The price of a postage stamp is set to increase, yet again, to 73 cents in July 2024. In 1963, it was 5 cents. It has become almost 15 times more expensive over the past 60 years! This postage stamp chart serves as a great proxy for everything we purchase and just how important it […]

We are currently in a bull market with the S&P 500 now up about 49% since the low made in October 2022. However, it has not gone straight up during that time- instead, the market has gone through a few temporary declines of 5-10%. This is very common, and I wanted to share with you […]

We wanted to share the top three reasons why we don’t recommend individual stocks at Presilium.  First and most important: Your basic asset allocation, the mix you hold in stocks vs. bonds is the factor most responsible for your returns in the long-term. Which investments you choose and when you buy or sell them contributes […]

We would like to share with you our core investment belief at Presilium.  We believe that the world is improving every year and that investing in stocks is the best way to grow your family’s wealth over the long-term.   The S&P 500 is now up about 300 thousand percent since 1950, which equates to 11.4% […]

At Presilium, we provide our clients with detailed reports that show exactly how they are invested and how their investments are performing. Please let me take the next 2 minutes to show you a few highlights from one of our reports. The first thing we look at is the current mix of stocks, bonds, alternative investments, […]

Twenty-twenty-four is picking up right where 2023 left off. The S&P 500 was just up more than five percent for the first two months of this year. Let’s look together at what this has historically meant for market returns This table from Bespoke Research shows the returns from the end of February until the middle […]

Please let us show you how you can make profitable investments while the market is flat or even declining in value!  By making regular investments over time, you can actually take advantage of a volatile or declining market and turn it to your favor. Let’s look at 2 examples: First, the S&P 500 had a […]

March 9th is the 15-year anniversary of the market low during the Global Financial Crisis – one of the most uncertain and challenging times that investors ever experienced.  There are three critical lessons from that time that we can use to help us to make future investment decisions.   First: These kinds of market events are […]

The S&P 500 just reached a new milestone and closed above 5,000 for the first time in history on February 9th. I love looking back at the previous milestones to remember just how far we have come and how much higher the market will likely go in our lifetimes. I thought it would be fun […]

Everyone needs a financial plan.  Have you ever tried to build something without directions or driven somewhere far without mapping out the trip using the GPS in your car? It not only is a lot more difficult, but the final result is nowhere near as good as it could have been.  At Presilium we always […]

Happy Valentine’s Day! At Presilium, we love our clients, and we also love investing in the leading companies in the world.  And that’s for one simple reason: Investing in stocks has been the most reliable way to grow your wealth faster than inflation, consequently allowing you to reach much higher goals for you and your […]

On October 27th, the S&P 500 bottomed out at 4,117 after experiencing a 10% correction throughout the fall.  At that point, the S&P 500 was effectively at the exact same point that it was 30 months prior, on April 9th, 2021. Over 2 and a half years of limited performance from the S&P 500. From […]

We want to talk with you about the best, yet incredibly rare, opportunities that we ever see as investors. These opportunities are so rare, in fact, that they have only occurred six times since World War II yet have returned an average of 46% just one year later. These opportunities, of course, are severe market […]

The IRS has updated contribution limits for 2024. Brian walks through what Presilium believes are the most important figures to be aware of! This Video is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase any security or investment product or services. The content […]

The S&P 500 just reached a new all-time high! While this is an exciting time, this often coincides with many purported experts clamoring that the market is now severely overvalued, and you must get out before the next major market decline. This is often matched in enthusiasm by an equal number of experts clamoring that […]

We wanted to take two minutes with you to show you the special process that we follow when we are introduced to a new individual or family. We are continuing to grow and love working with new clients. After finishing our four-step client introduction experience, you will have two extremely valuable things for your future: […]

Welcome to our 2024 market outlook! We hope that this year is your best year yet.  Just like in early 2023, we looked through history for clues on how the market may perform this year. We wanted to find 3 reasons to once again remain optimistic and stay invested in stocks.  Let’s start with how […]

Happy New Year, we are looking forward to an amazing 2024 with you! To start the year, I wanted to discuss why we invest rather than just save.  We invest to build a future that is bigger and brighter for us and our families than we could have ever reached by saving alone.  Please let […]

