The Financial Detox® Show

Jason and Alex recap some of the predictions made by strategists in 2020. If there was ever a year that we were reminded of the difficulty of making stock market predictions, it was 2020. To exemplify the difficulty of making market forecasts, we can look in the rear-view mirror at several examples of 2020 market forecasts and see how they turned out. A well-known financial publication surveyed 10 Wall Street strategists to gather their outlook, below are a few takeaways:The consensus of the strategists was that the S&P 500 would rise 4.1% in 2020, a substantial difference from the 18.4% that the index returned, despite all the headwinds faced. Even the panel’s most bullish member undershot where the S&P 500 would end up, estimating the index would rise to 3500 by year end. The strategists predicted that the 10-Year Treasury would end the year yielding 1.89%, a number more [...]

Today’s show kicks off with Jason and Alex introducing guest Rick Labrum, founding adviser to Intelligence Driven Advisers also Jason’s Dad and mentor. Today’s show discusses Smart Goals for 2021.Jason shares a story of how he and his boys applied a S.M.A.R.T. goal to make the game of golf more enjoyable for young players.Using the acronym S.M.A.R.T. to help define a goal.Specific (simple, sensible, significant).Measurable (meaningful, motivating).Achievable (agreed, attainable).Relevant (reasonable, realistic, and resourced, results-based).Time bound (time-based, time limited, tie/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).After briefly describing the smart goals acronym and how it can be used to structure a goal, Jason and Alex ask Rick to share his thoughts. Rick comments that, it is very structured and that you would probably be successful if you used it, but in addition, it needs to be “Exciting and Fun” and not supposed to look like work. Rick continues that with visualizing the achievement of [...]

Jason and Alex kick off the show sharing stories of family and staying safe around the holidays attempting to hold on to the traditions that we all have, while recognizing the current COVID protocols. With this intro, the show segues into the “Season of Giving” a discussion around charitable giving and the benefits associated to reduce your taxable liabilities. Alex references some charitably inclined billionaires and the strategies that they have implemented to give back to society. Jason interjects that we are the most charitable country on the face of the earth and that even smaller charitable donations can and will add up. With clients, IDA has been creating family foundations that require (per the client’s wishes) a 5% donation every year to a specified non-profit charitable organization. An awesome way for them to save a little bit on tax, but truly a way to be focused on giving [...]

Jason and Alex talked about our proprietary 401(k) solution called Future Ready 401(k), which is for an any person participating in a 401(k) plan. This 401(k) retirement solution would bring benefits to the participants/employees, human resources department managers, corporate owners, controllers, directors of finance, etc. They invite listeners to send their questions to jason@financialdetox.com or call 877-707-8889.Alex asked Jason what prompted him to want to create a better 401(k) experience for individuals. They explained that the Future Ready 401(k) experience is one in which all aspects of the 401(k) are bundled into one solution, so it is structed as transparent as possible and designed to make life easier for all parties involved in the 401(k) plan and corresponding processes. Jason also explained that he has been in business for about 22 years and has helped participants with all aspects of their 401(k) plans. This includes the investment selection, retirement [...]

Jason and Alex started by talking about how this year has brought their family’s closer together with one another. There have been a lot of ups and downs this year and it has been filled with tremendous hardship for a lot of people, and much prosperity for others. Jason talked about how negativity and people having negative attitudes is at an all time high, and how it is almost trendy to talk about the doom and gloom. They invite listeners to send their questions to jason@financialdetox.com or call 877-707-8889. Jason explained that our IDA team serves a vast range of clients ranging from very high net worth clients to more mass affluent households, and we are always ready to serve new individuals with their financial goals and financial challenges. They made the joke that we work best with clients ages 1 to 100, but it is very true because [...]

This week’s show starts off with Jason and Alex sharing what they are thankful for and what IDA will be doing as a give back to the community. “Wreaths Across America” a benefit that honors past veterans, by placing holiday wreaths onto their grave sites. The employees of Intelligence Driven Advisers and their families will be placing wreaths on over 400 veteran grave sites at the Fallbrook Masonic Cemetery in Fallbrook Ca. This patriotic gesture leads the conversation into respect for our country and the sacrifices that were made for the better of mankind and the ability to practice freedom of speech. After the introduction, Jason and Alex segue into discussing what it means for a financial firm to deliver value by introducing a Delivering Value Series. This week’s show focuses on rebalancing as a value add. Jason challenges listeners to ask their current advisers how they approach rebalancing [...]

Jason and Alex began by saying the main purpose of the show is to help individuals steer clear of toxic advice, prevent them from making great behavioral mistakes, and helping individuals create disciplines and philosophies to think about building wealth. Jason talked about how most advisors do not do tax planning, such as tax loss harvesting in a client’s portfolio, until the end of the year, which may be too late. Many of those advisors have already missed opportunities to save their clients thousands and thousands of dollars over the span of their financial lives. They pivoted and started talking about the TRUE value that we brought to our clients back in March when we had one of the fastest selloffs in market history. It is hard to quantify in numbers the true value of bringing peace of mind to our clients during periods of economic and market distress. [...]

Jason starts the show with stating that, “if you’ve recently sold a business, have a stock position with a lot of long-term capital gains, or thinking about selling a piece of real estate with a lot of appreciation, you need to listen to this show and pay tons of attention”. Alex chimes in stating, that this is one of those opportunities that is relatively new. Only three years old. Alex mentions the beginnings of 401(k)s and 1031 exchanges as examples. If you have a potential liquidity event coming up, you may want to pump the brakes before paying the taxes and investigate Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund (“QOZs”).Jason explains that basically, three years ago, legislation was enacted through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, that focuses on creating growth and job opportunities in underserved communities, into which new investments may be eligible for enhanced tax treatment. Alex adds that this [...]

Jason started the show by introducing a special guest Estee Gubbay, who is a luxury travel expert with Luxurist Travel. Thomas Ohanesian, a wealth adviser on the Financial Detox team at IDA, also joined Estee and Jason in the studio. He talked about how everyone is fed up with talking about the elections and all the nonsense that is going on around the world, so it is perfect timing to pivot and talk about wealth management and bearing the fruits of hard work by traveling. Estee is a travel specialist who just wrote the exciting book Your Travel Bucket List, which will be available on Amazon. The book is a combination of a travel guide, self-development tool, and portfolio planner for travel all built into one book.Jason and Estee discussed the challenges and their experiences with writing their books, and how it is a very challenging process that takes a [...]

Jason starts this week’s show off with an introduction to special guest speaker Brian McArthur from Bridlewood Insurance Services, a Medicare Insurance Agent. Jason asks Brian to set the record straight with the timing of enrollment and the choices available. Brian takes Jason’s lead and explains that Medicare is a deadline driven industry that markets with fear to obtain your business. By age sixty-four, be prepared to receive more marketing material than you could ever imagine. Be proactive and reach out to an agent sooner than later to begin the process of learning what options will be best suited for your health insurance needs. Alex joins the conversation and reinforces the need to speak with a Medicare insurance specialist and adds that the complexities within this space are difficult to comprehend without the support of a subject matter expert. Jason continues the conversation by outlining Brian’s role as a [...]