Author: Jeff Diamond, AIF®

How to Remain Hopeful and Keep Perspective During the COVID-19 Outbreak

Written by Jeff Diamond, AIF® on March 19, 2020.

The Coronavirus Pandemic is real and it is scary on many different levels. With news of the pandemic spreading and the recommendations on social distancing getting broader, it can be hard to feel certain or safe about anything.

As troubling as it is to watch the unprecedented market decline, we need to maintain our health and the health and safety of our family, friends, and neighbors as the number one priority. COVID-19 which emerged late in 2019 in China has spread rapidly worldwide since then and is a global pandemic. The measures taken by leaders around the globe have been strong leaving most children without a classroom to go to, many parents working from home or some without a job altogether and investors panicking about what is to come.

This disruption to daily life and to our psyches is substantial. The coming weeks could be difficult, but these measures are practical and prudent.

So, You’ve Inherited Money – Now What?

Written by Jeff Diamond, AIF® on January 22, 2020.

If you’ve been lucky enough to inherit a large sum of money, you probably experienced a flurry of emotions, including excitement at the possibilities it opens up for you and your family. However, once the initial elation wears off, it’s common to feel a bit of trepidation and confusion about how to properly manage your new fortune, especially if you don’t consider yourself particularly savvy when it comes to money.

Luckily, you don’t have to be a finance expert to make your inheritance last. Read on for six simple tips to help you make the most of your newfound financial freedom.

Are You on Track to Meet Your Retirement Goals?

Written by Jeff Diamond, AIF® on December 9, 2019.

Net Worth Goals By Age

Do you find yourself wondering if you’re on track to meet your retirement goals? Are you saving diligently but still unsure whether it’s enough? A valuable benchmark to help you answer these questions is your net worth: that is, the number you’re left with when you add up your cash and other financial assets and subtract all your debts.

Managing Your Response to Behavioral Biases

Written by Jeff Diamond, AIF® on October 15, 2019.

In the investment business terrain, there truly is no such phenomenon as a “sure thing,” and this is the reason our goals-based planning method takes into account the natural unpredictability of the market. In order to arrive at a safe middle ground, our strategy endeavors to invest assets in a way that even the worst of market situations have a less than total effect on any one portfolio. While there is no guarantee, prudent and science-based investing can help our clients weather the storm during market declines and benefit from the growth during periods of market upticks.

Human nature being what it is, however, we anticipate the anxiety that can lead clients to respond hastily during market corrections. Unfortunately, these premature panic responses can jeopardize a long term strategy, and significantly hurt a portfolio.

Behavioral biases can negatively affect our financial decisions, but there are ways to harness the power of optimism and manage your responses in a positive, confident manner, despite the inevitable pressures you may face financially over the course of your life.

The following is a demonstration of how a pragmatic approach to managing your behavioral biases can function to prevent your negative auto-responses during times when your confidence in your finances is strained.

Four Ways to Streamline Your Finances

Written by Jeff Diamond, AIF® on September 11, 2019.

Managing a complex financial picture can feel like a Herculean task and one that often leads to stress and procrastination. So much time is spent organizing paperwork and hunting down data that by the time you actually sit down to figure out where you stand you are too tired and stressed to be able to make good decisions or implement new strategies.

If this sounds like you, it may be time to take some steps to simplify your financial life. This won’t just save you time and effort it may also save you money.

We have compiled four tips that cover the areas most people seem to need to simplify and improve. Your needs may be different but at the very least this list should give you some ideas about how to get started.

What Is Impact Investing and Why Does it Matter?

Written by Jeff Diamond, AIF® on July 29, 2019.

Impact investing allows you to put your money where your mouth is, and help the world in the process.

by: Brian O’Connell

Impact investing is everything the name implies – it’s all about investments in companies that make a positive impact on society and on their communities.

No question, investing in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), the more formal name for impact investing, has both rewards and risks, but that’s not stopping legions of investors from getting involved.

According to the Global Impact Investing Network, the global impact investment market stands at $502 billion in 2019.

Expect that figure to rise as more investors (especially younger ones) decide that “doing well by doing good” is their go-to investment strategy going forward, and as impact investing becomes their investment model of choice.

Lifestyle Creep and How to Avoid or Reverse It

Written by Jeff Diamond, AIF® on May 22, 2019.

Whether you have heard the phrase lifestyle creep or not, the odds are good that you have experienced it either first-hand or indirectly. Another word for it is lifestyle inflation. As you make more money, your apartment or house gets a little bigger, your furniture gets nicer, and dining out becomes more frequent. Then you meet someone special and your family grows from one person to two and then comes baby and…another baby and so on and so forth. The house needs to accommodate more people, the cars need to be safer and nicer and larger.