Financial Planning Archives

September 10, 2026September 10, 2026Business, Economy, Finance, InvestmentMaggie Tredwell

Does Bitcoin Belong in Your Portfolio?

By Brian Wheeler, Director of Wealth Management & Business Brokerage

Bitcoin has a way of getting people’s attention. When the price is going up, people wonder if they’re missing out. When it drops, the question quickly becomes whether it was ever a good investment in the first place. Maybe there’s a better way to look at it.

Instead of trying to predict where Bitcoin is headed next, I think the more useful question is: does Bitcoin deserve a small place in a well-diversified portfolio?

There are good arguments on both sides.

The Case for a Small Allocation

One of the most interesting things about Bitcoin is that the supply is limited. There will never be more than 21 million Bitcoin. At the same time, it’s becoming much easier for everyday investors, investment firms and large institutions to own it.

Limited supply and growing demand can be a powerful combination.

The Risks to Keep in Mind

But let’s not ignore the other side.

Bitcoin doesn’t produce earnings or pay a dividend. We can’t look at its profits and calculate what we think it’s worth like we can with a business. And we’ve already seen how quickly the price can rise—or fall.

That’s why I don’t think this needs to be an “all in or all out” decision.

Why Position Size Matters

Think about a 3% allocation.

If you put 3% of a portfolio into Bitcoin and Bitcoin fell 80%, the impact on the overall portfolio would be about 2.4%, assuming everything else stayed the same.

Nobody wants to lose 80% on an investment. But losing 80% on 3% of your portfolio is very different from losing 80% on 30% of it.

Now look at the other side.

If Bitcoin continues to gain acceptance over the next 10 or 20 years and increases significantly in value, even a small investment could have a meaningful impact on your portfolio.

You don’t have to make a huge bet to participate in a potential opportunity.

A Broader Way to Think About Investing

And really, this isn’t just about Bitcoin. It’s about how we think about investing.

We don’t have to know exactly what will happen next. We need to understand the opportunity, understand the risk, and decide how much of that risk makes sense for you.

For some people, the right amount of Bitcoin may be zero. For others, maybe it’s 1%, 3% or 5%.

There isn’t one answer that works for everyone.

Your investments should fit your financial plan, your goals and the amount of risk you’re comfortable taking—not what’s getting the most attention in the news.

Bitcoin’s future is uncertain. But that doesn’t mean we should ignore it.

It means we should understand it.

Ready to Talk It Through?

Wondering whether Bitcoin—or another alternative investment—belongs in your portfolio? Let’s have a conversation.

We can help you look at the opportunity, understand the risk and decide whether it makes sense as part of your overall financial plan.

September 4, 2026September 4, 2026Business, Economy, Finance, InvestmentMaggie Tredwell

Is “Doing Fine” Your Biggest Financial Risk?

By Brian Wheeler, Director of Wealth Management & Business Brokerage

When things are working, it’s pretty easy to assume you have everything under control. Your investments are generating income, the real estate is producing cash flow, your business is doing well, and you’re paying the bills, enjoying life and watching your net worth move in the right direction. So why change anything?

What Happens When “Fine” Isn’t Enough?

Markets don’t move in a straight line. Real estate values and rental income can change. Businesses go through cycles. Interest rates move, tax laws change, inflation increases what it costs to maintain the same lifestyle, and sometimes several of those things happen at once. That’s where “I’m doing fine” can become dangerous.

The goal of good financial planning isn’t simply to generate enough income to get by today. It’s to create a financial structure that gives you choices when tomorrow doesn’t look like today. Are your investments positioned appropriately for the amount of risk you’re taking? Are you holding too much—or too little—cash? Are your different accounts working together, or were they accumulated over the years without much coordination? Are there opportunities to improve taxes, income, diversification or estate planning that you’re simply not seeing?

And perhaps the most important question: If something significant changed tomorrow, what would you wish you had done differently today?

