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Risk Management & Insurance Archives - Wealthspire

Jul 13 2021
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risk tolerance

Understanding Risk Tolerance

By Blog
There is always something to be uncertain about and one does not have to look very hard to find negative headlines. This is part of why investing can seem so difficult, even in periods of relative calm. It becomes even more challenging during times of elevated turmoil. Having a well thought out investment plan and portfolio that aligns with your goals can help you stay the course. Part of this preparation includes understanding and accepting that a certain level of risk must be taken. Those who have the discipline to stick with their plan tend to be the most successful…
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Apr 29 2021
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laddering life insurance

Laddering Life Insurance to Reduce Costs

By and Blog
A Brief History of Life Insurance Life insurance is a powerful tool in wealth management with a long history dating back to Ancient Rome. Roman soldiers participated in “burial clubs,” in which members pooled resources to help pay funeral costs for the deceased. The actuarial tables used by insurance companies today to help determine policy premium costs have their origin dating back to the 1700s. Life insurance, like any type of insurance, transfers a catastrophic risk away from you and your family to an insurance company. Here the catastrophic risk is your premature death and the loss of your earnings…
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Apr 27 2020
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concentrated stock

Balancing the Risks & Rewards of Concentrated Stock in Your Portfolio

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It’s been proven that a well-diversified portfolio can be crucial in attaining long-term financial goals – spreading your investments across asset classes balances the risk and reward inherent to any one specific asset. However, if your current or previous benefits package includes company stock, you may find that this creates a concentrated position in your portfolio, a risk that could potentially derail your financial plan. While concentrated stock can generate significant wealth for a successful company’s executives and employees, it also brings added risk to their financial plans. An investment plan that lowers your risk profile while maximizing returns must…
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Jan 02 2020
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Executive Risk

Executive Risk Management: Tips for Playing Defense

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Most executives rightly focus on their offensive strategy—saving and investing—but a defensive strategy is essential, too. As high earners, executives are often in a position to self-insure for some potential needs, but in almost all situations there remain gaps to fill with wisely chosen insurance strategies. Essentially “delegating” your defensive strategy to your HR department—in the form of workplace-provided policies—is unlikely to be wise. Ideally, a risk-aware strategy will include some base components available through the workplace, such as group disability and life insurance policies, augmented by tailored products purchased personally. Across both workplace and personal products, there are subtleties…
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Dec 09 2019
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life insurance

How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?

By Blog
The prospect of our inevitable journey to the pearly gates is a tough conversation to have in any context, let alone attaching a dollar amount to our existence. However, for many people, life insurance is the backbone of any strong financial plan. Without it, all your other financial goals can easily fall apart. Life insurance can replace lost income, pay off debts, leave a charitable legacy, and create an income and estate tax-free pool of capital, if structured correctly. But how much life insurance do I need, if any? As with most questions, the answer depends on the facts and…
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Aug 16 2019
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life insurance

The Life Insurance Tax Trap – And How to Avoid It

By Blog
A major advantage of life insurance is a (typically) tax-free death benefit. In structuring life insurance, the owner of the policy generally assumes that the beneficiary will receive the death benefit without any tax being due. However, this assumption can prove incorrect in special cases. The 1946 court case, Goodman vs. Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, examined whether the death of an insured party created a taxable gift from the owner of the policy to the beneficiary. Commonly called the Goodman Triangle, the case can inform solutions to assure benefits remain tax free and help you avoid the life…
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Jun 29 2018
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life insurance

Term vs. Perm – What Type of Life Insurance is Right for You?

By Blog
For many, discussing life insurance is about as interesting as watching paint dry. Above all, contemplating payments and payoffs surrounding one's demise is quite an uncomfortable exercise for many. That said, life insurance is important for a variety of reasons, especially if you have a young family. The two major questions surrounding life insurance are how much and what type? We explore the first question in this blog post “How much Life Insurance do I need?”. Which leaves us with the second question, which type? Types of Life Insurance There are two types of insurance, term (temporary) and perm (“permanent”).…
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Jun 19 2018
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asset protection

The Basics of Asset Protection

By Blog
Here today. Gone tomorrow. While the risk of losing substantial assets because of a creditor judgment is remote, it is worth thinking about, along with what you should be doing to prevent it. As wealth managers, we help clients diversifying their investment portfolios to preserve and grow their wealth with the appropriate amount of risk. Beyond investment risk management, clients should also focus on minimizing the risk of loss of their assets to creditors. Those creditors include tort judgments from a lawsuit (malpractice, auto accident, slip and fall on property, etc.), contractual obligations, divorce, or civil and regulatory penalties. This…
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Oct 25 2017
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cybersecurity

Keep Your Identity to Yourself!

By and Blog, Guides & Whitepapers
With all the recent headlines from the hacking of consumer data at Equifax, combined with data breaches over the years at Target, JPMorgan Chase, Yahoo!, Sony, and many more, it is probably safe to assume that your personal financial data is not completely secure in our cyber world. Per a recent study by Javelin Research out of Pleasanton, California, about one out of every sixteen US consumers were a victim of identity theft in 2016, with damages close to $16 billion. Further, most victims are not even aware that they have been hacked for many months. Fraudsters using your basic…
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Sep 11 2017
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Credit reports and credit scores

Equifax Data Breach – Suggested Next Steps

By and Blog
There is much we still don’t know about the massive data breach that occurred at Equifax, one of the three credit reporting bureaus. As of now, it appears that over half of the adult population of the United States – about 143 million people – had their personal identification information stolen. This data could include social security numbers, names, addresses and dates of birth. In other words, all that a fraudster would need to impersonate you and open new accounts, credit cards, etc. Other information like credit card numbers and drivers licenses also seems to have been stolen from a…
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