Gimme Some Truth | Investing, Financial Advice for High-Net-Worth Families and Individuals

After somehow finding themselves in a somewhat brief 10-minute aside about Kraft Mac & Cheese, Taco Bell, Disneyland, and waterparks, Clint Walkner and Nate Condon dive into another installment of their journey of going from working in the Broker-Dealer (BD) space to owning and operating a Fee-Only Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) firm.  In this episode of B-D to Fee-Only RIA , Clint a...

Like many episodes of Gimme Some Truth, this one on liability was developed from lots of advanced legwork, methodically sculpted until it reached its culmination at the time of recording. Well, that's not quite true. Clint Walkner – one of the founding partners of Walkner Condon – shared a personal anecdote about his own liability coverage a few minutes before the scheduled recording, and it...

"With chaos, comes opportunities." What we often hear from clients and prospective clients in times of market downturn is something along the lines of, "Should I still stay invested? Or should I wait until things smooth out and re-enter later? While we certainly understand the sentiment behind wanting to get out when things are going poorly, the statistics tell a different story, especially when i...

Thinking of starting your own independent Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) Firm? Or maybe mulling a move from one of the big wirehouses to an RIA? A few years back (circa 2019), the co-founders of Walkner Condon Financial Advisors – Nate Condon and Clint Walkner – sat down on Gimme Some Truth to discuss their journey from the Broker-Dealer world to the independent RIA space. Now, it's been 10 y...

We've covered Exchange-Traded Funds – commonly referred to as ETFs – in myriad ways on Gimme Some Truth previous to this episode. But we've never truly dedicated an episode to ETFs. So this is us doing exactly that, zooming out to go over the basics of ETFs, their history, how they compare with mutual funds, and more. Mitch DeWitt , MBA, and Jonathon Jordan , CEPA – two of the three Certified...

"It's kind of like the track runner that's getting started, gets his feet in the blocks, and then tumbles and falls down. That's pretty much what bonds are this year."  Not only is Clint's imagery very descriptive at the outset of this episode (he must've aced high school English class), but it's also quite accurate in terms of how the bond market has fared to open 2022. Many investors have b...

"Did anything work in the first quarter?" That poignant question posed by Syl Michelin, a Chartered Financial Analyst, to open this episode is more or less the underlying sentiment three months into 2022. But although it feels like the first quarter was an all-around flop, there were some things that worked from an investment standpoint in the opening stanza of the year. Syl and Stan Farmer, CFP®...

"You're not going to take deliveries of oil and store them in your basement." So if you're not buying and selling barrels of oil and holding them at your house, which Syl Michelin points out as a rather cumbersome commodity investing option, how do you invest in commodities as an everyday investor? And what does that look like? While we've neglected to cover commodities on the podcast previously,...

With all the negative news lately, it can feel like a daunting, uphill climb to find the positive pieces of information on a day-to-day basis. So instead of discussing inflation, the financial impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, or any of the other myriad topics in the news cycle, we decided to shake things up on this edition of Gimme Some Truth and talk about – well, nothing. More specificall...

Maybe you've thought about how you might invest more sustainably, responsibly, or equitably. Or maybe you've actually heard the term 'ESG' or 'ESG' investing. Regardless of whether you fall into one of those camps, or even if you haven't thought much about sustainable investing (regular investing can be complicated enough, as it is), it has certainly been a burgeoning area within investing over th...

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Whoops, off by a few months there. It's not, in fact, the most wonderful time of the year because it's –  drumroll, please – tax season. Sorry, Andy Williams, your catchy holiday tune is no good here. But as dreadful as tax time can be, it's still an important part of any financial situation. Whether you withheld too much and you're about to get...

On the heels of releasing our second annual Market & Investment Outlook Guide , we brought our resident Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®), Syl Michelin, into the studio to dissect his piece, and the last year, and look forward to what 2022 may have in store. Walkner Condon co-founders Nate Condon and Clint Walkner – who also jump-started this very podcast – weigh in with their thoughts, incor...

