Blog

How Men and Women Differ with Finances

Published By Pamela Peña Serrano, CFP® | LinkedIn

The way men and women view themselves and their future greatly impacts their financial planning paths. There are four major factors that influence this: mindset, marital status, age and financial services background knowledge. Marital status is a key factor in their differences, which in turn affects their mindset. Lastly, where men and women believe they are in their life, depending on their age and expectations, is a huge catalyst for moving forward in their financial journey.
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5 Reasons It’s Important to Set Financial Goals

Published by Rob Furlong, Portfolio Manager

The alarm sounded promptly at 1a.m. Shortly after some rustling and grumbling the tent zippers opened and we stepped out into the frigid air. After a quick breakfast, we began heading uphill into the darkness. For the next eight hours life was little more than listening to the ice crunch with each step as we ascended over 5,000 feet into the thinning air. Shortly after 9a.m. we were at 14,200 feet-on top of one of the highest peaks in the Cascade mountain range. Read more

3 Lessons I’ve Learned Working At A Wealth Management Firm

Published by Shayla Kriha

Flash back to May 9^th 2011, the day I started working at Carson Wealth Management Group. I thought at that time I knew what working in the financial services industry was all about; I could not have been more wrong. It’s now June 2018, and I can truly say I know exactly what sets us apart from other wealth management firms and financial advisors in Omaha. Read more

Financial Planning Is About the “Why”

Published by Brad Dillon

Many of my clients and prospects confuse financial planning with investment management. There are countless financial professionals touting their expertise regarding investments, and in my 20 years in the profession I have had many conversations with prospective clients that have begun: Read more

How Emotional Decisions Can Ruin Your Investment Strategy

More money is left behind than lost during market declines. When an investor reacts emotionally to declines, they often pull money out of the market, derailing their investment strategy and leaving them much less exposed to equity markets. Often, these moves are made very near the bottom of the market and the investor leaves behind a substantial portion of return. Read more

Nelly Naps: A Canine Guide to Quality Shut-Eye

Published by Nelly Carson

If you’ve been following my journey as a dog blogger (you’re missing out if you haven’t been), you may have noticed I have a bit of an obsession with naps. Think of my sleep schedule as a hobbit’s eating schedule. Whereas they have breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper, I have a morning nap, midmorning nap, pre-lunch nap, after lunch nap, siesta, post-dinner nap and finally, the marathon all-nighter nap. I get exhausted just thinking about my jam-packed snoozing itinerary.

Before you start to judge me for obviously dozing on the job, remember dogs require 12-14 hours of sleep per day. And, unlike humans, we are relentless about prioritizing shut-eye. In fact, it ranks second only to treats in my book. Read more

How To Know What Your Goals Are

Have you ever asked a child what they want to have when they grow up? Believe me, you’ll typically get some entertaining answers. And better yet, keep asking “Anything else?” There’s always more. A few examples of responses you might get look like: Read more

Pamela Peña Earns CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Certification

Published by Jill Hamilton, Marketing & Events Coordinator

Pamela Peña’s journey to becoming a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ^TM (CFP ®), was one full of hard work and adversity. One that gave her an exceptional ability to empathize with her clients’ unique situations, fully understand their individual needs and help them prepare for the unknown.  After losing her father at a young age, she experienced firsthand the ripple effect that this kind of tragic and unexpected loss has on a household. Following his death, her family lost their business and she and her sister had to move in with their grandparents.

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When Can You Retire?

Not surprisingly, one of the most common goals financial planners help their clients with is analyzing cash flow in retirement so they can live their lives comfortably without worrying about outliving their money. Cash inflow in retirement can come from many sources (Social Security, retirement plans, savings, annuities, pensions) so it’s important to consider how much and when to expect cash inflows. Read more

How to Choose an Investment Strategy

Published by Pamela Peña Serrano, CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™

There are many factors which affect choosing an investment strategy. The first set of factors begins with you, our client. Our disciplined discovery process is key to understanding the right investment strategy for your specific situation. Once we have the answers from our clients, we begin to think about the second category of factors which involve the overall health of the economy.

Here are common questions we ask as we walk through the investment planning process:

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