Mike Wapner Newsletter Archive
"Your Money, Your Values" Newsletter Archive
Here are past issues of my monthly newsletter. Simply click on the name of the month to download a pdf.
If you have questions on any of this material, or have suggestions for topics I should cover in future issues, please let me know.
Thanks!
Mike (MWapner@BlueLakeWealth.com)
- Should I be Concerned About My Money in the Bank? - Probably not -- explaining FDIC insurance.
- Positive Changes Due to ESG - Some benefits that companies and the broader society have already achieved.
- A Genealogy Update - What I've been up to and recommendations for a book and a TV show.
- Why Should I Care About Diversification? - Diversification helps moderate risk and reduce the volatility you experience.
- Intro to Sustainable Investing - Part VIII: Organizations - Some of the many organizations that are working to advance Sustainable Investing.
- How Are Income Taxes Like Trees? - The second best time to start Tax Planning is now.
- What Should I Know About Secure 2.0? - Congress recently passed a lot of enhancements to retirement savings plans like 401(k)s.
- Intro to Sustainable Investing - Part VII: Fixed Income - You can also align your fixed income investments (bonds, etc.) with issues you care about.
- Readers are Leaders: Get to the Next Level with Clever Girl Finance by Bola Sokunbi
- Ditch Debt, Save Money and Build Real Wealth
- Learn How Investing Works, Grow Your Money
- Another Money Conversation: Your Money Mindset - It's very important to understand how you, and the people close to you, think about money.
- Intro to Sustainable Investing - Part VI: "Engagement" - Investors can choose to engage with companies to influence their behavior.
- Help for the Young 'Uns - How can you, or someone in your network, help a young person just starting out in the business world?
- Have That Conversation with Your Family - Families, especially parents and their adult children, should share information about their estate planning and general financial situations.
- Intro to Sustainable Investing - Part V: "Thematic" Strategies - Thematic investments target ideas, personal values, or trends that don't fit into existing industry classifications.
- A Nonprofit to Know: Alliance for the Great Lakes - A nonpartisan nonprofit working to protect the fresh, clean, and natural waters of the Great Lakes.
- Year-End Topics to Think About - Check your beneficiaries, optimize your tax liability, and more.
- Intro to Sustainable Investing - Part IV: "Impact" Strategies - The "Impact" box in the Five Box Model represents strategies where values are primary and the investment includes an explicit non-financial goal.
- Lists! - Remembering The Book of Lists and some of my personal lists.
- Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are Triple Tax Free! - If your cash flow allows, HSAs can serve as excellent retirement accounts.
- Intro to Sustainable Investing - Part III: "SRI" Strategies - The "SRI" box in the Five Box Model represents strategies where values are primary and there could be a sacrifice of some financial return. The common element of these strategies is use of a negative screen to exclude certain companies or industries.
- The Value of Music - Some artists are cashing in big by selling their catalogs.
- Should I Be Concerned About Capital Gains Distributions? - Be careful about buying mutual funds near year-end. You might be subject to tax on gains you didn't earn.
- Intro to Sustainable Investing - Part II: "ESG" Strategies - The "ESG" box in the Five Box Model represents strategies where financial return is the primary goal, but factors beyond traditional financial measures are considered when evaluating companies.
- More Thoughts on Long-Term Investing - The numbers show that stocks come back strong after even the worst quarters in the markets.
- Intro to Sustainable Investing - Part I - The Five Box Model -- a framework for understanding different sustainable investing strategies.
- What is a Roth (and Why Should I Care)? - The basics on the differences between Traditional and Roth IRAs.
- Back to Basics: What is ESG, etc. Investing? - Surveys say a lot of people who would be interested in investing according to their values don't understand how they would do that. Over the next few months I'll cover some of the basics.
- Get Rid of Those Training Wheels! - Don't use training wheels to teach kids how to ride a bike.
- Should I Sell? Should I Buy? Help! - Don't let recent market volatility cause panic if you're investing for the long term.
- Elon Musk Says ESG is a Scam - But Musk ignores the fact that there is no single "ESG investing strategy." Different strategies involve different tradeoffs.
- Presidential Order on Digital Assets - President Biden signed an Executive Order outlining a national policy for digital assets.
