Brittany Blazey loves to think of ways to make her clients feel valued. Her role as the Relationship Manager at our Toledo Office is a perfect fit for a person with a heart for taking care of clients.

Thinking about another marriage as you approach retirement? What are the financial considerations?

Getting married at any point in life is an exciting step toward personal and shared fulfillment. But getting married later in life can be both exciting and potentially challenging, at least from a financial standpoint. Compared to those who are marrying for the first time, people who remarry likely have to solve a much more complicated financial equation in order to be prosperous.

Before you tie the knot a second or third time, you and your future spouse should have an open and sincere discussion regarding your respective finances. Some points in this conversation will probably be uncomfortable, but you can avoid future arguments by laying all your financial cards on the table today. Consider the following discussion points:

We continue our series profiling different financial advisors at Carnegie Investment Counsel with our wealth advisor, Ian Matheson at our Carnegie Investment Counsel office in Ft. Myers, Florida.

Pass Go and collect $200: Ian Matheson helps make it that easy to feel good about your investment strategy, with a little extra knowledge and dedication.

Ian Matheson grew up playing Monopoly, but he learned to work with real money at a young age. In fact, when he was in the eighth grade, he started competing with his father, Robert Matheson, to pick stocks and mutual funds. It’s almost natural that he has been a wealth advisor for over 20 years now.

On a monitor across from my desk, two screens share constantly updating market news from earnings reports to headlines. On my phone, Twitter flashes the latest evaluations and thoughts from, well, thought leaders. Bloomberg provides analytics, data and even more financial news. The flow of information is good and valuable. Everyone can access this information. It’s a far cry from years ago when we had to wait to receive faxes of earnings reports. Now financial information is certainly becoming more “democratized”. But these volumes of information are a challenge for individuals to process, even if those individuals are professionals.

At Carnegie, the word “counsel” in our name speaks to the expertise we bring to investment management. But how does the Carnegie approach work in practice? How do we synthesize information together as a team to help portfolio managers digest it and make decisions for our clients’ portfolios?

Suddenly find yourself winning the lottery or with an unexpected inheritance? Or maybe you sold your company for a surprising amount. Managing sudden wealth includes both mental and financial considerations. So while it may seem like a dream come true for some, it can be detrimental to those who don’t know how to manage the sudden event.. Here are 12 steps to help you survive and thrive:

We learned a lot about ourselves in 2020. Below are some "Do's and Don'ts" we should keep in mind for the coming year:

After nearly a year of dealing with the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, most of us have come to the realization that our lives will be forever altered in some way. Aside from the challenges to public health and the social disruptions involved, Americans' economic impact has ranged from modest to devastating. Here are tips to help you and your loved ones stay on track with long term financial goals:

Take Advantage of This Time to Take Stock
Many people are experiencing extraordinary stress levels during this time, and economic uncertainty is a prime cause. Despite these challenges, this is a great time to take a moment to assess your financial goals and how well they are being met. You might have more time on your hands and fewer distractions, so it is a perfect time to revisit your financial targets.

While the pandemic may have altered your approach in the near term, it is essential you maintain steps that will give you and your family long-term financial security.

Smiling faces…sunny places. You’ve seen the pictures of those folks who appear to be in their 60s or 70s hanging out at the pool or walking on the beach. They live in a climate that the local chamber of commerce touts in all their advertisements. You wonder if this could be you in an ideal retirement scenario.

In general, family responsibilities and employment opportunities are the biggest determinants of where people live. As you approach retirement age, though, these factors may diminish in importance. In fact, retirement may represent a new level of freedom to choose your residence that you never had before.

But there are many questions you, or you and your spouse must answer before the moving truck arrives to haul all your worldly possessions to a new address.
What considerations should you ponder before you move? What factors will help guide your decision? Even when you conclude that a move to a new location is your best choice, what might hold you back?

Low interest rates, along with all their advantages and pitfalls, have defined much of the last decade. While prior recessionary periods have seen overnight shifts by the central bank to sub-1% interest rates, 2020 appears to manifest an extreme version of it so far. As the Federal Funds Rate was slashed from 1.5% to nearly 0% in March of 2020, the 10-year Treasury, the widely followed proxy for long-term rate setting purposes, registered a low of just 52 basis points within days of the Fed actions, an historic low.

We continue our series profiling different financial advisors at Carnegie Investment Counsel with our newest portfolio manager, Chris Carey.

According to Chris Carey, portfolio manager at Carnegie Investment Counsel, the jobs you do in life may provide an even greater education than the theories you learn in school… even the internships and work experience you may do for free.

Carey didn’t go to school with the intention of going into finance. He was interested in the food industry after working for an upmarket grocery store, Waitrose, in his hometown of London, England, during his time at high school.