With the constantly evolving and competitive landscape we'd like to keep it easy for you to stay up-to-date with news, advice, insight, and thought leadership regarding financial planning. Keep checking in for new blog posts. We’re glad to have you reading along.
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
As 2020 began, investors were hopeful for continued solid returns based on the generous returns of 2019. In a few short weeks, a threat no one could see coming changed all that. The COVID-19 virus morphed quickly from an issue in rural...
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Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Last week Roberto, Hani, Ana, Jenn, and Mariah from the Odyssey Wealth Design team attended the inaugural unMasking the Cure for Cancer Gala, put on by the Pacific Heart Lung & Blood Institute. We were grateful for the opportunity to...
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LFN Staff Forum - Staff of the Year Ana Kline was recognized with the LFN Staff of the Year - Honoree Award at the annual LFN Staff Forum held in San Antonio, TX October 15-17, 2019. LFN advisors nominate their staff for this award...
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Thursday, November 1, 2018
Roberto, Ross, and the Odyssey Wealth Design team had the opportunity to team up with The Finance Lab, a program which helps students from underserved communities, learn first-hand about the importance of financial and economic...
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Are you prepared for a financial catastrophe?What would you do if you lost everything? Nobody saw this coming... August 28, 2018 seemed like another ordinary Tuesday. But on that day, a little storm developed off the coast of Africa....
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Wednesday, October 24, 2018
On August 10th 2018 Hani, Ana, Edgar, Jenny, and Mariah of Odyssey Wealth Design volunteered at the Connecting Hands Charity Backpack Event at the Santa Ana Zoo! Connecting Hands is a non-profit organization supporting and highlighting...
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It has been said that “The stock market climbs a wall of worry.” This has been the case over the past 10 years. While global fears associated with the Japanese earthquake, the downgrade of U.S. debt and Ebola contagion are...
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Friday, September 21, 2018
I want to give you a secret tool that financial advisors use ALL THE TIME to help you plan. It’s simple, yet incredibly powerful. All you have to do is ask yourself One. Simple. Question. “What would happen if…...
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Invest in what you know. Have you heard this saying before? I bet it was the first piece of investing advice that you ever received. Unfortunately, it’s probably the worst investing advice that you’ve received. I...
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Why do stocks generally go up over time and why can we expect them to continue to increase in value over time? Well in this article, Ben Carlson discusses a structural explanation, and a risk-based explanation as to why stocks should...
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Investing can sometimes seem like a bit of a battle. There are constant skirmishes, flows of information, and movements back-and-forth. It is often hard to see what is going on through the smoke and noise. Many find it overwhelming. As...
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Monday, July 16, 2018
In the last century, the American lifespan has increased beyond any historical precedent. In 1900, the average life expectancy was 47 years old. Today it is around 78, and for certain demographics - such as women with a college degree...
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“They say a picture is worth a thousand words but in investing it is worth so much more,” Bilello wrote in a post. “The market doesn’t have to do anything, and certainly not what you think it should do. The...
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An overwhelming amount of research shows that your level of happiness is only partially impacted by your financial well-being. To increase happiness further, this article discusses 6 great exercises which will help you reduce stress...
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Now that the 2017 tax filing season is behind us, it’s time for us to start pointing our attention toward the new tax laws and how they will impact us for our 2018 tax filings and beyond. The following article summarizes a few of...
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“It is not that we have so little time but that we lose so much. … The life we receive is not short but we make it so; we are not ill provided but use what we have wastefully.” ~ Seneca, On the Shortness of Life For...
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Monday, May 7, 2018
Should I buy a Starter Home or save up longer for my Dream Home? One of the most common and important financial decisions people face is determining whether it is more financially advantageous to buy a starter home now, or wait to...
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Friday, May 4, 2018
What is REALLY an investment? One of the best investors / financial authors, Benjamin Graham stated it perfectly: “An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis promises safety of principal and adequate return....
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Thursday, May 3, 2018
Identity Theft: Don’t Become a Victim In 2016, an estimated 15.4 million people fell victim to Identity theft in the US. ¹ Someone stealing your identity can be catastrophic to your life and your money. But, Fear not!...
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2018 began with great optimism. After the strong gains of 2017, stocks continued their climb at a torrid pace. During January, fueled by expectations of strong earnings and the prospect of corporate tax cuts, stocks added to...
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Monday, April 16, 2018
Since I turned 30 on March 27th, many people close and important to me (friends, family, colleagues, and clients) have been asking me things like "how does it feel to be in my 30's? do I feel different now? Is it weird?" I honestly...
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Wednesday, April 11, 2018
On April 11, 2018, I had the joy and honor of spending time with our client's daughters and their Girl Scout Troop for a discussion about the importance personal financial planning, and the impact it can have on their lives. Having the...
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“Behavioral scientists have spent a lot of time studying what makes us happy (and what doesn’t). We know happiness can predict health and longevity, and happiness scales can be used to measure social progress and the...
