Brandon Kou -American Private Wealth

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Brandon Kou -American Private Wealth

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Independent financial planning that always places Clients first. Our firm recognizes that financial planning is a process, not a product.

At American Private Wealth we create ‘Bespoke Wealth Strategies’ – plans designed to fit your life. Our doors are open whether you are already established, just getting started, or are seeking help with a specific topic. We pride ourselves on our independence as a firm, as we are not aligned with any product manufacturer. Therefore, we have the freedom to use a multitude of sources to develop strategies that are distinct and align with your objectives. At American Private Wealth, we know that wealth management is not "one size fits all", therefore we are dedicated to developing genuine client-advisor relationships with recommendations tailored to your specific situation and needs. Clients of American Private Wealth can trust their assets, in all capacities, are in qualified, responsible hands. If you would like to know more of the services and expertise American Private Wealth has to offer, please visit our website http://www.americanprivatewealth.com

Securities & Advisory Services Offered Through LPL Financial, A Registered Investment Advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC. finra.org, sipc.org

Third party posts found on this profile do not reflect the views of LPL Financial and have not been reviewed by LPL Financial as to accuracy or completeness. The financial professionals associated with LPL Financial may discuss and/or transact business only with residents of the states in which they are properly registered or licensed. No offers may be made or accepted from any resident of any other state.

10/31/2026

Happy Halloween from my family to yours! If you're in the area feel free to stop by and grab a bag. First come first served as usual until we run out of bags!

10/30/2026

737 crypto accounts were drained last night of approximately $2.73 million dollars in the span of one hour. Polymarket confirmed a third-party vendor they used was compromised, which is suspected to be DebugBear, a website monitoring service. This led to legitimate blockchain withdrawals being processed as logged-in users were spoofed by threat actors.

Welcome back to Friday Financial Foolishness and today we’re going to be talking about arrogance, security, and risk mitigation.

Earlier in April a Twitter user by the name of Dark Web Informer claimed that Polymarket was breached and the information of 300k+ users was leaked on a cybercrime forum. This led to community responses and Polymarket laughing in their reply because it is a feature of blockchains. Your submitted identity must be verified in every transaction without exception.

Now as another user vx-underground pointed out, this was likely a phishing attempt for information and Polymarket really shouldn’t taunt unknown threat actors for the sake of their business and clients.

Setting aside the insanity of being a cryptocurrency trader on a gambling, sorry ‘prediction’ platform, this was a completely preventable occurrence from multiple standpoints.

If you’re going to trade cryptocurrency, do so with protection. If you do not own the wallet, that is not your crypto. It is merely loaned to you by your market platform who hopefully won’t do something stupid and lock you out of it, see example Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX

And if you’re a business, especially being an intermediary for money, maybe don’t spit in the face of strangers. There was no positive return for them in doing so and now they’re out at least $2.73 million dollars. This is just like Kelly Clarkson and the Art of Play, only now at a grander scale with real world implications.

None of this would have happened if they were invested sensibly on a properly regulated platform. Don’t go to casinos that taunt criminals, it’s bad for your health. And don’t engage in speculative trading without proper protection, it’s bad for your wallet.

10/23/2026

As of October 21st, Disney has raised the price of Disney+ and Hulu across all subscription models. Ad-free has increased by $2 for monthly subscribers or changed from $19.99 to $21.99/month. This price hike is worse if you pay for just Hulu or Disney+ alone, going up $2.50 making new bills at $21.49/month.

Welcome back to Friday Financial Foolishness and today we’re talking about subscription services and how they creep up on you.

Now to be fair to the mouse, Netflix raised their prices earlier in March of this year by $2, making their standard ad-free plan $19.99/month and the with ads $8.99/month. Regardless of what service you use, the preferred method for most people is to pay monthly (especially if the service doesn’t offer annual options).

But these things add up. Deloitte conducted a recent survey finding that US households pay an average of $76/month on streaming services, while a CNET survey in March of this year found the average adult spends around $111/month on all subscriptions.