I love looking through history for clues on what may happen next in the market. History gave us a lot of reasons to be optimistic about 2023 and we were right. This was a year of great returns.  Let’s look back at a few of the historical examples that we discussed this past year.  In […]

Stocks have historically paid much more in income over time than bonds.  Please let me show you an example from the past 30 years. Imagine you have just retired. It is 1993 and you need to decide what types of investments are going to generate your income now that you are no longer working. Just […]

A month ago, a wonderful long-time client of mine called and told me that her best friend said that she must sell everything in her account and move it to gold, cash, and other “safe” assets that day.  Her best friend said that the market was likely to crash soon, and she should forget about […]

One of the most important decisions you will ever make for your family’s long-term future is the blend of stocks and bonds in your investment accounts. This mix will be by far the dominant driver of your investment returns. It is crucial to choose an investment allocation that matches your financial plan and then rebalance […]

Once again this year we wanted to take an updated look at all of the crises of the past 20-plus years. As you’ll see, at the time, each of them would have given us great reasons to not keep our clients invested in stock. Every single year had its own unique crises that looked, and […]

The average American family is missing out on thousands of dollars in interest on their savings held inside of traditional banks. Americans now hold more than $17 trillion at traditional U.S. banks at an average interest rate of 0.46% according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve. They are missing out on a huge amount of […]

As we enter the last quarter of the year, we wanted to share a few year-end financial planning strategies that we review and complete for our clients at Presilium. First: Tax Loss Swaps. Have you taken the time to review the investments inside your taxable accounts for positions that are temporarily down? Market volatility and […]

There is currently a major market crash underway. This specific area of the market is down more than 40% since December 2021 and you may not even realize it. And we’re not referencing any area of the stock market. We’re talking about bonds. Specifically, bonds maturing in 20 years or more. What’s perhaps most shocking […]

The market goes down all the time. But, it never stays there. Over the last 15 years, the market has had an average temporary decline of 16.8% per year. A 16.8% loss every single year! And during that same 15-year period, the S&P 500 had an average return of positive 10.67% per year. But to […]

Today, we’d like to discuss a topic that’s close to my heart and crucial for your financial well-being: When should you update your will and estate plan? Life is a journey filled with milestones. And with each significant event, it’s essential to ensure that your financial legacy reflects your current wishes. So, when exactly should […]

Recently government shutdowns have dominated the headlines, raising concerns about their impact on the market. Just last week, our government narrowly avoided another shutdown, extending funding until mid-November 2023 So, what exactly is a government shutdown? It happens when Congress and the President can’t agree on legislation to fund government operations and agencies, either at […]

Should you take the lump-sum version of your pension or choose the lifetime monthly benefit. This may be one of the most important questions you face as you start retirement. Today, we want to simplify this and show you the process that we go through with our clients to help them make this important decision. […]

Our clients have done an amazing job maintaining their investment strategy throughout the constant uncertainty of the last 20 months or so. Despite the incessant doomsday coverage from the media, they have hung in there, rebalanced when appropriate, and have been rewarded accordingly because of this. Though it hasn’t been easy, we knew there were, […]

As an investor, our goal should be to get the highest possible return no matter what, right? Wrong. As important as it is to achieve a great return, it can be just as important to achieve a consistently great return. An investment portfolio with a consistent return can actually outperform another investment portfolio that has […]

What happens when you make an investment at the worst possible time; right before a decline of 20% or more? The answer will surprise you. The market can be incredibly daunting. There are so many unknowns because no one knows the future. It can be soaring at all-time highs, Or it can be plummeting rapidly, […]

What if we told you that the S&P 500 has finished up 10% or more 55 times since 1928. Fifty-five times in 95 years, up by more than 10%. It has had really strong results in more than half of the years. Now, what if we told you that in 23 of those 55 years, […]

This week we wanted to show you how Roth Conversions may save you taxes, potentially add a huge amount to your future wealth, and increase the chances to reach even more of your goals in retirement. A Roth Conversion is when you move funds from your IRA to a new or existing Roth IRA. The […]

Today’s video marks the one-year anniversary in the Financial Planning Friday’s series! Over this past year, these videos have helped people to make much better financial decisions, provided a voice of reason during times of uncertainty, and distilled complex financial planning strategies into short, straight forward videos. While our clients have direct access to a […]