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Monday, April 2, 2018
7 Common mistakes people make include: 1. Trying to time the market. When the market is volatile, it’s tempting to try and time when to buy and when to sell. However, there is a large body of evidence indicating that timing the market..
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Monday, March 12, 2018
In this week’s article we discuss the importance of financial literacy and our role, as parents and leaders in our communities, in serving as financial mentors and educators in our kids’ lives. Why is it that 1 in 5...
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“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” (Benjamin Franklin) No one wants to think about death, much less plan for it, however, as Benjamin Franklin reminds us, it’s not a matter of...
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Monday, February 5, 2018
One of the biggest financial challenges for many families, including affluent families, is paying for their children’s college education. What many of these affluent families don’t realize, and one of the...
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As we have noted before, distrust of the political system is not an investment strategy. What drives the market is often corporate earnings growth. While the political posturing continued, corporate earnings increased the most since...
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No matter how much money we make, what matters when it comes to building wealth and ultimately achieving our long-term financial goals is how much we keep. Therefore, controlling spending is crucial. However, in our culture of instant...
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Happy Holidays from Our Team to Yours! 2017 has been a great year for Odyssey Wealth Design! This letter is to: 1) share about the practice as a whole and see what has changed or developed this past year 2) to share a little about each...
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'The Principles of Investment Success' Volatility is part of investing. Just think back to 2008, when the markets fell by over 50%. However, investors who followed solid investment principles have survived and flourished since then. As...
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This week's topic is 'The Face of Disability Info-Graphic.' This info-graphic has some interesting and educational statistics on disability in the US such as the rate of disability, how it varies by education level and common causes of...
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"The Emotional Impact of Having Cash-On-Hand Reserves." This article discusses a study that was done on the correlation between different aspects of people's financial situation and how much each of those aspects contributed to their...
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So far, 2017 has been a year of progress in the investment world against a backdrop of uncertainty and concern. While most asset classes continued to build on gains, unsettling global events generated headlines. Deplorable acts of...
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The concept here is essentially that as your advisors, we should work to both understand your 'tolerance' (aka personal and emotional willingness) to take investment risk, as well as your financial 'capacity' (aka ability) to take...
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You know the feeling: Everyday you get flooded with new ideas and information. You barely have enough time to process it all. Sure, you're a smart and rational person that puts a lot of thought into the decisions you make, but the...
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Monday, October 2, 2017
“Reversion to the mean-RTM, the pervasive law of gravity that prevails in the financial markets-never stops. While its drumbeat is hardly regular, it never fails. For the returns of market sectors, of managed investment...
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The United States' Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Ranking The analysis and total ranking is produced by the World Economic Forum. We think this is interesting and there is a ton of good information on the website. Odyssey Wealth...
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Wednesday, August 30, 2017
“The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness” – Abraham Maslow (American Psychologist, best known for creating Maslow’s hierarchy of needs) You may be wondering, is it really...
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Monday, August 7, 2017
It's the second week of the month, which means we're sharing an article, website, video, etc. from a third-party that we thought you would either find interesting or valuable. This month we have a video created by Ray Dalio, founder of...
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This is a special week as we have prepared our formal investment newsletter! This comes out quarterly and includes performance information on global markets, as well as our thoughts and viewpoints on what's going on. Over the years, we...
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How Startup Funding Works - Click to Read More! This article does a great job educating us on the typical process and phases of taking a company from conception to all the way to IPO (Initial Public Offering) on the stock markets. Most...
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How Cognitive Biases Affect Our Everyday Decisions - Click Here to Read More! 'Cognitive Biases' which can be defined as: 1) tendencies to think in certain ways that can lead to systematic deviations from a standard of rationality or...
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Thursday, May 18, 2017
In my years of financial planning for the affluent, undoubtedly the biggest frustration my clients have had has been with ‘budgeting.’ Regardless of the apps or technology used, traditional budgeting quite frankly stinks!...
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Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Legendary investor Peter Lynch once said: “Know what you own, and why you own it.” While simple, this advice goes unheeded far too often by most investors. The question I pose to you is: What is your process for making an...
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Thursday, April 27, 2017
You have reached the point in your life in which you are considering working with a professional financial advisor to help you plan for the future, make important financial decisions, and accomplish your goals. Selecting the right...
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Sunday, April 23, 2017
On April 23rd 2017 the El Viento Foundation hosted its annual fundraiser and celebrated 20 years in service! The El Viento Foundation is a non-profit organization that works to provide underserved first-generation students support to...
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“Charting the Course to Your Financial Future” As a valued client of Duran Wealth Management, we are excited to announce to you our new brand name: Odyssey Wealth Design!
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Tuesday, April 11, 2017
“Put simply, the time frame in which you make your decisions determines your logic. Things that make sense in the long-term might seem crazy to people who only think of the short term… [and vice-versa].”
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Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Snapchat (SNAP) stock was initially priced and sold to investment banks and insiders at $17/share. Then on March 2nd, Snapchat IPO’d on the public markets (the point at which the large majority of people had the opportunity to...
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