What’s more concerning about the CNET study is that $21/month goes to unused subscriptions. Not underutilized, which is another issue, but just people paying for memberships they don’t use.

There are some subscriptions which survive because of societal shame in cancelling, such as the gym. A fair number of them force you to come in person or write a letter to cancel their membership despite making it easy to sign up online.

Streaming services across the board make it rather easy to cancel. It’s not reasonable for most people to have more than one service/subscription at any given time.

Let’s take Netflix as an example. The US library currently has 7,865 different titles. Even if we’re being overly generous and saying you won’t watch 95% of them, that’s still 393 different titles you could pick from.

I get it, you want to stay in the loop with your friends or the shows you’re interested in aren’t all in one service. You deserve to enjoy the fruits of your hard labor, but don’t let it rot just so you can say you had the option to eat it.

Infographic for Costs + Unused Spending courtesy of

10/16/2026

On October 10th Kelly Clarkson entered a small boutique toy store, Art of Play, and saw a mechanical bird she thought was for sale. Clarkson asserts that the employee treated her disrespectfully in a social media post, while the store owner says they treated her like a normal person.

Welcome back to Friday Financial Foolishness, today we’re going to discuss customer service and proportionality.

Art of Play initially said the bird was not for sale and clarified when Clarkson posted a picture of a $15k price tag, saying that tag is for the bird’s twin made by the same artist. When someone is telling you they believe you’ve wronged them, it’s important to address all the complaints as clearly and comprehensively as you can.

The first public statement can be viewed as a reactionary response. It’s not a good look for the store they had to release a second statement. There is now the perception of them trying to deflect or avoid the actual pain point.

Now on the flip side, Miss Clarkson has an estimated net worth of $60 million. She’s entitled to feel how she wants, but engaging in this topic is really not worth her time, because of her affluence and reputation, she must now defend herself whether she wants to or not.

This event is far more likely to negatively impact her because of the disparity in wealth and power between the two parties. At best she comes out ahead neutral, at worst she loses goodwill.

How many of us engage in such financial activities without thinking about it? There is a difference between being financially disciplined and foolishly tripping over dollars to pick up pennies.

We must constantly re-evaluate how much our time is worth as we become more skilled and experienced. True growth is not just the number on our investment accounts or the position we hold, but also our mentality to allow us to continue growing.

Don't be foolish and rush to do something without having a moment to think what effects your actions will have. A proper financial plan protects you from your worst impulses and secures that next phase of your life while giving you room to grow into the person you want to be.

10/09/2026

With the summer finally over as last Friday was surprisingly hot following that storm, we can enjoy everything autumn has to offer. Apple picking, pumpkin spice lattes, Halloween, and being outdoors with the added benefit that all the tiny insects are slowly phasing out.

Yes, this frigid prelude to colder days does remind us winter is coming and we need to prepare accordingly. Given the current issues with the Strait of Hormuz and Iran it should come as no surprise that gas and energy bills have increased as a result. In response, Governor Healey has announced a $150 million winter energy bill relief for Mass families that qualify, to include a one-time aid for those who use oil to heat their homes.

Welcome back to Friday Financial Foolishness, today we’re going to talk about pride overcoming financial common sense.

No one wants to be seen as a burden to society or taking benefits that they don’t deserve. There is a stigma around being a recipient of government aid, but this can be remedied rather easily.

If you are receiving help, do you genuinely need it? If your answer is yes, everything else doesn’t matter.

I have volunteered at food pantries where we’ve seen people drive up in rather affluent clothing and vehicles picking up supplies. Financial destitution cares not for your material possessions. Also, we genuinely don’t know if that’s for them or a friend, but it doesn’t matter because everyone deserves to have food.

Likewise, the environment does not care about appearances. It will become cold and suffering long term health complications or death from hypothermia is easier than people think. 50% of deaths in urban environments due to hypothermia occurred when the temperature was between 32F and 41F.

