Entrust Blog

You may be familiar with the idiom, ”A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” When it comes to your money, not only can it be dangerous—it can be downright expensive. For example, one often reads that titling one’s assets as “joint” avoids probate following a death; doing so is touted as smart because it saves legal fees and keeps family business private. Readers might assume, too, that joint account registrations help avoid income or inheritance taxes. Actually, depending on ...

Micro-managing every little detail as you prepare for your income-tax filing may not be your idea of a good time. In fact, just thinking about filing taxes is enough to cause stress to many of us. But if you honor the three tips to help reduce your taxes that we introduced to our clients, Christel and Tony, we believe you may experience the desired result of keeping more money in your pocket; and, there is a good chance that your ...

This is the time of year when we wish that every financial document we have was expertly filed in just the right place, so that heading off to our accountant to take care of our income tax-filing could be seamless and stress-free. However, many of us procrastinate the task of organizing our financial documents. If you tend to put off this seemingly daunting and just plain uninteresting responsibility, we encourage you to follow these three easy steps: Gather your financial ...

Bringing cheer to all we meet during the holidays is a fantastic expression of the love we feel–for our families, friends, colleagues, and our community. It is a spontaneous affirmation of the interdependence of the lives we enjoy. In light of this sentiment, we invite you to join us in the following endeavor honoring an incredibly courageous girl, Alaina, who has been battling Ewing Sarcoma since she was eight years old. Time is of the essence. If you would like ...

We received a call from Marvin, who finally decided he felt uncomfortable having $2 million in just a single stock. Yes, he loves the stock and is loyal to the company; he first acquired the stock because he worked for the company years ago at the beginning of his career. But so much money in just one equity? What if the company goes through a bad patch and he loses half the value? Marvin reported to us that his risk ...

Jeremy has been an entrepreneur since high school. His pride and joy is the restaurant he opened upon graduating and has built into a successful enterprise over the past two decades. When we met, he reported that he promised himself for the last five years that early retirement was just around the corner. He wants more time to spend with his beautiful family. Jeremy’s aspiration, what we at Entrust call making work optional, is lofty. It requires a finely-tuned financial ...

Rachel would tell you she likes to make money, not count it. However, what stands out when you meet her are her phenomenal entrepreneurial skills. In fact, Rachel’s relentless effort in her business endeavors, coupled with a superb instinct for calculated risk-taking, led to the accumulation of a nest egg of over $6 million saved (in cash). She accomplished this while living a lavish lifestyle including owning a home on each coast. Finally, at age 53, Rachel scheduled a meeting ...

You would not expect a business to succeed unless the owners established short and long-term goals, and took the time to track expenses and income. When it comes to couples and money, the same expectations hold true. Setting goals and tracking financials can make all the difference to a lifetime of financial success. But as you know, not all couples experience financial success. What stands in the way? First, couples are often unsure how to collaborate with one another ...

If you are like many of us, you believe your employer-sponsored 401(k) plan is “free.” After all, you do not receive a fee report outlining the calculation of your pricing. And perhaps with respect to your personal investing, you or others you know may also have reason to believe investment advice is virtually free. For instance, one commonly heard claim some advisors make to clients is: “You don’t pay me. My firm pays me.” No wonder such investors assume they ...

Your portfolio is comprised of a variety of ingredients. These ingredients–typically stocks, bonds, and real estate (perhaps in the form of mutual funds)–are combined based on how much risk you want. But is it possible to keep your risk-level on track over time?