Dividend stocks have been a popular way to invest for a long time. Investors have enjoyed receiving the steady, and seemingly certain, income generated by these types of stocks, especially during retirement. However, at Presilium we prefer to have our clients think about generating their income from the total return of their portfolio, rather than […]

At Presilium we love to rebalance. Most people think of rebalancing, as buying or selling stock as the market moves up or down. However, rebalancing comes in many different forms. This can mean anything from moving money from stocks to bonds, or bonds to stocks, but can also mean moving funds from one type of […]

At Presilium we have been optimistic all year that the market was going to bounce back from one of the worst years ever in 2022. To do this, we needed to tune out an enormous amount of negative news media. We feel that helping our clients stick to their long-term investment plans is one of […]

In this week’s FPF episode, I wanted to discuss something that all our clients want to know—how much can I spend each year in retirement? The answer depends on a variety of factors, and it is important to consider all of them before coming to an answer. Please let me show you how we do […]

One of our favorite hobbies at Presilium is looking at historical market data. After the market’s strong start in the first half of 2023, I wanted to look through history to see how the market had typically performed in the 2nd half of the year after similar first half returns. We looked at the performance […]

We have had lots of conversations with our clients on what are safe vs. risky investments. Though the answer may surprise you, this debate is not even close. For long-term goals, stocks are, by far, the safest investment. For the non-believers, let me show you a few statistics from history. This chart shows the percentage […]

As you likely know, we just began a new bull market on June 8, 2023. A bull market starts when an index, like the S&P 500 closes 20% higher from the low made during the previous bear market. I wanted to take a deeper look with you at what this has historically meant for stocks. […]

Today we wanted to discuss one of the most important tools of estate planning. Proactive estate planning can play a crucial role in managing and distributing assets in a manner that aligns with your wishes while maintaining privacy, minimizing tax liability, and preserving wealth for future generations. One of the most versatile and effective tools […]

Today we wanted to discuss three key ways to grow your wealth throughout your lifetime, and throughout the inevitable ups and downs, and uncertainty, that we all will experience with the market and in life. To begin, it is vital to have a financial plan. It is equally vital that this plan is regularly updated […]

The bear market in stocks that began in June 2022 is now officially over. The S&P 500 just closed 20% higher than the low it made on October 12, 2022, beginning a new bull market. Now is a great time to review what happened and see what we can learn from this for next time. […]

Today we wanted to talk with you about the value of the stock market over time. In the short-term, the stock market can be unpredictable and largely based on emotion, moving very quickly up or down based upon subjectively good or bad news; bu, in the long-term the market has steadily marched higher as the […]

Each year, there is a conference called Abundance 360 where visionary entrepreneurs, investors, and executives meet to solve the world’s biggest challenges. It is an all-star group of experts working together to make positive and lasting change. They believe that over the next ten years, humanity will experience more progress than we have over the […]

We are now very close to repeating an economic milestone that has historically led to excellent market returns for stocks. The Consumer Price Index fell from 9.1% to 4.9% since July 2022—a decline of 4.2% —and it is expected to continue to fall until July 2023. The Consumer Price Index or CPI is a measure […]

We have now been in a bear market for 11 months. In October of 2022, the S&P 500 was down more than 25% after making a new high in the preceding January. It goes without saying that bear markets are not fun to go through; however, if navigated properly, they can be an excellent time […]

Today I want you to consider a different way to think about your investments. What if you and your family had a 100-year time horizon? Most Presilium clients have financial plans that show their wealth continuing to grow year after year. Due to their projected withdrawal and growth rates, their investment accounts are projected to […]

At Presilium we believe we are preparing for the Dow Jones Industrial Average to reach 350,000- about 320,000 points higher from where we are today. Or around a 920% gain. Most of the retirements that we plan for our clients are at least 30 years long. Consequently, we need to ensure that your investments provide […]

Today we would like to discuss diversification, why it is so important when investing and how it helps you reach your long-term goals. At Presilium, our clients all hold a variety of different types of stocks, bonds, and real estate in their portfolios. This mix matches their financial plan and consequently their short and long-term […]

