We don’t always think about finances when we think about our overall wellness, but they’re a very important component. Will Sneed, President of DHG Wealth Advisors and 30-year veteran of the investment industry, shares tips on finding financial freedom. Initially created internally for DHG and now available publicly.

November 04, 2014The headline jumped from the TV screen, “After Record Highs, the Fall is Here.” Being the good investment advisor that I am, I of course stopped to see what had triggered the latest round of market selling only to learn that it was a weather report! What if this had been a stock market report instead? Just how should we react upon hearing of volatile stock market moves? Think carefully now, because your answer likely will determine not only your portfolio returns but your very ability to enjoy your retirement years.European banks underwent a Stress Test in October to determine the soundness of their financial system. Perhaps we as investors could look upon the Stock Market Pullback of September as a Stress Test of sorts to assess the soundness of our own personal financial system. After crossing 2,000 for the first time in history, the S&P500 Index reached a closing high of 2,011.36 on September 18, 2014. Less than one month later, we had dropped almost 7.50% to ...

June 02, 2014As a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor designee, I spend a lot of time working with clients to carefully chart out the financial side of their retirement. During our meetings I will often mention the need to do the other type of retirement planning also – the personal side – the side that involves deciding how they will spend each and every day when they no longer have to punch the ol’ time clock. I ask them to carefully envision that side of retirement and make plans accordingly. Rather than me try to address that concept, I asked my good friend and wise life coach, Kelly Walsh to pass along some guidance. How to Create Your Retirement Life Preparedness KitBy Kelly Walsh, President of 1 Smart Life, LLCWe spend our lives planning for retirement often with a focus on money. We carefully imagine stepping into the world of receiving paychecks from our investments rather than an employer and wonder how that will feel. But what else can we be preparing? We can Google i...

May 01, 2014Seems like everywhere an investor turns today we hear or read about the age-old market advice to “sell in May and go away!” Is this truly valuable investing wisdom and can it make a difference in helping you achieve your personal financial goals? One article provides this statistical information: “Over the last 40 years, the S&P 500 Index has averaged a gain of 7.56% from November through April and has been positive 80% of the time. From May through October, the average return is just 1.74%, with 67% of them positive.” (Rocky White, Schaeffer’s Investment Research)Another long time market forecaster, Mark Hulbert, pointed out that the first half of that time frame – the May through July period – has actually been very smooth sailing on average over the past 40 years compared with the latter part of the period. (Barron’s, 4/28/2014) This new data would suggest that maybe the old mantra should be updated to “sell in August”! Before you take this new advice to th...