Media

Road to Retirement: It‘s the Fourth Quarter and Time for Some Portfolio Maintenance

Oct. 6, 2019—”A good rule of thumb is that if you have multiple funds or ETFs, and one of them has moved by more than 25% off your target, you may want to consider a rebalance. For example, if you have a target of 10% for a specific stock ETF, and it is now at 13% of your portfolio (30% more than your target), you may want to bring it back in line.”

Colorado Stocks Scratch Out Modest Gains in Third Quarter, “Climbing a Steep Wall of Endless Worry.”

Oct. 1, 2019—”Stocks have been climbing a steep wall of endless worry,” said Fred Taylor, president of Northstar Investment Advisors, a Denver money management firm.” But investors were buoyed by two Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, low unemployment and the ability of American consumers to keep spending, Taylor said.

How to Have the Inheritance Talk with Older Parents

By Glenn Ruffenach

September 6, 2019 —“Still, as we have mentioned many times in this column, the best investment plans are those that allow you to sleep soundly at night. With that in mind, “if a single account really bothers an investor, there is nothing wrong with having another account at a large custodian,” said Charlie Farrell, CEO of Northstar Investment Advisors. “It’s just a little more of a hassle.”

Northstar Investment Advisors Named One of Colorado’s Top Rated Wealth Advisors

September 3, 2019—”Northstar Investment Advisors LLC was recognized in Advisory HQ’s 2019 Ranking of the Top-Rated Wealth Advisors in Colorado. The firm received a 5-star rating and was one of 13 firms included in the listing, which is designed to provide objective, comprehensive research to help everyday consumers make informed financial decisions.”

A Game of Chicken: The Politicization of the Federal Reserve

By Fred Taylor 

August 13, 2019 —“There seems to be game of chicken going on between Chairman Powell and President Donald Trump. The president has made it widely known to the world that he thinks America’s short-term interest rates should be considerably lower than they are today to keep the economy strong and the stock market high.”

Road to Retirement: Looking for Investment Income, Beware of Income Traps

Sept. 1, 2019—”What’s important to understand is that once you get into higher-yielding fixed income securities, you start losing degrees of safety and principal protection, which is what may have initially attracted you to fixed income.”

Road to Retirement: When Should You Start Taking Social Security?

By Charlie Farrell 

August 4, 2019 —“The bottom line is that determining which benefit is best all depends on when you die because that’s when the payments stop. And since you don’t know when that will be, it’s basically impossible to figure out whether taking it early or late will result in a higher total payment to you.”

Northstar President Fred Taylor Named Finalist for Invest in Others Awards

July 19, 2019—Fred Taylor, President & Co-Founder of Northstar Investment Advisors, LLC in Denver, has been announced as one of three national finalists for the Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the 13^thAnnual Invest in Others Awards.”

Road to Retirement: Should You Use a Roth 401(k)?

By Charlie Farrell 

July 7, 2019 —“If your income tax rate at the time you contribute money is the same as the income tax rate when you distribute the money, it does not matter which one you use. You will end up with the same amount of money.”

The Odds of Needing Long-term Care May be Greater Than You Think

By Glenn Ruffenach

June 6, 2019—“But the greater risk to your nest egg, says Charlie Farrell, chief executive officer of Northstar Investment Advisors in Denver, is the possibility that you could be one of the unlucky ones, a person who needs, say, five years or more of care—and whose spouse needs a long period of care, as well.”

Should You Financially Support Your Adult Children?

By Charlie Farrell 

June 5, 2019 —“While every family has different values around supporting adult children, if the support is restricting your ability to adequately save and prepare for your own retirement, then supporting your adult kids is a problem.”

Road to Retirement: Retired and waiting for interest rates to rise?

By Charlie Farrell 

May 5, 2019—“Many retired investors have been waiting for interest rates to rise so they can enhance their income. But as the saying goes, you might be waiting until the cows come home.”

Northstar President Fred Taylor Appointed Chairman of Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation Board

May 1, 2019 —Northstar President and Co-Founder Fred Taylor has been elected chairman of the Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation’s Board of Trustees. Taylor formerly served as vice-chair and treasurer of the Foundation’s Board. He will serve a two-year term.

Eight Denver-Area Environmentally Focused Investment Firms to Meet on Earth Day

By Monica Vendituoli

April 22, 2019—“There are no finite rules as to what qualifies as a ‘green’ company to invest in,” said Fred Taylor in an email.

Preparing for the Worst

April 16, 2019 — “Luke Perry’s sudden death from a stroke at just 52 should make us all realize that the death of a spouse can happen out of the blue. Are you prepared? Failing to tackle these important topics can have serious ramifications. “

Road to Retirement: Lessons from the 10-Year Bull Market

By Charlie Farrell 

April 7, 2019—“The main point I want to make is that while the market will continue to shi from periods of grand optimism to severe pessimism, the more accurate narrative is the “optimistic” one, not the pessimistic one.”

