Investing, Student of the Market
Ryan Weiser
Student of the Market - May 2025

Stay ahead of the markets with timely insights by uncovering the latest on the global economy, geopolitics and retirement, among other timely investment ideas - Student of the Market - May 2025

Student of the Market - May 2025

Life Planning

What’s Your Financial “Why” for the New Year?

What’s Your Financial “Why” for the New Year?

With wealth comes an expansive list of financial opportunities: paying down debt, upgrading homes, maximizing retirement savings, or supporting future generations. The real question isn’t what’s possible, but what’s most important.

This is where clarity and intentionality come into play. Financial planning, done properly, helps you make choices in alignment with your values.

Establishing the “why” behind your wealth can provide a helpful foundation. What does financial success mean to you? Is it about flexibility and independence? Generational legacy? Giving back to your community? Your “why” serves as your guidepost, helping you prioritize and sequence your financial goals.

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Raising Resilient Heirs

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Raising Resilient Heirs

Giving kids and grandkids a leg up in the world is often an important goal of legacy planning. But just how easier should an "easier" life really be? If your legacy plan provides your heirs with too comfortable of a cushion, they may not gain the resilience they'll need to overcome challenges that money alone can't fix.

Encourage your loved ones to push themselves in these three ways and they'll learn how to carry on your family's legacy while also improving their Return on Life.

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Retire Like You Invest

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Retire Like You Invest

The best habits often have applications in many different aspects of life.

We certainly feel that's true about our Life-Centered Financial Planning Process!

The transition to retirement is going to bring many changes, including how you feel about the relationship between your life and your money. But you can lean on the same principles that helped you secure your retirement to help you make that transition and enjoy your retirement more.

Let's review three cornerstones of Life-Centered Financial Planning and think about how we can reapply these concepts to living your best life in retirement.

Buy Experiences & Not Things for A Better ROL

Buy Experiences & Not Things for A Better ROL

Pick up your cell phone. If it's a few months or years old, try to remember when you first bought it. How shiny and light and scratch-free it was. How excited you were to sync up your accounts, take pictures and videos with the new camera, or play some games.

 And now? Be honest -- it's just your phone. You might not be able to get through a day -- or an hour -- without it, but even if you've kept it in good shape the shine and the newness are gone.

That's due to a phenomenon that psychologists call "hedonistic adaptation." Over a very short period of time, the things we buy just become more things that we have, and that initial bust of happiness we feel when we crack open the box returns to the baseline.

On the other hand, buying experiences tends to create happiness that sticks with us, reverberates with our loved ones, and improves Return on Life. Here are three reasons why:

The Many Benefits of Enjoying Your Work

The Many Benefits of Enjoying Your Work

Very few people love everything about their jobs. But even if you're someone who just clocks in and out for a paycheck, wouldn't it be nice to get a little more Return on Life from something you spend 40+ hours doing every single week? Whether you're looking into a career change or trying to reframe how you think about and perform at your job, here are four reasons to whistle while you work:

Creative Hobbies Can Improve Your Work and ROL as a C-level Executive

Creative Hobbies Can Improve Your Work and ROL as a C-level Executive

The demands of being a C-level executive can be so overwhelming that you might feel like you're "on call" even on your rare days off. If you're struggling to unplug from your work, perhaps you need to make more purposeful investments of time and energy into your hobbies. Adding some creative relaxation to your routine could help you make three big improvements that could reduce burnout and boost your Return on Life.

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Focus on the Big Picture

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Focus on the Big Picture

Market volatility can make anyone nervous, especially in our always-on, 24/7 news cycle.

When some of our more experienced team members were first starting out in finance, average investors typically checked in on their accounts once or twice a quarter when their custodians sent paper statements. As for the Dow Jones and S&P 500, you'd usually see two numbers every day: one on the morning news and another in the evening. Today, watching your nest egg fluctuate in real time while social media and cable news shout a steady stream of panic can make it feel like your financial plan is living and dying moment by moment.

Our Life-Centered Planning process always considers all the available data that could impact you and your money. But we also take in a much wider view of the markets, your plan, and your goals for the future. You can see that same big picture if you unplug, step back, and focus on three important investing principles.

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Social Media’s Impact on Your Money Mindset

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Social Media’s Impact on Your Money Mindset

There are a variety of viewpoints on how social media influences our society - both good and bad. After all, some people are spending hours a day on these platforms and we need to be aware of their impact. From our vantage point, we’re paying close attention to how these networks influence our clients’ spending, saving, and investing habits.

Can Eustress Improve Your ROL?

Can Eustress Improve Your ROL?

Not all stress is bad stress.

While there's overwhelming medical evidence that negative stress can cause significant physical and emotional damage, "eustress" can energize and inspire us to meet surmountable obstacles. In fact, if you attempt one of these three challenges, you might actively cultivate eustress that leads to personal development and a greater Return on Life.

Building Momentum for ROL

Building Momentum for ROL

Unless you win the lottery, no financial plan is going to deliver massive overnight results that change your life. Even windfall events like getting a major promotion, or achieving a big exit from the company you started are all the end result of smaller achievements that gather and sustain momentum towards your ultimate goal.

Whether you want to save more, improve your health, or spend more quality time with your family, this simple three-step process can help you build momentum that will improve your Return on Life in the areas that matter the most to you.