That’s where having someone looking at the entire picture can make a difference. A good financial advisor shouldn’t just be managing investments. They should be looking for opportunities to create efficiencies across your financial life—investments, taxes, income, retirement, estate planning, insurance and, for business owners, the business itself. Not because something is necessarily wrong, but because there is usually something that can be better.

Complacency doesn’t feel like risk, and that’s exactly what makes it so easy to overlook. If it’s been a while since someone took a fresh look at your entire financial picture—or if no one ever has—this may be a good time to ask yourself a simple question: Are you truly well positioned, or have things simply been working?

If you’d like to find out, let’s have a conversation. We’ll take a look at where you are today, where you’re trying to go, and whether there are opportunities or risks hiding in plain sight.

Sometimes the most valuable financial decision isn’t making a change. It’s making sure you don’t need one before circumstances make the decision for you.

July 30, 2026July 30, 2026Business, Finance, Investment, TaxesMaggie Tredwell

From “Just Sold” to Tax Strategy: How a Commercial Property Acquisition Can Create Immediate Cash-Flow Benefits

You know the old saying: “Debt forgiven is income earned.” The IRS agrees. But like most things in the tax world, the truth depends on why and how that debt disappeared.

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July 30, 2026July 30, 2026Business, Economy, Finance, InvestmentMaggie Tredwell

What If Your Biggest Financial Risk Isn’t in the Stock Market?

What If Your Biggest Financial Risk Isn't in the Stock Market?

By Brian Wheeler, Director of Wealth Management & Business Brokerage

Every time the market becomes a little more volatile, my phone starts ringing:

“Brian, should we be making any changes?”

Your Largest Asset May Be the One You Know the Least About

It’s a fair question, and sometimes the answer is yes. But I’ve noticed something over the years.

When people think about financial risk, they almost always start with the stock market. We worry about interest rates, inflation, taxes, elections, tariffs, and whatever headline happens to be leading the news that week. Those things certainly matter, but I’ve often found that the biggest financial risks aren’t the ones making headlines.

For many business owners, the largest asset they’ll ever own isn’t sitting in a brokerage account. It’s the business they’ve spent years, sometimes decades, building. Yet it’s amazing how little time that asset actually receives compared to everything else.

Think about it. Most investors know exactly what their portfolio was worth yesterday. They can tell you whether it was up or down, sometimes to the penny. But ask the same business owner what their company is worth today, and the answer is often, “I’m not really sure.”

I’ve always found that interesting.

It’s not because they don’t care. It’s because they’re busy running the business. Customers need attention. Employees have questions. Vendors need answers. The business demands today’s attention, while planning quietly waits for tomorrow. Before long, another year has passed without asking some of the questions that could have the biggest impact on their financial future.

Questions like:

If someone approached you tomorrow with an offer to buy your business, how would you know if it was fair?
If your retirement depends on the value of that business, is it becoming more valuable each year, or just keeping you busy?
If something unexpected happened to you, would your family know what the business is worth or what comes next?

The Value of Asking: “What Happens If”

One of the things I’ve come to appreciate is that the most valuable planning conversations usually begin with four simple words:

What happens if…?

What happens if you’re ready to slow down sooner than you expected? What happens if your children decide they don’t want the business? What happens if your largest customer leaves? What happens if your management team isn’t ready to operate without you?

Most owners don’t spend much time thinking about those questions because they aren’t urgent today. But neither was estate planning before someone passed away. Neither was succession planning before retirement was on the calendar. Neither was tax planning before December 31st arrived.

The most important planning decisions rarely feel urgent until they are.

That’s one of the reasons I encourage business owners to understand the value of their company long before they’re thinking about selling it. A valuation isn’t simply about putting a price tag on a business. It’s a way of understanding what’s creating value, what’s holding it back, and where there may be opportunities to improve.

Sometimes owners discover their business is worth more than they expected. Sometimes they discover there are a few areas that deserve attention. Either way, they gain something that’s difficult to put a price on: clarity. And clarity creates options.