Road to Retirement: Saving Taxes After You’re Done Working

March 3, 2019 — “One primary strategy to reducing taxes in retirement is to think about what sort of assets you keep in your IRA accounts. In a nutshell, if you can keep your slower growing, ordinary income assets in your IRA, you are likely to reduce your overall tax burden in retirement.“

What’s Socially Responsible Investing Costing Us?

By Fred Taylor 

February 13, 2019—“The reality is there are plenty of companies to invest in and if you don’t like the management of the companies, what they do to the environment or their products, don’t buy their shares.”

Road to Retirement: Is Index Investing the Best Option?

February 3, 2019 — “But one thing to remember about index investing is that while it is an efficient way of investing, it doesn’t mean it’s rational or less risky than other methods. When the stock market goes haywire, either on the way up or on the way down, you are along for the same ride.”

Financial Tips for 2019

By Fred Taylor 

January 17, 2019—“The first two things you should look at doing are paying off high interest rate credit card debt and high-interest rate student loan debt. This kind of debt is brutal simply because it typically costs you a lot more than home mortgage debt.”

Road to Retirement: Four Rules for Handling Bear Markets

January 6, 2019 — “If you are concentrated in just a few companies, then you could own the ones that don’t recover, and there generally are some that don’t in any bear market. Thus, it’s important to be fundamentally diversified.”

Promising Year for Stocks Ends on a Very Sour Note

By Aldo Svaldi

January 1, 2019—“Investors will remember 2018 for incredible volatility and big losses,” said Fred Taylor, president of Northstar Investment Advisors in Denver. “Diversification simply didn’t work. Every major asset class lost money: stocks, bonds, commodities, bitcoin, hedge funds and gold.”

How Denver Wealth Managers Are Dealing with Wealth Compression

December 13, 2018 — “There is definitely a race to the bottom in terms of fees with passive investing,” said Fred Taylor, president of Northstar Investment Advisors. “Vanguard, Schwab and Fidelity continue to cut the fees on their index and exchange-traded fund products. On a few funds Fidelity doesn’t charge any fees.”

Why a $1 Million Nest Egg Might Not Be Enough in Denver

By Aldo Svaldi

December 5, 2018—”If you have $1 million, you should be able to distribute $40,000 per year adjusted for inflation,” said Charlie Farrell, CEO of Northstar Investment Advisors in Denver.”

Is Holiday Spending Hindering Your Financial Security?

December 2, 2018 — “Let’s say you spend $1,500 on holiday gifts each year, and you did this for 35 years, basically from age 30 to 65. Now what if you had actually invested that money and earned 7.5 percent in your 401(k)? It would be worth around $250,000. That’s real money, so what you spend on the holidays does have an impact on your financial security.”

Northstar Co-Founder Bob Van Wetter Elected to Lutheran Medical Center Foundation Board of Directors

By Northstar Staff 

November 30, 2018—Bob Van Wetter, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Northstar Investment Advisors, LLC, was elected to the board of directors of the Lutheran Medical Center Foundation.

Can You Afford to Be Conservative With Your Portfolio?

October 7, 2018 — “The problem in today’s global markets is that you can’t build wealth by being conservative. To my knowledge, there are currently no safe investments that will allow you to outpace the impact of inflation and taxes. So if you allocate too much of your money to conservative investments, it’s likely you won’t reach your long-term goals.”

Higher Interest Rates: What Do They Mean for Consumers, Bond Investors and the Stock Market? 

By Fred Taylor 

November 1, 2018—”For consumers who have financed their homes with adjustable rate mortgages – now is the time to reconsider that strategy. If you haven’t locked in a fixed interest rate for 15 or 30 years, it is time to consider doing that.”

Should You Worry About a Trade War? I Wouldn’t.

October 7, 2018 — “While the trade skirmish is underway, business will continue, companies will figure out ways to work around some of this, and I’d keep investing right through it. “

U.S. Markets Take Off in Third Quarter, Leaving Colorado Index Behind

September 28, 2018—”A trade war and higher tariff threats between the United States and China captured most of the economic headlines during the third quarter of 2018, and as we head into the last three months of the year this doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon,” said Fred Taylor, president of Northstar Investment Advisors.

Should You Be Concerned about Record Long Bull Market

September 2, 2018 — “There is a lot to learn about personal finance, and the earlier your kids start, the better decisions they’ll make. And it reduces the odds they’ll come home to live in your basement..”

Northstar President Fred Taylor Recognized for Board Service

August 20, 2018—Fred Taylor was recognized by Colorado State Treasurer Walker Stapleton for his service on the Colorado Public School Permanent Investment Board from 2016 to 2018.During his tenure, Taylor and his fellow board members helped invest $900 million to benefit children attending the state’s public schools. 

