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Why Emotional Fortitude Matters Now More Than Ever Despite a growing list of global concerns such as geopolitical tension, trade uncertainty, and an uneasy economic backdrop, the S&P 500 has reached new all-time highs. For many investors, this feels hard…
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Emotions and Investing: What’s More Important: How You Feel or What You Earn?
Many novice investors assume the goal is simple: “make the most money”. But things rarely turn out this way. Even though we want the best outcomes, we often make decisions that that prioritize emotional comfort instead. Whether it’s the desire…
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Income That’s Built to Last
Step 4 – Why Selling Assets Shouldn’t Be Your Income Plan When a portfolio needs to fund a lifestyle, many investors fall into a quiet trap: generating cash by selling off assets. On the surface, it seems harmless. And, it might…
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Restructuring Fees and Aligning Incentives
Step 3 – The Real Cost of Complexity When we conducted a full audit of the family’s portfolio, the most jaw-dropping figure wasn’t performance-related. It was the fees: $330,000 per year. And they weren’t even getting full value for it—until…
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Bringing the Portfolio Into Focus
Step 2 – If You Can’t See It, You Can’t Manage It After setting a clear investment strategy with the family, the next question was straightforward, but daunting: What exactly are we working with? The family’s assets were spread across…
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When Wealth Grows, Strategy Matters Even More
Step 1 – Creating a Strategy That Reflects the Family’s Goals When this family approached us, they weren’t in crisis. Their $110 million portfolio was diversified. On paper, it seemed like they were doing most things well. However, despite having…
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Step 3: Involve the Next Generation
Once systems are in place and the portfolio is clearly understood, the next natural step is often the hardest to approach: preparing the next generation. In many families we work with, adult children and spouses are kept at arm’s length…
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Step 2: Evaluate the Portfolio and Create Clarity
Once a family’s financial records are organized and flowing smoothly, we shift our focus to what matters most: to evaluate the portfolio and ensure the investments are doing their job. Often, the issue isn’t a lack of effort—it’s a lack…
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Step 1: Build the Digital Foundation
When we meet a new family, we often find decades of wealth management held together by habit: statements in a filing cabinet, handwritten notes on envelopes, maybe a few spreadsheets passed between generations. These systems worked—until they didn’t. As families…
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Behind the Reports: How We Set Up Addepar
At Markdale, we believe in meeting you where you are—and organizing your financial life so it’s easy to understand and manage. That’s why we use Addepar as the foundation for our reporting. But before we can generate beautiful reports and…