Taxes 101

In November of 1789, Benjamin Franklin wrote to a friend to inquire about his health and give a brief update on his life. His letter included this line “Our new Constitution is now established, everything seems to promise it will be durable; but, in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.” This […]
Focused Generosity

One of the things I’m most grateful for is a dinner I had earlier this year. While the food was fantastic, the memorable part of the dinner was the lesson I learned from a sage friend. Throughout our dinner, I had been airing my laments to my buddy. He stopped me and asked why most […]
RCU: What Report Cards Teach Us About Retirement

Recently, I was helping one of my kids clean out their room. In one of their drawers were some old report cards. Looking at these documents was like a stroll down memory lane for me. When they were 4, I remember they could “identify numbers” and had “empathy for their peers.” By elementary school, they […]
‘This model can scale’: How a Texas RIA turns college grads into skilled advisors

Travis Penfield believes two advisors are better than one. Such is the philosophy behind the operating model of his retirement planning firm, 49 Financial, which went independent in October of 2019 in Austin, Tex. before joining Thrivent Advisor Network in July of 2020. Each client is paired with a duo of advisors – […]