THE FINANCIAL COMMUTE

Most of the conversations clients have had about long-term care insurance are based on products that no longer exist. On this week's Financial Commute, Chris Galeski sits down with Russell Boring, Founder of Elevated Strategies Insurance Services, to walk through what has actually changed. The carriers that mispriced their policies are mostly gone. What replaced them are hybrid and annuity-ba...

Everyone has been waiting for rates to come down. It has not happened. And on this week's Financial Commute, Chris Galeski and Chief Investment Officer Meghan Pinchuk explain why the Fed's new chair is holding firm, what energy prices and the war in Iran have to do with your portfolio, and why the national debt makes this moment more complicated than the headlines suggest. They also get...

If you have been watching housing prices and wondering whether the new executive order restricting institutional investors is the fix everyone is hoping for, you are not alone. The frustration is real, and the concern for affordability is legitimate.  In this episode of Financial Commute, Chris Galeski sits down with Mikey Taylor, Mayor of Thousand Oaks and CEO of Commune Capital, to examine what...

Most people come to a wealth manager for one reason: their finances. But what if focusing exclusively on financial wealth is actually making it harder to achieve? Nurturing the various types of wealth (social, physical, mental, time, and financial) is the central idea behind Sahil Bloom's book, The 5 Types of Wealth.     In this episode, host Chris Galeski sits down with Wealth Advisor Bruce...

SpaceX is going public and everyone is talking about it. Neighbors, friends, group chats... the excitement is real. But most of the conversation is missing the most important question: what are you actually paying for?  In this episode of Financial Commute , host Chris Galeski sits down with CEO and Partner Jeff Sarti to break down the SpaceX IPO from a valuation standpoint. Recorded on June 8th,...

Most clients trust their wealth manager to make sound investment decisions on their behalf. Far fewer ever get to see exactly how those decisions are made. This episode is for the ones who want to know.  In this special edition of Financial Commute , Executive Vice President Eric Selter sits down with Chief Investment Officer Meghan Pinchuk to pull back the curtain on Morton Wealth's full inv...

It's one of the most common questions people type into Google once they hit 50: should I be taking less investment risk? It feels like a reasonable question. But according to Chief Investment Officer Meghan Pinchuk, it may be the wrong one entirely.  In this episode of Financial Commute , Meghan and host Chris Galeski unpack what drives the right level of investment risk at any age, from long...

For most of your working life, the financial question is straightforward: earn more, save more, invest wisely. Then retirement arrives, and the question flips entirely. How do you turn decades of saving into a reliable paycheck that lasts as long as you do? In this episode of Financial Commute, Morton Wealth advisors Chris Galeski and Mike sit down to tackle the retirement income questions clients...

Most business owners spend years, sometimes decades, building something remarkable. But when it comes time to exit, the majority aren't prepared for what happens next. According to research from the Exit Planning Institute, 75% of business owners regret selling their business within the first year.  In this episode of Financial Commute , Wealth Advisor Joe Seetoo sits down with host Chris to...

Giving money to your children is one of the most generous things a parent can do. It’s also one of the most consequential. And the consequences aren’t always the ones you planned for. In this episode of Couchside Conversations, Stacey McKinnon and Chris Galeski walk through what actually happens when families transfer wealth without a plan, the five mistakes they see most often, and what it looks...

Markets don’t move in straight lines, and the first quarter of 2026 was a perfect reminder of that. Between geopolitical conflict, rising oil prices, and renewed inflation concerns, investors faced a volatile environment that left markets unsettled. In this episode, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Sarti and Chief Investment Officer Meghan Pinchuk break down Q1, exploring consumer sentiment, why tradi...

About 54% of teenagers are worried about financing their futures. How can parents help their adolescents gain financial confidence and responsibility, especially in a world where money is invisible and gratification is immediate? Join host Chris and Wealth Advisor Patrice Bening, a mom of two young adults, as they discuss various conversations and principles to implement with your kids as they gro...

What if you could give more to charity and pay less in taxes? In this episode, host Chris invites Wealth Advisor Austin Overholt to explore how strategies like donor-advised funds and qualified charitable distributions can help you give more intentionally while potentially reducing taxes. From donating appreciated stock to planning around high-income years, they highlight how thoughtful giving can...