Home School Your Kids About Personal Finance

August 5, 2018 — “There is a lot to learn about personal finance, and the earlier your kids start, the better decisions they’ll make. And it reduces the odds they’ll come home to live in your basement..”

Not if, but when: What Colorado businesses need to know about the next recession.

by Monica Vendituoli 

July 19, 2018 — “A nasty trade war with China, Mexico and Canada caused by high tariffs could be a disaster,” said Fred Taylor.

How to Help Your Aging Parents

July 5, 2018 — “If your parents haven’t talked to you about how they plan to handle their finances if they should suddenly become unable to manage that task, then now is the time to start the conversation. If you don’t, you may be left with too little information, especially if you find your loved ones facing dementia or a catastrophic illness.”

Is Summer Vacation Ruining Your 401(k)?

by Charlie Farrell 

July 1, 2018 — “Vacations are great if you can afford them. The way you figure out if you can afford them is to save at least 12 percent of your pay in your 401(k), pay all your bills on time, and then pay for a vacation out of the savings that’s left.”

A Simple, But Not Easy, Financial Game Plan for Recent College Graduates

June 1, 2018 — “Properly managing your personal finances really comes down to one simple rule: live the life you’ve earned, not the one you think you deserve.”

Interest Rates Are Rising and Markets Are Unsteady. What Should You Do About it As an Investor?

by Charlie Farrell 

May 6, 2018 — “You can see that as interest rates rise, it makes everything we buy on credit more expensive. And since many folks buy lots of stuff on credit (cars, campers, boats, homes. televisions, smartphones, dinners at Applebee’s), rising rates can slow the economy.”

Your A Team of Advisors After a Divorce

April 19, 2018 — “If you are in the midst of a divorce, one of the first items you should address is assembling a stellar team of advisors that are experts in their respective fields and focused on placing your needs first.”

Are Stocks Cheap or Expensive? No One Can Agree

by Ben Eisen

April 12, 2018 — “I just don’t see how it’s inexpensive. It’s slightly cheaper but I don’t see it as inexpensive,” said Charles Farrell, Chief Executive of Northstar Investment Advisors.”

What’s in Store for Long-Term Stock Market Investors in Wake of Last Week’s Unnerving Drop?

February 11, 2018 — “This is what makes bull markets so dangerous. They are not supported by fundamental growth, they are supported primarily by enthusiasm.”

Northstar Included in AdvisoryHQ 2018 Ranking of Colorado’s Top-Rated Wealth Advisors

February 6, 2018 — Northstar Investment Advisors LLC was recognized for the third consecutive year in AdvisoryHQ’s 2018 Ranking of the Top-Rated Wealth Advisors in Colorado.

Denver Investments and its Westcore Funds Will Join with Larger Chicago Money Manager

January 11, 2018 — “Tom Bailey, founder of Janus, Jon Erik Borgen, CEO of Founders Funds, and Bill Berger of Berger Funds all cashed out at the top of the market in 1999. You wonder if the owners of DIA/Westcore Funds are doing the exact same thing,” said Fred Taylor, president and co-founder of Northstar Investment Advisors in Denver.

Bitcoin for Your Retirement Money? It Could Double, or it Could Disappear. 

January 7, 2018 — “So should you exchange some of your U.S. currency for this digital currency? Well, that depends on whether you think that a digital currency would hold its value better than U.S. currency.”

Colorado Stocks Were Left Behind in a Robust Year for Equities

December 29, 2017 — “Crazy year in the markets between double-digit stock market returns, the passage of the tax bill, Bitcoin and now oil trading back over $60 a barrel,” said Fred Taylor, president of Denver-based money manager Northstar Investment Advisors

Following the Bond Market’s Yield Curve

December 29, 2017 — “Since short-term interest have gone up almost 100 basis points in 2017, in our opinion the short end of the yield curve is a lot more attractive to buy. Short-term treasuries provide defense and act as a hedge when the stock market corrects.”

Take Advantage of Final Weeks of Year to Put Yourself On Better Financial Footing

December 3, 2017 — “If you’ve already met your deductibles and still need some medical services, try to visit the doctor before the year ends, because the bulk of the cost may be borne by the insurance company.”

The End of Retail As We Know it?

December 3, 2017 — “While some retailers are going belly-up, the stock market tends to paint all companies in a struggling industry with a broad brush. But it’s likely some will continue to be successful.”

How Much Higher Can the Stock Market Go?

November 5, 2017 — “With the stock market setting records by the week, how much higher can it go? Many investors are worried that we could be in for a sharp correction. If that’s the case, what should you do?”

