Simon Tschinkel - Wealth Advisory Group, LLC

06/07/2026

Simon, you should post this to your page: https://www.facebook.com/100044344063426/posts/1578070137014440/

From John Plender's FT column:
"At the same time, Treasury funding is increasingly reliant on shorter-term securities, which means constant rollover risk. With US public debt approaching its highest ever level, this combination sounds like the very definition of a non-geopolitical financial chokepoint, with vulnerability to shocks. It also suggests there are now systemic risks in the Treasury market."

06/05/2026

Know someone who graduated college recently and is starting a new job?

Gen Z and Millennials Need Income Protection!

Disability insurance is often called “income protection” because it replaces a portion of a person's income if they are 1) too sick or 2) too injured to work. (Typically, among all workers it is the first which prevents people from drawing an income).

One may think that income protection is only valuable for professionals who are further along in their careers, but the reality is that those just starting out have longer-term earning potential, making income protection vital.

Consider that one's ability to earn an income is probably the most valuable asset—more significant than a house or a retirement plan.

A good financial advisor will help people figure out their employer benefits offerings, explain how those benefits work and point out ways to close any gaps.

Speak with your insurance-licensed financial advisor for more information.

06/01/2026

Only about 15% of private industry workers have access to traditional pensions (aka "defined benefit plans").

There was a time when pensions were almost universally offered. The peak was in the early to mid-1980s. Retirement income planning (if there was any done at the time) took into account a bunch of factors, many of which don't exist today.

How does one re-create the guaranteed income bucket which pensions once offered? If you are one of the fortunate people who does have a pension, how do you plan on using it? What will be the tax consequences? Who gets impacted if you die too soon and the income stops?

What is your plan? If you don't have a plan, that's OK. There is still time to come up with one.

Speak with a financial advisor.

If you want guaranteed income from your employer in retirement, consider one of these jobs.

05/27/2026

The Dow Jones Industrial Average turned 130 years old yesterday. The DJIA is price-weighted index designed to track the health of the U.S. economy. Today, it tracks 30 prominent blue-chip companies.

Only 12 companies were listed in 1896. They were chosen to be representative of every segment of the market at the time except railroads and transportation.

GE, the longest lived company on the DJIA, was one of them but was booted from the list in 2018.

The S&P 500 is a broader index which was launched in 1957. It is the leading benchmark for US stocks.

Fun fact: Currently, the S&P 500 actually has 503 stocks.

05/16/2026

Ah, Springtime!

People are telling me about their plans to go to the weddings of others in the near future and it got me thinking:

After popping the question and before the wedding, couples shoud speak with a financial advisor. Why?

An advisor can broach subjects which individuals don't know how to approach. Advisors bring a dispassionate and non-judgemental approach with no historical baggage. An advisor brings the two partners together to assess their “money personalities” and how they might mesh in the future.

With an advisor guiding the conversation, couples can create shared financial goals without sacrificing independence. All that is required is some planning ahead.

Share these thoughts with your recently engaged or those who are recently married and then offer to put them in touch with a trusted advisor.

05/13/2026

Got a spouse? Children? Grandkids? Any charitable goals? The biggest wealth transfer risk is NOT taxes.

The biggest risk in wealth transfer is misalignment of goals among family members.

Families often approach estate planning as a technical exercise without first clarifying their objectives, leading to plans that might be effective on paper but cause emotional friction in practice.

I can't emphasize the importance of communication enough in this process. A good adviser focuses on facilitating discussions to ensure that estate plans support family harmony.

05/11/2026

"Paid leave can help companies attract and retain workers and signal that their workplaces are inclusive"

however...

"There can be such a thing as too much parental leave, research has shown. More than six months can end up disadvantaging parents’ careers, and present hardships for their employers."

Deloitte and Zoom are among the employers reducing support for working parents, signaling a retreat from a “golden age of benefits.”

05/10/2026

What is considered "long-term" when it comes to investing?

The concept refers to the process of purchasing assets (such as stocks, bonds, funds or real estate) with the expectation that they will generate returns over an extended period. But what is that period? Conventionally, it's considered several years on the short end or decades on the other end of the spectrum. The idea is that "long-term" investments are characterized by their stability and the potential to grow in value over time, rather than offering quick, short-term profits.

What is long-term for you?

Learn the long-term investments essentials; how to calculate and interpret them, their importance, and influential factors.

04/30/2026

Fact: Consumers view medical/healthcare and long term care expenses as bigger threats to their retirement portfolio than either Inflation
the Economy or
Longevity

Survey that was shared with me:

95% of consumers believe that financial professionals should be discussing long term care planning needs with them.

yet...

only 35% of consumers have actually discussed long term care with their financial professional

Speak with your financial advisor and please ask questions!

04/28/2026

Please don't seek financial advice on Reddit 🤮

I look at Reddit threads now and then (for investing, for planning, for life insurance, etc.) just to see what people are saying. There is so much bad advice, factually incorrect information and grossly biased advice being given. You have NO idea what their background is. The people giving advice may have financial lives which are a total mess. And they are not accountable to anyone.

Think about that.

The better strategy is to ask friends, family and colleagues for introductions to professionals they know and then interview people and look up their backgrounds. For investing, you can go to brokercheck.finra.org and see someone's background, licenses and disclosures (if any.)

Disclosures can be customer complaints or arbitrations, regulatory actions, employment terminations, bankruptcy filings and certain civil or criminal proceedings that they were a part of.