A&I Financial Services

Garrison Keillor jokes: “With cable news, print, news networks, websites, millions of podcasts, we are the most communicative people on earth; it’s no wonder we’re so sick of each other.” Well, here’s to less screen time and more face to face time. We will all feel better when we are together and we laugh a...Read More

We have countless reasons to be thankful in 2023. We are thankful for our health, for our family, for our friends, and for you, our wonderful extended family and friends! Here are three reasons you might want to show your gratitude. Colorado Gives Day Many charities will receive a matching gift if you make a...Read More

Recently, Stacey and I had a chance to visit Tanzania. Truly, the trip of a lifetime. One of the adventures gave me perspective on financial planning and investing. I learned a traditional way to make coffee. We took a coffee bean from the plant all the way to the pot and then poured a cup...Read More

Last year, our best performing investments were neither equities (stocks) nor bonds. They were alternative investments, including managed futures. We believe the right way to invest is to diversify by strategy. This strategy zigs when equities zag, and last year did quite well. Click here to learn more about our alternative investments and hedging strategies....Read More

We have survived a bear market, you and I, if we did not sell into the fear over this past year. As we have discussed previously, see links below, investments do not require good news to do well. By and large, the value of our investments has increased at the same time as the bad...Read More

Equities, by and large, had a good start to 2023. So did bonds. As we talked about recently, things may be better than they appear. However, our investment research teams remain short-term cautious. We are as conservative, in the vast majority of our portfolios, as we have been since the great financial crisis of 2008....Read More

If you have not already read this month’s letter regarding the incredible growth of dividends over our investment lifetime, please click this link. And if you are not yet subscribed to the email Periscope, please do so so that you can see the link! Dividends: The Tortoise Breaks into a Trot Last year’s S&P 500...Read More

Leaving a Legacy that Lasts Generations The cure for the entitlement illness is gratitude. For affluent families, raising kids without spoiling them is a huge challenge. Here are some practical bits of advice, and some questions you can talk about with your wealth manager. You may have heard the saying, “shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves...Read More

Learn from Nick Arndt, a tax expert from Transamerica, about how to find tax saving opportunities and other advice. One of the questions we had was about inherited IRAs. If you inherited your IRA before the year 2022, you can continue with the current withdrawal schedule. However, any inherited IRA since 2022 is subject to...Read More

When it comes to spending and saving, there are many different philosophies of thought for how much to allocate where. Broadly speaking, many people tend to break up their budgets into necessities / personal spending / savings. However, “savings” can feel ambiguous, especially when you factor in the many ways that savings can be used...Read More