In today’s increasingly digital world, cybersecurity is more important than ever and often comes down to simple habits. In this conversation, Adam Moseley and Patrick Hennessey of Charles Schwab share practical, real-world strategies to help individuals protect themselves from evolving cyber threats. Key takeaways: Best practices when it comes to email, passwords, Wi-Fi, VPNs, and more The rise of...

Retirement isn’t just a financial transition. It’s a psychological one. In this episode, host Chris and Wealth Advisor Priscilla Brehm explore what it means to shift from earning a paycheck to living off your wealth, and why this transition can feel more challenging than expected. They break down the four phases of financial life (survival, accumulation, preservation, and distribution) and focus o...

Is paying off your mortgage always the smartest financial move? Not necessarily. In this conversation, host Chris invites Wealth Advisor Ian Rennick to challenge one of the most common assumptions in financial planning: that being debt-free is always the goal. They explore the trade-offs between aggressively paying down a mortgage and maintaining liquidity, highlighting how excessive home equity c...

Paying taxes now to save later may sound counterintuitive, but for many investors, it can be a powerful strategy. In this conversation, Kevin and Chris break down Roth conversions: what they are, when they make sense, and how they can create more control over your financial future. By converting pre-tax retirement dollars into a Roth IRA, investors can pay taxes today in exchange for tax-free grow...

From geopolitical tensions to surging energy prices, investors are navigating a wave of uncertainty and volatility. Join Chief Investment Officer Meghan Pinchuk and Managing Director of Investments Sasan Faiz as they break down how recent global events are influencing markets and what they could mean for the economy and portfolios. Tune in if you’re interested in… How geopolitical tensions are inf...

Does a financial advisor’s experience matter more than their perspective? Or is the real strength found in combining both? In this thoughtful conversation, host Chris Galeski and Executive Vice President Eric Selter explore the value different generations of advisors bring to client relationships and why age alone doesn’t define wisdom. While life experience offers perspective that can only be ear...

Gold is having a moment, but the story runs deeper than price alone. In this timely conversation, Morton Wealth welcomes Axel Merk, President & CIO of Merk Investments and manager of the OUNZ gold fund, to unpack what’s really driving gold’s powerful rally. Axel explains why gold itself remains constant, even as perceptions shift, and how central bank diversification, geopolitical tensions, cu...

In private real estate, patience isn’t passive. It’s a competitive advantage. In this conversation, Wealth Advisor Bruce Tyson sits down with Peter Knell, Managing Director of KCB Properties, one of our longest-standing real estate partners. As a family office that invests alongside clients, KCB has the flexibility to move into undervalued sectors and step back when markets become overheated. Pete...

In this episode, Wealth Advisor Mike Rudow sits down with John Ahn, Founder and CEO of WhiteHawk Capital, to explore how asset-based lending offers a uniquely resilient approach to private credit. John explains why WhiteHawk underwrites every loan to the worst-case scenario and how focusing on real, liquid collateral has allowed them to never lose money on a loan, even when borrowers fail. This co...

People may cut back in a recession, but they don’t stop buying food. If you’re looking for resilient income in a world of uncertainty, “essential lending” may be a compelling place to start. In this session, Morton Wealth Senior Partner Eric Selter sits down with Rich Gammill of Proterra to explore how private credit works, why it can offer a return premium over public credit, and how lending to b...

Markets delivered strong headline returns in 2025, but underneath the surface, risks quietly continued to build. In this special episode of THE FINANCIAL COMMUTE , CEO Jeff Sarti and Chief Investment Officer Meghan Pinchuk break down market performance in the last quarter of 2025 while looking ahead to what this year may bring. From AI-fueled stock gains and international outperformance to the rol...

The most important details in a real estate investment are rarely the ones on the first page of the marketing deck. In this candid and often humorous conversation, Chief Investment Officer Meghan Pinchuk and Director of Growth & Advice Chris Galeski explore how real estate funds should really be evaluated. From aggressive assumptions and fee structures to alignment of interests and downside st...