At the start of this year, we gave you three great reasons to be optimistic about the market in 2023. And so far, we have been right. We had a great first quarter. As we begin the second quarter of 2023, we have two more reasons for you to remain optimistic for the remainder of […]

Today we wanted to discuss something that is very important to us at Presilium Private Wealth: charitable giving. One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is by using a special investment account called at Donor Advised Fund, also commonly called at DAF. Donor Advised Funds are the fastest growing investment vehicle in philanthropy […]

Social Security and when to begin collecting can be very confusing, but it will be one of the most impactful decisions you will make regarding your retirement income. For that reason, we wanted to highlight seven key things you should know before you make your decision. 1. The full retirement age for social security is […]

Today we wanted to discuss a common problem all around the world. As this episode airs, our CEO, Jerry Davidse, is 9,000 miles away from our headquarters giving a masters level class on financial planning and investment management in Siem Reap, Cambodia to120 of the future leaders of their country. Their economy is finally getting […]

In our 31st Financial Planning Friday’s episode I wanted to discuss why it is so important not to take the same investment approach that many of your neighbors are using. The American Association of Individual Investors is a non-profit organization that has completed a weekly survey since 1987 where they ask a simple question, Do […]

We live in an age of unprecedented technological progress.In the last few decades, advancements in fields such as medicine, transportation, and communication have transformed our daily lives. We now have access to instant communication with people across the globe, and we can travel to far-flung destinations in a matter of hours. Medical breakthroughs have eradicated […]

Today we wanted to discuss the issue dominating the financial headlines over the past week and the impact it may have on banking going forward: the recent failure of Silicon Valley Bank. Early last week, clients of SVB began hearing rumors that the bank may be in trouble and quickly many of them rushed to […]

This is an emergency drill and it may be one of the most important things you ever do as a long-term investor. Your investment accounts are down 40%, the market seems to be in a free fall, the economy and world are full of uncertainty, and there is no clear end in sight. Now pause. […]

Since at least the middle of 2022, there has been constant debate about whether the U.S. economy is in a recession or is about to enter one. The term “recession” can strike fear into the hearts of investors, and for good reason. Recessions are periods of economic decline, typically characterized by a decrease in economic […]

Let’s take a moment to review something that we’re all thinking about at this time: taxes. Specifically saving on taxes. There are two primary ways you can most likely increase your after-tax return both now and over the long-term. The first we have discussed before but it is worth revisiting after a very volatile 2022 […]

The S&P 500 just had its best January since 2019 with a gain of 6.2%. This is especially interesting because there is a market indicator known as the “January Barometer”. This barometer, says that the stock returns for the entire year are usually similar to what we see in the first month of each year. […]

You should take lots of days off to enjoy life but your investments, no, they should remain invested, working for you every single day. Once you have developed your long-term financial plan, and have a solid investment strategy, it is critical to keep your stock portion invested no matter what happens in the world and […]

Today we wanted to review all of the crises during the last twenty years. As you’ll see, at the time, each of them would have given us great reasons to not keep our clients invested in stock. Every year had its own unique crises that looked, and felt, brand new to the world and came […]

Today we wanted to discuss one of the key measures of risk that we use at Presilium once clients are retired—how many years their financial plan has as a cushion. How many years can we only use the income and bonds in your investment accounts before we would have to use stock to meet your […]

Today we wanted to discuss the best ways to maximize your retirement accounts using the new IRS limits for 2023. These are the largest contribution increases in history and will allow you to save more than you ever could before. Saving into these types of accounts are some of the best ways to make investments […]

Today we wanted to give you three reasons that we are so optimistic for 2023. Twenty-twenty two was one of the worst years ever for the financial markets. In fact, the S&P 500 had the fifth worst return it has had in the past 90 years. However, if you are a client of Presilium Private […]

Today, in our twentieth episode, we wanted to discuss and review 2022. Last year was filled with lots of good news but also more than a few negative headlines that made the market one of the most volatile ever. As usual, we took advantage of this volatility and rebalanced our client accounts 27 times; each […]

Did you know the importance of keeping an accurate family balance sheet? We do, and wanted to share what a client balance sheet at Presilium Private Wealth looks like. The top left includes a section that shows a client’s current net worth and account ownership. This is updated every day so that our clients can […]

