The Financial Advocate

Directly from sethsmom.org :   About Seth's Mom So, what about Seth's Mom? We are the  FREE NOW FREE FOREVER  premier information, news, entertainment, education web portal. What started as an idea in 2015 by Dr. Monique Day, Seth's Mom was launched in May 2017 as a bridge between families and individuals diagnosed with disabilities and the wealth of information, accommodating vendors, and service...

This is a discussion between Colin Meeks and Ryan Stark about the value an advisor should bring. We discuss value vs. cost and how a financial advisor should bring you enough value to decrease the effects of the cost. For example, hopefully as advisors we are able to save you enough money so they cost is there, but it does not effect your bottom line because our advice helped you save money in oth...

Here we talk about "selling" and what this word means to us as financial advisors. Please consider sharing if you enjoy the podcast. Thanks!

This is how much it costs to work with us. Surprisingly, we never get asked how we make money. We always end up explaining it to people so they understand how much we make from each thing we are doing, whether that be providing life insurance or producing a full financial plan and managing money. Listen to one of our most transparent episodes from The Financial Advocate podcast. As always, if you...

This is a recorded episode of our podcast 'The Financial Advocate' about timing the market. This is our opinion on trying to buy low and sell high and trying to invest at the right time.  We get into some of our investing philosophy! Feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions - ryan.stark@lpl.com

This is a real case study we did for one of our recent new relationships. We are working with a really great person and on top of that the situation was just busy enough for us to discuss. Listen to this podcast if you are curious about our process and how we handle our typical client. 

Andrew Komarow, MSFS AEP ®  AIF ®  CAP ®  CASL ®  CFP ®  CHFC ®  CHSNC ® CLU ®  FSCP ®  REBC ®   RHU ®  RICP ® Founder and President Andrew has been with us since the beginning and is the creator of Planning Across the Spectrum. Andrew is an advocate throughout Connecticut and throughout New England for Autism awareness as well as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™  and co-founder of Talcott Financial...

OUR MISSION: The National Down Syndrome Society is the leading human rights organization for all individuals with Down syndrome. Our Vision The National Down Syndrome Society envisions a world in which all people with Down syndrome have the opportunity to enhance their quality of life, realize their life aspirations and become valued members of welcoming communities. Information about Ashley: Ashl...

Better late than never! Here is the 2018 Year End Review about the market, crazy events and other podcasts we have done this year. Sorry if some of the content seems untimely. We have to get everything approved through a compliance department so sometimes our podcasts or videos are a week late due to the review. Thanks for understanding and thanks for continued listening in 2019! 

This podcast case study is short sweet and to the point. Find out why we think most individuals would benefit from speaking with a financial advisor. This doesn't mean you need a long term or ongoing relationship with an advisor; however, simply sitting down with one once a year or even less can still be extremely beneficial for your financial future.

Do you have a parent or spouse that may need to consider moving into a nursing home? This episode describes one way to prepare for nursing home costs and it is called the Medicaid Compliant Annuity. It offers you a way to save the hard earned money you saved over the years rather than spend it all in the first 2 years of nursing care. This is an annuity that only married couples can use, so if you...

My name is Lorraine Ell I'm the CEO of  Better Money Decisions  (B$D) and co-author of the blog  Better Financial Decisions . As a principal of B$D, I'm excited to continue my long career as an investment professional which started when I worked in the 1980s as an advisor with Drexel, Burnham and Lambert and J.W. Charles and as co-owner of a Registered Investment Advisory firm. Living and working...

This is a real estate update with Mike Klijanowicz. His contact information can be found below. He is a local guy and we are located in Baltimore, MD. However, that doesn't mean Mike can't help you answer a few questions if you have them! There is a contact form on the website below if you prefer to us that, or you can call using the number below.    http://www.isellmdhomes.com/   Address: 9607 Be...

"As a wife to Lamar and mom to Juliana and Jessa, I'm a passive journal writer. It means I have a journal that stays by my bed and I write in it every now and then to record life's peaks and valleys. But Juliana's Journal is something different. When my husband and I accepted the responsibility of fostering a six day old baby, I didn't know up from down. I wrote down schedules, sleep patterns, and...

"Christopher S. Norman has the unique honor of having been named a "Super Lawyers Rising Star" first for his work defending healthcare providers, and most recently for his work advocating on behalf of injured patients. Chris leverages the "inside knowledge" that he gained as a "Rising Star" medical malpractice defense attorney in his unrelenting effort to get the most for the injured patients that...

Annuities can be good or bad depending on the product and the situation. Products have to serve a specific purpose and never a one size fits all solution to a problem. Commercials, Radio shows, advertisements can display annuities as good or bad but it is always dependent on your situation. Listen to this case study about annuities and make sure to do your due diligence before investing in such a...

The stock market can be a scary place. No one can predict what is going to happen, regardless of the software used or the intelligence of the guy on the TV or radio, no one really knows, not even us. However, we do know a few consistent factors that seem to stick around, such as: the stock market goes down and it goes back up (as long as you are invested properly). In this podcast case study we ta...

Life Insurance is an important piece of the financial planning puzzle. However, not everyone needs life insurance. For example, we work with a lot of individuals who are deep into retirement, their kids are adults and the house is paid off. This person may still need life insurance for their spouse but in a lot of these cases, after analyzing the policy and doing our due diligence, we find this ty...

This is another case study about how we do business, but different than our previous podcast about our specific process step by step. We do mention the process again here but it is important to notice the situation that occurs and why we stick to said process. We believe as financial planners it is our duty to prepare you for a full financial plan. Your plan is not just about investing money; it i...

ABLE Account update. We will continue to make videos about this account as it changes, providing you with updates as they happen. This account is still very new and we expect changes to continue. Stop back and check us out every once and a while to see if there have been any more changes! We have a lot of resources on our website as well: www. MarylandFinancialAdvocates.com  

This case study is about caring for your aging parents and keepings an eye on their investments, especially if your parents are showing signs of cognitive impairment. This New York Times Article tells a story about a family dealing with a broker who made excessive trades in order to gain more commissions. It is important to always review your statements and know how much you are paying your adviso...

This was a great podcast interviewing Rosemary Calderalo, Director of Gift Planning at the Baltimore Community Foundation (BCF). We talk about the many ways you can invest in Baltimore using the many funds provided by BCF. You may research their website to learn more but I would suggest spending less time on the website and more time calling and talking to someone directly for two reasons: 1) You...

Michelle Fritsch, Pharm. D. is back! She was on our podcast previously where she discussed her first business, Meds MASH. Meds MASH provides services such as medication management, assessment of risk, safety assessments and healthcare coaching. The episode is called "Managing Your Parents Medications." It was our 4th episode so you may have to scroll down to the bottom to find it! On this episode,...

  This episode highlights the 2018 Tax updates directly from CPA and CFP® Ryan Levy. We discuss deducting real estate taxes, itemizing and the new standard deduction and charitable distributions. Interesting fact, you may use your charitable distribution as your Required Minimum Distribution - RMD. Thanks for listening! If you are interested in speaking with Mr. Levy, you may contact him with the...

Death is an uncomfortable subject, but a necessary one to discuss. In my opinion, it is wrong to hide from estate planning and it is selfish. I know that sounds harsh, but allow me to explain. You have all of these hard earned assets - money, cars, homes, etc. - and you have 3 children. One of the children is the go getter, the one who does their own laundry and possibly cleans up the kitchen afte...