Pharos Wealth Strategies

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Pharos Wealth Strategies

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Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC.

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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.

10/30/2026

Apparently, all those years of giving my daughters unsolicited financial advice finally paid off!

Several years ago, my daughter Hailey was taking a Personal Finance class at my alma mater, Trinity University. Her professor, James Maxey, noticed her nodding along as he discussed various financial topics. After talking with her, he discovered that many of the things he was teaching were things she'd heard from her dad (me!) around the house.

When Hailey shared that conversation with me, I jokingly told her, "See if you can get me an invitation to come speak to your class sometime!"

I eventually forgot all about it, but James didn't. A little while later, he reached out and invited me to speak. And here's the really cool part: My very first opportunity to lecture was actually in Hailey's class, with her sitting there in attendance later that same semester!

It was a pretty special experience for me as a dad, but I'm pretty sure it was also the first time in a long time, and the last time since, that Hailey had to sit and listen to her dad talk for a solid hour! 😂

That first invitation turned into an opportunity I've been fortunate to enjoy each semester for the past several years.

This past week, I had the privilege of speaking to two classes, sharing a few lessons from more than 30 years in the financial services industry, particularly around investing and financial planning as students prepare to graduate and begin their careers.

It's always fun to be back on campus, but even more rewarding to hopefully equip the next generation with some practical knowledge and perspective to help them make wise financial decisions early in life.

A big thank you to Professor James Maxey for the invitation and for the work he does preparing students for life beyond the classroom. And a little shoutout to Hailey for unknowingly getting the ball rolling!

Maxey

10/27/2026

The hardest part of investing may not be what you think.

I recently came across an old interview with Peter Lynch, one of the most successful portfolio managers of the past 50 years.

He made an interesting observation when it comes to investing:

“The most important organ is the stomach, not the brain.”

His point? The amount of bad news an investor can hear on the way to work is almost infinite. The real question is whether you can handle it.

Think about that today.

Markets are constantly reacting to economic reports, geopolitical events, interest rates, corporate earnings, and predictions about what might happen next. There's never a shortage of reasons to worry.

But being a successful long-term investor isn't just about understanding the numbers. It's also about having the discipline to stay focused when uncertainty makes it tempting to abandon your plan.

That doesn't mean ignoring risks or never making adjustments. It means making thoughtful decisions based on your goals and circumstances rather than reacting to every alarming headline.

A good investment plan matters. So does having the stomach to stick with it.

What do you find harder as an investor: knowing what to do or having the discipline to do it when the headlines get unsettling?

Note: Pharos Wealth Strategies is not endorsed or affiliated with Peter Lynch nor Fidelity.

10/21/2026

Estate planning isn't just about what happens when you die. It's also about protecting your ability to make decisions while you're alive.

A will is important, but so are the legal documents that can help someone you trust manage your financial affairs if you're unable to do so yourself.

Memory and health can change, sometimes gradually, sometimes quickly. The best time to put the right plan in place is while you can still make your wishes known and legally document them.

Good planning isn't about expecting the worst. It's about protecting your choices and preparing the people you love.

Is your plan ready for both what if and what if before then?

10/12/2026

Quick market quiz: How well do you really know the markets? 🤔

With all the headlines, predictions, and opinions flying around, I thought it would be fun to look at what the market has actually done over time.

Four questions. No Googling. No Ai. No crystal ball.

And no asking that friend who always seems to know exactly what the market is going to do next. 😂

How many can you get right?

Drop your guesses in the comments. I'll share the answers later this week.

The goal isn't to predict what happens next. It's to get a little historical perspective on how markets behave over time.

10/06/2026

What if one of the strategies that helped you build your retirement savings could hurt you once you retire?

During the accumulation years, market downturns can actually be helpful. If you're still investing, lower prices mean you're buying more shares.

But once you're taking income from your portfolio, a downturn can create a very different problem.

You may have to sell investments when prices are down.

And if that happens early in retirement, it can have a lasting impact on how long your portfolio may support your income.

That's sequence-of-returns risk.

It's also one reason retirement planning can't be a "set it and forget it" exercise. The strategy that makes sense while you're building wealth may need to change when you start using it.