It is hard to ask for help and even harder to accept it. Don’t let your ego force you to suffer unnecessarily. We all pay into these resources to aid our community. Sometimes we are the caregivers, sometimes we are taken care of.

10/02/2026

With the unveiling of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, there was a provision surrounding federal student loans which has taken effect as of July 1st, 2026. There is “Do No Harm” standard which requires people going for undergraduate degrees to make more money than high school diploma/equivalent jobs and likewise for graduate degrees versus undergraduate degrees.

Failing to meet this standard for 2 out of 3 consecutive years means your degree will no longer qualify for federal student loan access. On its face this seems reasonable, until you think one step further and understand that not everyone seeks higher education for money. Or the fact that many of these degrees have impacts on society beyond a pure dollar value.

Welcome back to Friday Financial Foolishness and today we’re going to talk about why it’s important to have a comprehensive or holistic understanding of your plan to avoid logic pitfalls like these.

When we identify our goals, we need to understand what stands between us and success. This usually involves quantifying and qualifying our obstacles, AKA how many resources are needed to solve this and how bad will it affect me if I don’t solve it?

Using just earning power as the decisive metric for determining if a degree is useful is incredibly shortsighted. People get hung up on numbers without considering the value you receive not just from a numbers standpoint. A lot of our mental health providers don’t get compensated very well, but they are critical to aiding the most vulnerable people in our society.

Likewise, if your financial plan only cares about making the most money but doesn’t ask you how much you need, why would you take that unnecessary risk? It’s foolish to follow a strategy without understanding if it’s suitable for your end goal.

We cannot have a society that is solely comprised of just money driven people. It’ll end poorly much like a society solely comprised of only altruistic people that don’t think of themselves. Don’t just live in the present, think about the after effects of your actions and why you’re doing them in the first place.

Infographics courtesy of Preston Cooper of AEI.

09/28/2026

Spinach looks big when you purchase it, but the moment the heat starts to turn up it shrinks rapidly.

I was cooking Tallarines Verdes Con Carne (green spaghetti with steak) for my girlfriend the other night and that thought occurred to me as our cookbook’s recipe called for 1lb of spinach.

Every time I cook with spinach, I’m always concerned that I’ve put in far too much and my pan is not just filled to the brim but overloaded with the bulky leaves.

Then I put the cover on, and the heat starts to do its job. The spinach begins to soften and then quickly shrinks as it condenses on itself, losing up to 90% of its volume as water escapes the leaves into the pan.

In the end you’re left with what feels like an insultingly small amount of spinach which becomes more of a pain point given how the cost of living has been steadily going up with no end in sight.

I’ve talked a lot about how your retirement savings are a garden you cultivate for your future. It needs to be diversified because it is ill advised to be improperly invested exposing oneself to excessive risk. Or as a human eating a single plant will lead to health complications.

Your financial plan is not just growing this garden but harvesting your crops in the right seasons (when to take distributions and from which accounts), properly storing the fruits of your labor (ensuring all money is working for you appropriately), and keeping an eye out on adverse weather conditions which may affect your yield (protective services, insurance for risk transference!!)

If you don’t have a financial plan and are just putting money away, that’s no different from planting a bunch of seeds in a garden and watering them in the hopes something will sprout. It’s a lot of effort being expended based on cursory research.

Don’t DIY your retirement savings without a financial plan created by a fiduciary planner. Crops take time and knowledge to grow properly, much like your goals it’s easier to accomplish the longer you have.

Also this is not my picture, but essentially what I cooked for her. I will take some next time! Sauce recipe included for those interested!

09/25/2026

This weekend Eastern Massachusetts has been warned we will be undergoing a Nor’easter, starting Friday and lasting well into Monday. I hope that like some previous ones “declared” this year it will be just heavy rain and winds with no serious damages. The only true Nor’easter this year was in February if you recall when we had massive amounts of snow for those few days.

