abbie returns to the podcast to talk with Matt about the many tax implications of Roth IRA conversions in retirement. Roth conversions are useful tools for managing your cash flow in retirement and avoiding the retirement income snowball (discussed in episode #25). Roth conversions can also help you avoid required minimum distributions in your later years. As always, the key is planning well ahead...

CPA's are skilled and useful practioners, and important tools in making sure that you are compliant with the tax code and don't pay more taxes than you legally owe... this year . Many people mistake the advice of their CPA for tax planning, that is, the long-term positioning of your income, assets, and other unique circumstances to minimize your tax burden in the future. Matt reminds us that taxes...

Attorneys, accountants, investment advisors -- they all have their place in your financial life. Most of them provide sound advice as well, but they are specialized professionals and their expertise and scope of work is inherently limited. Herein lies a trap in retirement planning. While you may get good advice on setting up trusts, allocating your investment assets, purchasing long-term healthcar...

Matt explores the psychology behind a conversation he has often with clients, which revolves around the fear of spending in retirement. Even when the math is done, the spreadsheets are double checked, the modeling shows high confidence in your financial stability... many clients hit retirement and have trouble shifting into a "spending" rather than a "saving" mindset. After decades of saving and d...

Today is the one year anniversary of Benetas Wealth, which has Matt reflecting. For over twenty years he was a professional financial advisor at a big firm, but after stepping out to run his own practice that chapter, he realized, had closed. All of a sudden he was responsible for getting clients, making payroll, operations... Matt realized that what people often refer to as uncertainty when makin...

Financial plans don't fail in spreadsheets, they fail at stress points -- parents that need more help and care than expected, a business sale that took longer than anticipated, prolonged market volatility. As Matt has observed during his career, it's not the stressors themselves that cause problems with the financial plan, it's the behavior around those stressors. A good financial plan includes fl...

Liquidity -- how quickly, easily, and efficienly you can sell your assets to raise cash or reinvest -- is an attractive quality for many investors. It's a safety blanket, like having a lot of cash in the bank or a healthy income stream. But liquidity comes at a cost, and being too liquid could be an expensive mistake.   As Matt explains, liquid investments present a few important behavioral risks...

Matt takes a walk through the interest rate environment of the past several years, from the near-zero rates of the COVID era to today's rates hovering nearer the historical average. Matt explains how the policy decisions of 2020-2021 (and before) suppressed interest rates, sending them steadily downward. During this period interest rates were predictable -- they would go down steadily -- and retir...

Many smart, sophisticated investors get caught by this trap -- the retirement income snowball tax trap. Like most retirement income problems, the income snowball happens slowly, building over many years. At first things seem fine in retirement. Income is sufficient, taxes are low, but if you have deferred a lot of income in previous decisions -- social security, benefit plans, portoflio RMD's -- t...

In the third and final installment of the investing miniseries, Matt Murphy and Matt Reynolds discuss the common investment products most investors will use during their lifetime. Matt breaks down the difference between active and passive fund management, and why investors over the past few decades have flocked to passive index funds, which hold a basket of stocks that mirror market indices like t...

In part 2 of a three-part Q&A series about investing, Matt Murphy and Matt Reynolds discuss the concept of risk in investing and how new investors, young and old, should think about risk. Everyone is familiar with the concept of risk in everyday life (a popular slang term today is FAFO, for instance), and the idea is simiilar in investing. There are many investments you could make, some higher ris...

Matt and Matt team up again for another Q&A episode, this time focused on how to get started with investing. Matt Murphy clarifies basic investing terms you need to know, such as stocks and equities, bonds and fixed income, and lays out the basic roadmap for investing through your lifetime. The key word with all things investing: patience . Results (wealth) from investing come from repeated good d...

Trusts and estate planning in general can be daunting and confusing, but with the right team around you it can be a smooth process that protects you and your family's interests throughout your life and beyond. In today's episode, estate attorney Jodi Murphy returns to the podcast to explain what trusts are, how they work, why you would want want, and how to set them up. She also walks through a fe...

In the final part of the miniseries on annuities, Matt discusses whether annuities are ever worth it, and if so, the scenarios in which he might recommend them. Following the story of Jim and Carol from the previous episode, he details how he he worked through their complicated stack of annuities to help them simplify their financial plan and align their investments with their priorities. The firs...

In the second part of this three-part miniseries on annuities, Matt peels apart the layers of the complex financial machinery that makes annuities tick. He examines how insurance companies make money with annuities, and how various risks are spread between the underwriter of the annuity and the annuitant(s). Matt also breaks down how the various fees for annuities are calculated, including the cru...

In the first part of a three-part miniseries about annuities, Matt breaks down the different types of annuities and how they work. Matt frequently works with new clients who have annuities, and are unsure how exactly they work or how they fit into their financial plan (if they fit in at all). Unfortunately for many, annuities not only aren't a good fit for their circumstances, they can also carry...

In today's episode, Matt brings on his intern Matt Reynolds (another Matt!) to ask him a series of questions about personal finance and investing. Emergency funds, IRA's, 401(k), index funds and much more -- Matt gives a crash course in all the major concepts and investment vehicles you need to know to get started on the right foot in your financial life.   As Matt emphasizes, it's not about getti...

In today's episode, Matt chats with Jeromey Thornton, Senior Investment Director at Avantis Investments, about the inner workings of the investing and portfolio management industry. Jeromey explains how the investment funds you invest in are set up, how they operate, and what kind of strategies they use to differentiate themselves in the market. He also explains how the exchange traded fund, or ET...

There are a number of benefits available to retirees through Medicaid and, for veterans, the VA. Understanding what you qualify for, how to apply, and how to best manage your assets and retirement income to maximize your benefits can be VERY confusing and complicated. In today's episode estate attorney Jodi Murphy returns to the podcast to help you navigate the minefield of retirement benefits, an...