That's one of the conversations we have with clients as they approach retirement—helping them think through how their investment strategy, income needs, and overall plan may need to adapt.

The goal isn't simply to retire. It's to have a plan that can adapt once you get there.

10/01/2026

Direction, not intention, determines destination.

That quote from Andy Stanley has been sticking with me.

Good intentions matter. But they don't necessarily get us where we want to go.

If my wife and I want to drive from San Antonio to Colorado, it doesn't matter how carefully we packed or how much we planned if we leave the house heading east on I-10.

The same can be true with our finances.

We can have good intentions about saving, retirement, investing and preparing for the future.

But the important question is whether the decisions we're making today are actually taking us in the direction of the future we want.

Good intentions are a start. Direction is what gets us there.

Are you headed in the right direction?

09/28/2026

We get this question pretty often:

“What should I do with my money?”

It’s a good question.

But after more than 30 years of helping people make financial decisions, I’ve learned that there’s usually a better place to start:

What are you trying to accomplish with your money?

Because the right financial plan isn’t just about choosing the right investments.

It’s about making sure your money is helping you live the life you want, take care of the people you love, and make a difference in the things that matter most.

That’s why, at Pharos, we believe good financial planning starts with a conversation.

09/22/2026

We came home from our anniversary trip to an unexpected souvenir.

Someone had apparently compromised my wife's debit card and racked up a bunch of unauthorized charges totaling nearly $10,000.

And we didn't discover it until we got home.

We're working with our bank now to investigate what happened and get everything straightened out. Thankfully, the bank is helping us through the process.

But it was also a good reminder that protecting your financial life isn't just about investments and retirement accounts.

Sometimes it's the basics.

A few things worth checking:

• Turn on transaction alerts for your bank and credit cards.
• Check your accounts regularly, especially when traveling.
• Be cautious with debit cards, since they're directly connected to your bank account.
• Report suspicious activity immediately if you see something you don't recognize.

We spend a lot of time thinking about how to protect and grow our money.

Sometimes protecting your money starts with simply paying attention to where it's going.

09/17/2026

Thirty years of marriage. A bucket-list trip. And a reminder of why we plan in the first place.

Ginna and I recently celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary a little early with a bucket-list trip to Scotland.

It was an incredible experience, and we’re deeply grateful. We recognize that we’ve been blessed by God in so many ways and we certainly don't take that for granted.

But the trip also reminded me of something I think about often when working with our clients:

Financial planning isn't just about preparing for a distant future. It's about making sure there's room to enjoy life along the way.

Over the years, we've saved, invested, made plenty of good decisions with our money, and allowed time and compounding to do their work.

That gave us the ability to take this trip without feeling like we were taking a major step backward on our long-term plans.

And that's really what we hope to help our clients do.

Yes, we want to make sure there's a plan for the needs of the future like retirement, healthcare, family, and the unexpected.
But we also want to make room for the goals and dreams that are right in front of you today.

Maybe that's a trip you've always dreamed about.
Maybe it's retiring a little earlier. Helping your children or grandchildren. Giving more generously. Pursuing something you've put off. Or simply having the freedom to enjoy the season of life you're in.

Because what's the point of planning for a better tomorrow if we forget to recognize and enjoy some of the blessings of today?

Good financial planning should help you prepare for the future AND live well along the way.

For us, this year, that meant Scotland.

And after 30 years together, I'm eternally grateful we got to experience it side by side. ❤️

09/10/2026

“What if some of the things you worry about most as you plan for retirement are the things you have the least control over?”

There’s a prayer that goes something like this:

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

That’s pretty good advice for retirement planning, too.

We can’t control the markets, tax policy, the Fed, or what’s happening around the world.

But we can control things like our how our assets are allocated, how much we save, how much we spend. And how we react to things happening around us.

All of those things matter, but focusing our energy on what we can control can help us be better prepared for both good times and bad.

That’s where good planning can help.

Address

13750 San Pedro Avenue, Suite 145
San Antonio, TX
78232

Telephone

+12106254847

Website

http://www.pharoswealthstrategies.com/

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