Client Communications
| 2017 Q1 | 2017 Q2 | 2017 Q3 | |
| 2016 Q1 | 2016 Q2 | 2016 Q3 | 2016 Q4 |
| 2015 Q1 | 2015 Q2 | 2015 Q3 | 2015 Q4 |
May 22, 2023
US Debt Ceiling: Should I be Worried?
I recently read an article on the US Debt Ceiling and thought it was did a great job explaining what’s going on. Below I have summarized the the article and posted a link to the PDF. I hope you enjoy
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April 10, 2023
How Markets Performed Across the World in the First Quarter of 2023
DOWNLOAD THE PDF The market investing year of 2023 is off to a solid start. Despite some concerns with the liquidity ove some banks, ALL equity and fixed income markets were positive in the first quarter. International Developed Stocks were
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April 6, 2023
Learning from Past Financial Recessions
There is a lot to learn from past financial recessions. There have been as many as 48 financial recessions in the US going back to the Articles of Confederation. Though some of these are disputed by economists and historians. The
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January 27, 2023
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 President Biden’s Build Back Better Plan proposed in 2021, which highlighted plans to increase tax revenue by revoking saving strategies from the wealthier taxpayers and forcing withdrawals from retirement accounts in excess of certain limits,
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January 6, 2023
5 Financial Goals for the New Year
The new year is here, and now is the time to create financial goals to help you get on track and set yourself up for a more financially stable future. Sometimes, getting your finances organized can be a daunting task,
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October 19, 2021
MWA Quarter Update – Active Management, Market Declines and Stocks
DOWNLOAD THE PDF In the update below, you will find the following links that will direct you to the topics and resources we have assembled for your benefit. I hope you find it informative and useful. If you have an
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October 1, 2021
Government Shutdown – Will My Portfolio Go Down?
Government Shutdown – Will My Portfolio Go Down? You may have asked your advisor this question, googled this question, or just plain wondered “will my portfolio go down if the government shuts down?” The answer to this question is, probably
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October 19, 2018
Facing a Bear – Do You Run or Stand Your Ground? MWA 3rd Quarter Market Commentary
Staring Down a Bear Our Thoughts on the Markets Insight into MWA Rebalancing Methodology Understanding the Mechanics of a Client Question, “Am I losing out?” What’s Going on around the Mills Wealth Office
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October 25, 2017
What will healthcare cost during retirement?
Two of the biggest future cost retirees will face is the rising cost of healthcare plus the cost associated with providing long term care which are not typically covered by Medicare. These two unknown cost must be addressed in a
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October 12, 2017
2017 Q3 MARKET REVIEW AND MORE UPDATES
Section I: Portfolio Performance What a year! In addition to this newsletter please know that your quarterly portfolio reviews have been uploaded to your client portal as of 10-13-2017. To date almost every major asset class is positive and some
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October 3, 2017
Getting What You Don’t Pay For
October 2017 Costs matter. Whether you’re buying a car or selecting an investment strategy, the costs you expect to pay are likely to be an important factor in making any major financial decision. People rely on a lot of different
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October 3, 2017
Lessons for the Next Crisis
October 2017 It will soon be the 10-year anniversary of when, in early October 2007, the S&P 500 Index hit what was its highest point before losing more than half its value over the next year and a half during
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September 15, 2017
FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS
Should You Refinance Your House Now? Here is my financial tip of the month! Make sure you check mortgage rates to see if you should be REFINANCING now! Rates fell precipitously last year and then popped up. Now
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September 12, 2017
More on Cellphone Spam Calls
Following up on my earlier comments about blocking spam calls to mobile phones, one reader says: “I use Google Fi as my cellphone and they (having way too much info on everything) are able to change the color of spam calls to
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September 11, 2017
The 4 Steps You Must Take Now
Last week, Equifax, 1 of the 3 largest credit card monitoring companies, announced that hackers stole half of the US population’s Social Security numbers in what will likely end up being one of the worst data breaches in history.
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August 30, 2017
DFA vs. Vanguard IFA video
The following video by one of our peers at IFA does an outstanding job of explaining how Dimensional Fund Advisors’ methodology captures more of the 3 factors that drive higher expected returns. (Click HERE to see what the 3 Factor
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August 23, 2017
Question on Individual Disability Insurance
Question: My Disability policy has an automatic increase rider built into the policy. Each year we receive a premium increase of $100 for benefit increase of $320. Should we accept this increase or decline the increase? Answer: That’s
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August 23, 2017
Saving For College
A great article on facts about financial aid eligibility. Check it out HERE Enjoy!