Northstar President Fred Taylor Helps Re-Launch Dads for Daughters Program

November 2017 — “By relaunching Dads for Daughters (D4D) at The Women’s Foundation of Colorado, Caroline’s father, Fred Taylor, a Denver-based philanthropist and president and co-founder of Northstar Investment Advisors, found a way not only to connect with Caroline but to also honor her, his wife, stepdaughter, and four sisters.

Northstar President Fred Taylor Named 2017 Philanthropic Leadership Award Winner by The Denver Foundation

Oct. 23, 2017 —”Northstar President and co-founder Fred Taylor has been named a recipient of The Denver Foundation’s annual Philanthropic Leadership Award. Taylor was selected for his outstanding work in furthering philanthropy in the Denver community.“

Reflections: 30 Years After Black Monday

October 20, 2017 — “It was a surreal experience watching stocks drop that fast on the Quotron machine. There were no buyers that day. Individuals stocks dropped 20 to 30 points and by the end of the day the Dow was down 508 points or 22 percent. No one alive had every experienced anything like it.”

Where to Put Your Money Now

Oct. 5, 2017 —”Most asset classes in the world today are considered expensive. Stocks, bonds and real estate have had tremendous appreciation since the depths of the financial crisis. As a result, some investors are looking at alternative investments like gold or the trendy virtual currency, Bitcoin.”

Colorado Advisors to Investors: ‘Control Your Emotions’

October 3, 2017 — “When the market is going down, and fast, human nature is that people panic and sell. and they never get back into the market because they are scared,” said Fred Taylor, president and co-founder of Northstar Investment Advisors.

When Planning for Retirement, It’s Your Real Return that Matters

Oct. 1, 2017 —”One of the primary things to understand about long-term returns is that they include inflation. As you know, salary increases above inflation are what really impact your lifestyle, and this same issue applies to your investments.”

Northstar COO Bob Van Wetter to Speak at IA Watch Conference

September 14, 2017 —Northstar COO and Chief Compliance Officer Bob Van Wetter will serve as a panelist for IA Watch’s Cybersecurity for Financial Services Conference. A founder of Northstar, Van Wetter has been overseeing the firm’s compliance and cybersecurity efforts since 2013.

Worried About the Stock Market? Here’s an Idea

Sept. 3, 2017 —”Many investors today are fretting over the increasing price of the stock market. That’s natural given the two big market crashes we’ve seen since the year 2000. Both were preceded by giddy markets that seemed disconnected from real economic growth. So what are you to do if you’re worried?.”

For Better or Worse, Shareholders Invest in People

August 27, 2017 — “When you invest in a company, you are supporting that firm’s leadership. So, it should come as no surprise that a change in the CEO position can often influence a company’s stock price. Sometimes fresh blood is welcomed by investors, serving as a catalyst for a much higher stock price down the road. Other times, depending on who takes over, a new CEO can sow uncertainty in investors and provide a reason to sell.” 

A Winning Recipe for Picking Dividend Stocks

August 2017 —”When selecting dividend payers, ‘the growth of the dividend is the most powerful part of the formula,’ as a rising dividend often buoys the share price, says Charlie Farrell, chief executive officer at Northstar Investment Advisors, in Denver.”

Big Returns in Your Retirement Account are Great, Take a Stock Market Reality Check 

Aug. 6, 2017 — “One good measure of stock market valuation is the price-to-earnings ratio. Back in September 2014, it was about 18.5, and today it’s over 23. This is another way of saying we are simply paying more for the same amount of profits.”

Independent Advisers Leaving Wirehouses, Taking More Marketshare

July 14, 2017 — ” It just might be the fiduciary rule change that touches off a second wave of advisers fleeing big wirehouses, said Fred Taylor, president and co-founder of Denver-based Northstar Investment Advisors LLC. He left the big wirehouse to form his own firm 22 years ago. “They might be thinking; how can I make it now? I’ll start my own firm and put the interests of clients first as a fiduciary,” Taylor said.”

Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage Prior to Retirement?

July 2, 2017 — “What if you still have a mortgage? Should you rush to pay it off? Probably not if your remaining mortgage balance is more than 5 percent of your retirement savings. If you pull a big chunk of dough out of your retirement plan to pay off the mortgage, you may do more harm than good.”

Which is the higher priority, retirement savings or college funding?

June 18, 2017 — “If you survey financial advisers, most will tell you to fund your retirement first and then save what you can for your kids’ education. The main reason is that there are many support systems available for funding college education.”

Northstar President Fred Taylor Appointed Vice Chairman of Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation Board

June 6, 2017 — Northstar President and Co-Founder Fred Taylor has been elected vice-chairman of Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation’s Board of Trustees. Taylor will serve a two-year term and provide support for chairwoman Laura Wright.