Welcome back to Friday Financial Foolishness, today we’re going to be talking about preventive measures versus the cost of a cure.

We’ve all heard people talking about it, so now the question remains what have you done to prepare? It’s probably not going to hurt you to ensure you have access to food and clean drinking water.

“But Brandon, you even said so yourself it could be just heavy rain and wind.”

Yes, but I also don’t have access to meteorologist equipment. I didn’t study it and me sticking my hand outside and feeling the cool breeze for days tells me rain is coming. I can’t say how bad it’ll be with any degree of certainty.

People get too caught up in wanting to live their life and pursue the future they tend to take for granted what they’ve already earned. Many of us abhor the idea of paying for insurance, but we’re very happy to have it when we need to make a claim.

Yes, it costs money to be protected. It’s risk transference, the basic principle of any insurance contract. I do not want to risk losing my home, so I pay someone to make me whole if something bad happens. It’s pennies on the dollar to give you peace of mind.

As my godfather loves to say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It’s always cheaper to take measures to stop bad things from happening, but it’s far more expensive to fix it when the situation arises.

It is the folly of man to believe ourselves the master of our environment despite having done nothing to prepare when warning is given. It’s not swallowing your pride to have extra food and water just in case something bad happens. It’s called being an adult and having a plan.

Photos courtesy of Jason Nappi, , .

09/18/2026

Earlier this week Insomniac Games released Marvel’s Wolverine exclusive to the PS5. Unfortunately for gaming and comic fans out there, it’s probably going to fall flat of your expectations as anti-consumer practices are in full display with this game.

Welcome back to Friday Financial Foolishness! Today we’re talking about misleading people about your products/services.

I’ve been a fan of Insomniac Games since I was a child, having played all the Spyro games along with a few Ratchet and Clank titles. I think they create amazing digital experiences when given enough freedom to do so.

Their release of Marvel’s Wolverine is being met with an incredibly divisive reception. The official gameplay trailer neglected to show a blue scent marker that leads players to the next objective and to hidden collectibles. You cannot turn it off and this game by design is rather short, being anywhere from 12-20 hours depending on how fast you play, being a linear experience with no diverging choices.

The game progresses with no consequences regardless of whether you succeed or fail at any quick time event, making it the equivalent of handing an unplugged controller to your younger sibling to let them ‘play’ with you. Fans were expecting a game that took around 5 years and $300 million dollars to not treat them like children.

I would be upset at purchasing an interactive experience that mind you is rated M for adult audiences that thinks so little of me to do that. Especially if you hide core components in official media and don’t give me any way to find out if I’ll enjoy it beyond purchasing. On top of that, Playstation offers no refunds on digital media once you download the game.

Also, the game costs $70.

If you misrepresent what you’re offering as a business, you’re doing something wrong. Not everything is made for everyone. It’s okay to enjoy different things and dislike them too. Vote with your wallet and don’t support companies who don’t respect you as a person and only see you as a resource.

09/18/2026

We know people who speak your language.

If you’ve been on the fence or know someone that is thinking about applying for a life insurance policy because like 22% of Americans, English is your second language I want to let you know we can find people to interpret into your preferred language.

I was working on a few life insurance cases earlier this week with Khmer speaking clients who knew enough English to get by, but not enough to comfortably understand everything being told to them.

Imagine my surprise when the company told me that they worked with Cambodian interpreters. It’s pleasant to see my heritage be recognized as a market group which is big enough to need professional interpreters for policies.

It’s not just Khmer they offer, but many other languages as well such as Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, etc.

If you know a loved one that has been on the fence because they want to understand what is being sold to them but thinks no one will talk to them in their native language, let them know that isn’t true (and let them know they’re wise for not blindly signing documents!)

Tell them we speak their language.

On a side note, for those interested as I was in the difference between interpreters and translators: Interpreters translate spoken or signed language in real time. Translators decipher the meaning of written content from a source language into the targeted language. Both require incredible understanding of the language and culture to be successful.

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