Today we wanted to talk with you about the yield curve and how it impacts where and how you should be allocating your money kept in cash and bonds. The yield curve is an illustration that shows the interest rates of bonds at different maturity dates. A maturity date is more simply known as the […]

Today we wanted to talk with you about just how powerful compounding over time can be. Albert Einstein said that Compound Interest is the eighth wonder of the world. Our clients are often surprised at how large their investments are projected to grow when we look at their long-term financial plans. When we calculate how […]

Today we wanted to talk with you about the historical market performance after midterm elections. One of our favorite hobbies at Presilium is looking back through history for clues on what may happen now and in the future. We recently finished a heavily contested mid-term election in the U.S. on November 8, 2022 and consequently […]

Today, in our fifteenth episode during Thanksgiving week, we wanted to tell you how incredibly grateful we are that you have introduced us to so many of your friends, family, and colleagues over this past year. Because of the level of trust that this takes, and how much this means to us, we wanted to […]

Today, in our fourteenth episode, we wanted to talk with you about saving for college and the advantages of using a 529 College Savings account. College costs are higher than ever and are expected to continue to increase. The average cost of a student living on campus at a four-year private, non-profit university is $54,501 […]

Today, in our thirteenth episode, we wanted to talk with you about optimizing your accounts that are not invested for the long-term. At Presilium, we want you to get the best possible returns on all of your accounts. These include accounts that you may want to access in the next couple years and consequently want […]

Today, in our twelfth episode, we wanted to talk with you about how important it is to stick with the investment strategy that is part of your long-term plan through both up and down markets, as well as to share data that supports this thinking. There is a popular saying in personal finance that is, […]

Today, in our eleventh episode, we wanted to talk about bull and bear markets and show you a few examples from recent history that may help us to get a better understanding of the current market and where it may be headed next. A bear market is a term used to describe stocks when they […]

Today we wanted to show you a few of the beneficial ways that you can use your secure Presilium Client Vault. Our client portal and vault are extremely secure. It uses the highest level of encryption currently available today and is twice the standard followed by many financial institutions and banks according to eMoney, the […]

Today in our ninth episode we wanted to talk about Estate Planning. A good estate plan transfers your assets and investments to your designated beneficiaries in the most effective way possible under the current laws. A good estate plan also transfers assets and investments in the easiest way to your beneficiaries in what otherwise can […]

Today we wanted to discuss something that we regularly complete for clients whenever we have the opportunity – tax loss swaps. A tax loss swap allows us to capture realized losses that can be used to offset future gains without making a large change to your overall investment allocation. This how a tax loss swap […]

Today we wanted to share something with you that we use every day at Presilium: The Decision Center, a key feature of our financial planning software. After creating a financial plan that shows our clients a step-by-step path to reach their goals, we have tools within the Decision Center that clearly show how a variety […]

Today we wanted to discuss something that can have a huge impact on reaching your retirement goals: the order that you take withdrawals from your investment accounts. Many of our clients have three types of investment accounts that each have their own tax rules, after-tax accounts, IRAs/401ks and Roth IRAs. A good financial plan for […]

Today we will discuss another way to measure risk in your portfolio, which becomes especially important once you are retired. Here at Presilium, we measure risk by looking at the amount of retirement income you’ll need each year and comparing that to what is currently held in short-term bonds and cash. Said another way, in […]

Today we will discuss something most people know they should be doing, yet almost no one does on a consistent basis: rebalancing your investment portfolio. Rebalancing, put simply, is moving your portfolio back to your target investment allocation as the market moves up or down. At Presilium, we start each relationship by building a financial […]

Welcome to Financial Planning Fridays, our weekly video series on financial planning, where we work to simplify wealth management decision making for our clients so they can focus on what is most important to them. Today we are going to focus on one of our favorite subjects: investment asset allocation. This is the mix of […]

Welcome to Financial Planning Fridays, our weekly video series on the benefits of financial planning. Today we are going to focus on the probability of success in a financial plan. In the financial planning software that we use from eMoney the probability of success is determined by running 1,000 random trials of your potential investment […]

Welcome to Financial Planning Fridays, our weekly video series on the benefits of financial planning. Pablo Picasso said “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” Unfortunately, I never worked with […]