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August 23, 2017
Are You Asking the Right Questions About Investing?
In the article below, Peter hits the nail on the head with his point about cost. Many articles fiercely debate which is better: active management or passive management. Attempting to out-guess other portfolio managers (active management), these articles often promote
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August 8, 2017
Quit Monkeying Around
Have you ever wondered why a blindfolded monkey can often beat professional money managers? This short article helps explain why. Enjoy!
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August 7, 2017
Are you gambling with your portfolio?
Are Advisors Losing Faith In The Buy and Hold Approach Thesis: Both clients and advisors have a hard time letting markets work over the long run. It takes an incredible amount of discipline and patience to stock with a prudent,
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August 5, 2017
President Mike Mills of Mills Wealth Advisors featured in Forbes Article
We are honored to be quoted in Forbes about one of the innovative strategies we are using in our back office to increase transparency into our successful time-tested investment process. The Core+ methodology™ uses academics, and the peer review process
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August 5, 2017
How Small Companies Can Supersize Your Investment Returns
At MWA, one of our core investing beliefs is that risk and return are related. As such, there are three known investment factors that offer higher returns to long-term, patient investors. One of these factors is that small companies offer nearly a
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August 2, 2017
How to Build an Institutional Portfolio
How to Build an How to Build an Institutional Portfolio Executive Summary: “Structure Determines Performance” In the following presentation, investors will learn how to build an institutionally weighted portfolio that is considered optimized and efficient. Each slide adds a different asset
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August 2, 2017
Why We Refuse to Become Fee-Only Advisors
Mills Wealth Advisors refuse to be fee-only here is why At Mills Wealth Advisors, LLC, our team of Certified Financial Planning professionals are 100% committed to acting as fiduciaries, the highest legal standard in a client/advisor relationship—a standard we believe
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August 2, 2017
Private Markets
Private Markets, Are they the right investment for you? Private markets have been shown to offer a premium to public equity markets because of their higher perceived risk and general lack of liquidity. Should qualified investors with a high net
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July 17, 2017
DFA’s Long-Term Returns Ranked By Category
I think this one graph shows why we use DFA’s methodology. I believe DFA’s evidence based approach, has worked, is still working, and should work in the future. In investing many costs are hidden, and DFA’s low turnover approach handily beats most
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July 17, 2017
If Markets May Decline, Should I sell now and Buy Back In When Markets Are Cheaper?
We received a really good question that I wanted to share with all of our clients and those who follow us online. “An old and trusted indicator in the bond market is warning about possible trouble ahead in the economy
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July 17, 2017
Dimensional in the news
One of the leading sources for large institutional endowments and pension fund managers is the trade journal Pensions and Investments. It recently featured Dimensional Fund Advisors in its publication: http://www.pionline.com/article/20161114... I think this article speaks highly of DFA’s methodology, results, and
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July 17, 2017
2017 Q2 Market Review and More Updates
Dear clients, I hope your summer vacations are going well and that you are enjoying time with your families. I wanted to give you a brief update on the quarter’s performance and provide some links to our ever-evolving website and blog. We
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July 5, 2017
10 best finance movies of all time
For many people the subject of investing is dry and dull, but these top 10 finance movies portray real life events in a way that is educational and entertaining. My take away from most of these movies is that greed
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July 5, 2017
Hedge fund -To Buy or not?
Should I buy a hedge fund? “According to The New York Times, investors are flocking to funds that mimic hedge fund strategies — like long/short and global macro — hoping the extra diversification will help them avoid getting wiped out
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June 27, 2017
Personal 401k plan
It’s a fact that today’s company retirement system is failing small business employees. According to Chad Parks, CEO of Ubiquity Retirement, “Sixty-seven percent of small businesses don’t offer retirement plans.” Depending on which study you look at “most employees have
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March 17, 2017
7 Questions to Ask About Your 1099
Tax season is right around the corner! We feel that it’s important to get to know the various tax forms, especially 1099 forms because there are 17 types. This Morningstar article addresses some great questions concerning 1099 forms. It will
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March 17, 2017
Looking Back and Moving Forward
Spring is in the air! I hope you and your family are having a great start to 2017! Our team looks forward to catching up soon. We have several educational events on the calendar. Stay tuned for more information!
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