To Inform:  I (Ryan) recently graduated from Mount Vernon Nazarene University where I studied financial planning. While our program was focused primarily on the technical side, we also spent some time on the social and relational aspects of financial planning. As part of the program we read a book by Mitch Anthony called “The New […]

To Inspire: Lisa’s sister is in for the weekend, arrived last night. The three of us stayed up till midnight – catching up on our families and simply enjoying being together. We laughed, loved, and shared deeply and as we all headed to bed we agreed that our conversation had been a real treat – […]

To Inform: Last night we held our annual Oktoberfest Portfolios and Pints event. Friends filled the big room upstairs at the Hofbräuhaus as Alex and I drew questions out of a hat, and I deflected as many complicated questions as I could for Alex to answer. Topics we discussed ranged from economic indicators (side note: […]

To Inspire: We talk so much today about the importance of mental and physical health but how can we convince ourselves to take these things seriously? I recently read the following story from the Warren Buffett biography The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life, and it has stuck with me: Let’s say that […]

To Inspire: Matt Palmer here. Lisa and I are taking one of our daughters and her husband and children to Disney World later this fall. We’re very excited – it’s been 25 years since we last were there, when our three children were young. Thinking about the trip reminded me of some thoughts that Bob […]

To Inform: Last week, Alex Durbin and I attended the CFA (Chartered Financial Society) Society of Columbus’ Fall kick-off dinner. It was a gathering of investment professionals throughout Central Ohio representing state pension systems, large insurance companies, banks, and wealth managers. Tom Jalics, CFA, Chief Investment Strategist at Fifth Third Bank, entertained the audience with […]

To Inform: “Cash is Trash” – Ray Dalio, 2018, 2020, 2022 I always chuckle when investment gurus make definitive statements, usually at the top of a market trend. The quote above was tried out thrice by Ray Dalio, famous founder of the hedge fund shop Bridgewater. Dalio is no fool but in all those instances, […]

To Inspire: I’m reading a fascinating book right now that I highly recommend: The Power of Moments, by Chip and Dan Heath. Researchers at Stanford and Duke, the brothers share their findings that certain experiences in our lives have extraordinary impact – some very positive and some very negative. For example, in the book they […]

To Inform: It’s been a few months since we’ve done this, but I think now is another good time to dust off the mailbag and answer a few questions we are hearing from clients. Hopefully this encourages you to think of any questions you may have and send them our way. Without any further ado, […]

To Inspire:   “Ellie, why don’t we consider traveling around the world in 80 days when we’re 80?” said Sandy Hazelip to her dear friend Ellie Hamby. Ellie leaped at the idea. While the pandemic delayed the trip, and the two were actually 81 years old during their adventures, they did visit all seven continents […]