There are many year-end memes floating around the internet – those who frequent social media know what we're talking about – referencing how painstakingly long, yet shockingly short, 2021 has felt (seriously, the stuck boat was this year?). But, like it or not, 2022 is bearing down on us. And reflecting on the last 12 months, and looking ahead with anticipation, or dread, to the next 12...

Taking the next step in a relationship – cohabitation, marriage, domestic partnership –  comes with plenty of new challenges, even for the dynamic of the relationship alone. But moving in together, or moving into new legal territory, can also change how the relationship functions in terms of finances. Who pays what bills? Do we have a joint account for some things? Or is there one accoun...

With lots of traveling time coming up as we approach the holiday season – and perhaps some additional indoor time for those of us in wintery climes – we thought it'd be a great opportunity to transform this episode into a mini-book club of sorts.  While the phrase 'finance book' may conjure up thoughts of a thick college textbook printed in a six-point font, we can assure you that these...

Christmas music is on the radio, which means we're somewhere between Halloween and New Year’s Eve. But before we get to the end of the year and start thinking about some New Year's resolutions, there's still some time left to make sure your 2021 to-do items are checked off, and that includes your financial to-do list. After a long absence on the podcast – somehow almost two months! – Mitch is back...

In a moment, the real reason you came here for this episode: Cryptocurrency. For now, a brief aside (in the style of a choose-your-own-adventure novel, you may skip past the next paragraph if you wish to get to the meat of the podcast).  For those who recall our conversation –  this podcast – on holiday lighting from last year (and the lengths one should or should not go to decorate thei...

There is a preponderance of Baby Boomers who have turned 65 over the last decade. About 10,000 Baby Boomers have hit the traditional retirement age milestone every day since 2011 , and everyone in that generation will be 65 by 2030. And while many may be retiring, what about those who own their businesses and can't simply just ride into the sunset?  That's a difficult question and one that ap...

When we last saw the Madison real estate market from a realtor's perspective –  this episode with Matt Winzenried in June – things were looking red hot, what we dubbed the 'Mad' real estate market. So, as the weather begins to cool and we head toward winter, we thought it'd be a good time to check back in on how things are going in Madison. Charlie Wills from Charlie Wills Team Real Esta...

For the second time in the last month, Nate and Keith are together in the booth to draw parallels between the game of golf and investing. With the Ryder Cup in Wisconsin, and after a year of waiting because of the pandemic, golf was certainly top of mind for many across the state, and the country, in the last week. And while Europe has dominated the U.S. as of late in the Ryder Cup, it was the Ame...

Formerly the UW Tax-Sheltered Annuity (TSA) 403(b) Program, the UW 403(b) Supplemental Retirement Program (SRP) has recently undergone a name change along with several other changes. With more than 24,000 faculty and staff , UW-Madison is easily one of the largest employers in Dane County – the largest non-government employer in Dane County is UW Health with 9,938 employers, according to In B...

Even while watching golf, it's difficult for Nate's mind to not drift toward how the sport might have parallels with investing and financial planning. So it should come as no surprise that after watching this past weekend's 2021 BMW Championship, which saw Patrick Cantlay edge Bryson DeChambeau in a six-hole playoff, Nate had styles of investing on his mind, connected to the opposing styles of Can...

It seems like it'd be an obvious answer to the main question posed by the title of this podcast. But the truth is, we hear a number of different reasons when it comes to prospective clients describing why they're seeking out a financial advisor. For some, it's simply because a family member has one, and so it feels like the right path to follow. Some turn to an advisor after a large life event. An...

As we approach August and the start of college, many incoming freshmen are putting a lot of thought into what their major – or majors – might be. Some have known for years what they want their degree to be, while others may take several more years, and several declarations of majors, to settle on the one they feel is right. In this episode of Gimme Some Truth, we revisit a topic that we've co...

This week's guest on Gimme Some Truth is Erik Skjervem, who works in sales for MacDonald & Owen Lumber Company , a national lumber company with locations in Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. With the price of lumber soaring to hard-to-fathom heights over the last several months, many of us have heard accounts of how that skyrocketing price of lumber has impacted people building new homes...