- Possible Enhancements to Your 401(k) - The "Secure Act 2.0" could include some important changes for retirement plans.
- European Sustainability Disclosure Rules - Highlights of rules already in effect in Europe.
- The Myth of Multi-Tasking - You may not be as efficient as you think.
- 6 Reasons to Consider a Roth Conversion - Is a Roth Conversion right for you? Now? Later? It's all about taxes.
- SEC Proposes Climate Disclosure Rules - Under these rules, publicly traded companies would
need to provide certain climate-related disclosures. - A Nonprofit to Know: PCs for People - The organization refurbishes donated PCs and distributes them to low-income individuals.
- Four Simple (?) Steps for Building Wealth - Yes, it's simple. No, it's not necessarily easy.
- A Course on Sustainable Investing for Beginners - A self-paced course from US SIF that also provides lots of great references.
- Let's Talk About Money - Some resources to teach people in your family about personal finance.
- Wouldn't It Be Great To Have a Personal CFO? - The many benefits of having a personal CFO.
- A Framework for Understanding Values-Aligned Investing - Understand the concepts behind the different approaches in an environment where terminology isn't well defined.
- Readers are Leaders: Introduction to Investing
- Investing for Beginners: Steps to financial freedom by Giovanni Rigters
- Midlife Investing Strategies: A Comprehensive Guide to Investing in Your 40s by Quinton David
- Investing for Beginners: Steps to financial freedom by Giovanni Rigters
- Five Reasons to Rebalance Your Portfolio - Rebalancing is a key to disciplined investing.
- What is Impact Investing? "An investment strategy that aims to generate specific beneficial social or environmental effects in addition to financial gains."
- Your Family Tree - Into networking? Your most personal network can teach you a lot about where you're from, and you can meet very interesting people along the way.
- Special Deduction for Charitable Giving - People who don't itemize can still deduct $300 ($600 for married filing jointly) of cash charitable contributions for 2021.
- Check Out iBonds! Inflation-indexed savings bonds might be a great place to park some cash these days.
- The "S" in ESG - Employee Wellbeing - Companies are starting to explicitly consider the business risks of not paying attention to employee well-being.
- End of Year Financial Review - The end of the year is a good time to consider these financial matters.
- ESG: Standards and Disclosure - There's a demand for disclosure standards. A number of organizations are working on this.
- The Story of Stuff Project - Check out this nonprofit that promotes ways to better manage our global stuff and hopefully produce less of it.
- Why Should I Care About My Credit Score? Pay attention to this grown up version of "your permanent record."
- How "Green" Are Your Indexed ESG Funds? The priority for these funds could be matching the performance of a "regular" index, not maximizing their ESG values.
- National Parks Conservation Association - A nonprofit that helps protect "America's best idea."
- What Should I Do with My Old 401(k)? You have four basic options. Which is best for you will depend on a few factors.
- G Is For Governance: Fighting Corruption - A company’s “costs of doing business” related to bribery and corruption, and the associated risks of getting caught, may be a significant factor in projecting the company’s future profitability.
- Readers are Leaders: Behavioral Investing
- The Little Book of Behavioral Investing: How not to be your own worst enemy by James Montier
- The Little Book of Behavioral Investing: How not to be your own worst enemy by James Montier
- Should I Use Target Date Funds? These "set it and forget it" investments can be a great option, but there are some things you should check first.
- ESG Fixed Income: Sustainability-Linked Bonds - This new type of bond lets companies pay less interest if they achieve sustainability targets.
- Faith in Place: An Environmental Nonprofit - The mission of this interfaith nonprofit is to empower people of all faiths to be leaders in caring for the Earth.
- What Are Important Financial Planning Questions?- Whether you go through a formal Financial Planning process or are just trying to think ahead, there are key questions you should consider.
- Big Oil's Watershed Movement - "Green" Directors elected to Exxon-Mobil's Board - How mutual fund managers vote your shares can have a major impact!
- Readers are Leaders: The Compound Effect
- The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success" by Darren Hardy
- Why a Trust? Why a Trustee? - Dan Wlodek of Bank Financial describes basic types of trusts and potential benefits of using a professional trustee.