Final Thoughts

The market will continue to do what markets have always done. It will rise, fall, and give us something new to talk about next month. But your business doesn’t receive a new price every afternoon. That doesn’t make it less important. If anything, it makes it easier to ignore.

So let me leave you with one question:

When was the last time you evaluated the asset that’s likely worth more than everything else you own?

Not because you’re planning to sell. Simply because you deserve to know.

July 23, 2026July 23, 2026Business, Economy, Finance, InvestmentMaggie Tredwell

The Most Valuable Investment You’ll Ever Make Isn’t in the Stock Market

The Most Valuable Investment You'll Ever Make Isn't in the Stock Market

By Brian Wheeler, Director of Wealth Management & Business Brokerage

Most people immediately think of a stock that doubled, a great piece of real estate, or maybe even the business they spent years building.

I don’t.

The Investments That Don’t Appear on a Balance Sheet

After more than 17 years of helping business owners, retirees, and families make financial decisions, I’ve come to believe that the highest-return investments I’ve ever seen weren’t investments at all. They were decisions.

In fact, what if I told you that the decision costing you the most money today isn’t sitting in your investment account at all? What if it’s the planning decision you’ve been meaning to make…but haven’t?

I’ve always found that interesting. We’ll spend weeks researching where to invest the next $100,000. We’ll compare returns, watch the markets, read commentary, and debate whether now is the right time to buy or wait. Yet many of those same people will postpone a tax planning meeting that could save significantly more than that investment might earn.

They’ll delay updating an estate plan, avoid beginning a succession conversation, or put off reviewing their retirement strategy because “nothing has really changed.” Choosing an investment may influence this year’s return. The thoughtful choices often shape the next twenty years.

I’ve watched business owners spend months trying to improve portfolio performance by one or two percent while overlooking important planning decisions that could have a far greater financial impact.

I’ve seen families delay updating an estate plan because “nothing had changed,” only to discover that life had changed far more than they realized. I’ve watched owners wait just a little too long to begin thinking about succession, only to find that some of their best options had quietly disappeared. None of those people lacked intelligence. None of them were careless. They were simply busy.

And if we’re honest, that’s true for most of us. The urgent almost always wins. The phone rings. Customers need attention. Employees have questions. Family schedules fill the calendar. Before long, another year has passed, and the planning conversations that could have made a meaningful difference are still sitting on tomorrow’s to-do list.

I’ve rarely had a client tell me they wished they had waited longer to begin planning. I have had many tell me they wished they had started sooner.

That’s because good planning behaves a lot like good investing—it compounds. A thoughtful tax strategy can create savings year after year. A succession plan creates options long before you’re ready to sell. A well-designed estate plan becomes one of the greatest gifts you can leave your family.

Investing in your health today may give you more years to enjoy the wealth you’ve spent a lifetime building. Even mentoring your children, your team, or the next generation creates returns that won’t ever appear on an account statement but can change the course of someone’s life.

Money isn’t the only thing that compounds. Good decisions do too.

So let me leave you with one question.

What important decision have you been postponing because it doesn't feel urgent today?

Maybe it’s reviewing your retirement plan. Maybe it’s exploring tax strategies, beginning a succession conversation, updating beneficiaries, or simply scheduling the meeting you’ve been meaning to have.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: the cost of waiting never appears on an account statement, but it’s real nonetheless.

If this article brought one decision to mind, don’t ignore it. It probably came to mind for a reason.

Because while investments can build wealth…

Years from now, you probably won’t remember what the market did this month. But you’ll almost certainly remember the important decision you finally chose to make.

July 14, 2026July 14, 2026Business, Economy, Finance, InvestmentMaggie Tredwell

Experience Is a Wonderful Teacher

Experience Is a Wonderful Teacher.

By Brian Wheeler, Director of Wealth Management & Business Brokerage

The Problem Is That Life’s Biggest Financial Decisions Rarely Give Us the Opportunity to Practice First.

The Reality of Once-in-a-Lifetime Moments

A colleague and I were talking this week about a friend who’s preparing to become more involved in her mother’s business. Her mother is in her eighties, still active in the company, and like many successful business owners, has spent a lifetime building something that’s much more than a source of income. It’s part of her identity.

Naturally, the conversation has begun to shift toward the future. At some point they’ll need to decide how ownership should transition, what roles each of them wants to play, and what the next chapter of the business should look like.

As we talked, one thought kept coming back to me: why would anyone expect themselves to know all of their options the first time they face one of life’s biggest financial decisions?

They’ve probably never been here before.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized this isn’t really a story about business succession. It’s a story about life. Most of us only retire once. We sell one business. We become an executor for the first time. We help aging parents navigate difficult financial decisions. We settle an estate. We transition a family business. These aren’t decisions we make every year. They’re once-in-a-lifetime moments.

Yet we often expect ourselves to know exactly what to do. Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate something that’s both simple and easy to overlook.

Experience is a wonderful teacher. The problem is that life’s biggest financial decisions rarely give us the opportunity to practice first.

Discovering the Questions We Need to Ask

That’s why I find it interesting when people hesitate to ask for another perspective because they think they should already know the answers. In reality, the greatest value often isn’t someone giving you the answer. It’s someone helping you discover questions you didn’t know needed to be asked. I’ve found that clarity doesn’t usually come from having all the answers. It comes from asking better questions before important decisions become permanent.

I’ve watched business owners learn there were succession strategies they never knew existed. I’ve seen families discover tax opportunities after decisions had already been made. I’ve watched people realize there were more flexible ways to transfer wealth, protect a business, or care for the next generation than they ever imagined.

None of those people made mistakes because they weren’t intelligent. They simply hadn’t been there before. The longer I’ve been doing this, the less surprised I am by what people don’t know. I’m much more surprised by how often they assume they’ve already seen all of their options.

The True Value of Experienced Advice

That’s one of the reasons I believe experienced advice has value. Not because someone else should make your decisions, but because they’ve helped many other families through similar moments. Experience doesn’t replace your goals or your values. It simply helps you make important decisions with a broader understanding of the possibilities in front of you.

Here’s something I’d encourage you to think about this week: is there an important financial decision on your horizon that you’ve never faced before?

Maybe it’s retirement. Maybe it’s selling a business. Maybe it’s helping aging parents.

Maybe it’s updating your estate plan or preparing the next generation to carry on something you’ve spent a lifetime building.

If this is the first time you’ve faced that decision, don’t let it also be the first time you’ve explored all of your options.

Ask questions. Seek perspective. Have conversations with people who’ve walked this road many times before.

One of the most rewarding moments in my profession is watching someone realize they have more options than they thought they did.

Sometimes that realization changes everything. And sometimes, it begins with a conversation they almost never had.

July 9, 2026July 9, 2026Business, Finance, Investment, TaxesMaggie Tredwell

Buying a Business? Do Not Let Depreciation Be an Afterthought

You know the old saying: “Debt forgiven is income earned.” The IRS agrees. But like most things in the tax world, the truth depends on why and how that debt disappeared.

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July 9, 2026July 9, 2026Business, Economy, Finance, InvestmentMaggie Tredwell

Tariffs Are Back in the Headlines. Should You Change Your Retirement Strategy?

By Brian Wheeler, Director of Wealth Management & Business Brokerage

It’s a question I’ve been hearing more lately. With tariffs back in the news, it’s only natural to wonder what they might mean for the economy—and more importantly, for your retirement savings.

Focus on the Plan; Not the Headline

Before making changes to your portfolio, though, I’d encourage you to ask yourself a different question: Am I reacting to my financial plan, or am I reacting to the headlines?

I’ve been doing this long enough to know that every few years there’s a new reason investors become convinced the markets are headed for trouble. We’ve been through recessions, the financial crisis, COVID, inflation, rising interest rates, bank failures, political uncertainty, and now another round of tariff concerns. Every one of those events felt significant while we were living through it, and to be fair, many of them did create short-term market volatility.

But here’s what I’ve also learned: the headlines usually change much faster than a well-built financial plan should.

That’s because successful retirement planning has never depended on predicting the next headline. It’s built around creating a strategy that can navigate whatever comes next.

Can tariffs create uncertainty? Absolutely. Could they affect certain industries or companies? Certainly. Does that automatically mean your retirement strategy needs to change? Not necessarily.

Over time, businesses adapt, supply chains adjust, consumers change their buying habits, and markets absorb new information. What often causes the greatest damage isn’t the headline itself—it’s when investors abandon a solid long-term strategy because the latest news makes them uncomfortable.

If your portfolio was built around your goals, your risk tolerance, your income needs, and your timeline—not this week’s news cycle—there may be very little that actually needs to change today.

That doesn’t mean ignoring what’s happening in the world. Stay informed. Ask questions. Review your plan. Just don’t confuse doing something with making progress. Some of the most expensive investment decisions I’ve seen over the years came from investors who felt they had to act simply because the news made them nervous.

If these recent headlines have you wondering whether your strategy still makes sense, that’s a worthwhile conversation to have. Not because of tariffs alone, but because it’s healthy from time to time to step back and make sure your financial plan still reflects where you are today and where you’re trying to go.

The headlines will keep changing. They always do. Your retirement goals probably haven’t—and that’s where your attention belongs.

June 30, 2026June 30, 2026Business, Finance, Investment, TaxesMaggie Tredwell

Trump Accounts: A New Planning Tool that Families and Business Owners Do Not Want to Miss!

You know the old saying: “Debt forgiven is income earned.” The IRS agrees. But like most things in the tax world, the truth depends on why and how that debt disappeared.

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June 30, 2026June 30, 2026Business, Economy, Finance, InvestmentMaggie Tredwell

Could One Overlooked Planning Mistake Erase Years of Investment Gains?

By Brian Wheeler, Director of Wealth Management & Business Brokerage

Can I ask you a question?

If your investment portfolio earned an extra 1% this year, would that have a bigger impact on your family’s future than avoiding a major tax mistake? Or preventing an unnecessary lawsuit? Or making sure your estate plan works the way you intended? Or protecting a business you’ve spent decades building?

Most people answer that question pretty quickly.

Why protection matters as much as growth

Don’t get me wrong. Investments matter, and they always will. We spend a great deal of time helping clients build portfolios designed to help them reach their goals. But after many years of working with successful families and business owners, I’ve come to believe that much of our greatest value isn’t found in managing investments. It’s found in the planning and protection that surrounds them.

Most people don’t build wealth just to have a bigger account balance. They build it to create choices, take care of their family, retire with confidence, support causes they care about, or leave something meaningful behind.

The money isn't the goal. What the money makes possible is the goal.

Over the years, I’ve seen great portfolios paired with outdated estate plans, businesses that outgrew their succession plans, insurance that no longer matched the risks, and tax strategies that were never updated. Not because anyone made a bad decision, but because life kept moving. Families changed, businesses grew, laws changed, and the planning simply never kept pace.

These risks rarely make the headlines. They don’t show up on your investment statement or trigger an alert on your phone. They simply grow quietly until something unexpected brings them to light.

That’s why one of the first questions we ask clients has very little to do with the stock market: What are you actually trying to protect?

The answer is different for everyone. It might be your family, your business, or simply preserving what you’ve worked so hard to build.

As a financial advisor who also manages investments, I’ve always believed our greatest value often comes from helping clients protect what they’ve built—not simply helping them build more. Investment management is an important part of that responsibility, but it’s only part of the story. The planning around those investments is often where the greatest value is created.

I’ve never had a client tell me their biggest goal was simply to outperform the market. They want confidence. They want clarity. They want to know that everything they’ve worked so hard to build is positioned to accomplish what they intended.

I believe that’s where the greatest value is created.

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