- Executive Order on Climate-Related Financial Risk - President Biden's Order instructed government agencies to address risks to the financial stability of the government and the country.
- Readers are Leaders: Start with Why
- Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
- How Can I Pay Less Taxes? - Tax Planning is key to Financial Planning. Some considerations to optimize taxation over the long term.
- Shareholder Engagement: Proxy Voting - An update on how proxy voting is influencing companies around environmental and social issues.
- Readers are Leaders: No Excuses!
- No Excuses! The Power of Self-Discipline by Brian Tracy
- What Can I Do About Low Interest Rates? - Some options, at various risk levels, for income in a low interest rate environment.
- The New Administration and Sustainable Investing - Will actions by the Biden Administration have a long term impact on stock prices in sectors such as Renewable Energy and Electric Vehicles?
- Your Emergency Fund - Why and how much?
- ESG: "G" is for "Governance" - Governance policies, such as regarding board and management diversity, will be at the core of how a company performs over time.
- Market Mania - Be cautious with "meme" stocks.
- Personal Finance Updates - How might certain items in last year's stimulus bills affect you?
- How Green / Socially Responsible is My Investment? - Some resources to better understand how companies and funds are performing.
- Readers are Leaders: Success
- 100 Things Successful People Do: Little exercises for successful living by Nigel Cumberland
- 100 Things Successful People Do: Little exercises for successful living by Nigel Cumberland
- Financial Resolutions - What are your financial goals for 2021?
- Be Part of the Solution - How you invest can help you be part of the solution for environmental and social issues you care about.
- Readers are Leaders: Listening
- Estate Planning - Make things easier for the ones you love in case something happens to you.
- ESG Thematic: Water - You can invest in companies developing critical water-related technologies.
- Financial Literacy Education - CARE is a nonprofit that teaches high school students and other groups about the benefits of personal financial management and the consequences of credit abuse.
- Year-End Financial Planning
- ESG is NOT Feel-Good Investing for Tree Huggers - Some reasons ESG analysis can help indicate long-term performance.
- Readers are Leaders: Go-Givers Get More
- The Go-Giver, A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea by Bob Burg and John David Mann
- Go-Givers Sell More by Bob Burg and John David Mann
- The Go-Giver, A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea by Bob Burg and John David Mann
- Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) - Triple tax free investing.
- ESG Choices - Big oil companies are shifting strategies to renewable energy.
- Readers are Leaders: Negotiation
- Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It by Chris Voss
- Mutual Fund Names - A fund name doesn't always clearly describe a fund's style and objective.
- ESG During a Pandemic - Luxury or Necessity? - Will investors abandon ESG when times get tough? We haven't seen it so far during 2020.
- Financial Planning Reduces Financial Uncertainty - Reduce your stress level and increase your confidence about the future.
- Retirement Plan Rollovers - Pros and cons of the primary options.
- Green, Social and Sustainability Bonds - ESG for fixed income.
- Genealogy - Why it's my favorite hobby and how I got started.
- 529 Plans - A great vehicle for college savings.
- ESG: "S" is for "Social" - There's been increasing interest in how companies perform around social issues.
- Readers are Leaders: Referrals
- Endless Referrals – Network Your Everyday Contacts into Sales by Bob Burg
- The Referral of a Lifetime by Tim Templeton
- What is a Financial Plan and Why Have One? - 90% of people who have a financial plan feel greater peace of mind during times of financial uncertainty.
- Does ESG Investing Pay, or Cost? - ESG investors aren't settling for lower financial returns.
- Readers are Leaders
- Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth by T. Harv Eker
- The CARES Act
- Roth IRAs - Roths could be good for people in low tax brackets, including young people.
- The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
- Readers are Leaders
- The Success Principles by Jack Canfield
- The Financial Markets - March was a sobering month.
- Environmentally Friendly and Socially Responsible Investing - Defining SRI, ESG and Impact investing.
- Readers are Leaders: Basic Personal Finance
- The Index Card by Helaine Olen and Harold Pollack
- The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason
- Environmentally Friendly and Socially Responsible - My connection and why it's important to me.
- The SECURE Act - Key provisions related to personal finance.
- Readers are Leaders
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie