Michael McGinnis, Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley

09/07/2026

Today, we honor the contributions and achievements of laborers in the United States.

09/04/2026

US equities staged a broad advance Thursday as recent Fedspeak yielded net dovish takeaways, spurring risk appetite. Read more in the 1% Move report.

morganstanley.com

08/25/2026

Every financial swing has a tradeoff.
Know the tradeoff before you swing.

Every golfer would love to add twenty yards to their drive without giving up any accuracy.
But that's not usually how the game works.

More distance can come with less control.
🏌️‍♂️Playing it safe may keep you out of trouble, but it can leave you with a much longer second shot.

Financial planning comes with tradeoffs too.
And some of the most important decisions you make in retirement can't be evaluated by looking at only one outcome.

Take Roth conversions.

Converting money from a traditional IRA to a Roth can mean deliberately increasing your taxable income today. Why would you ever choose to pay more taxes now?

📈 It may reduce the amount sitting in tax-deferred accounts later.
📈 It can lower future required minimum distributions.
📈 It can create a source of tax-free retirement income.
📈 And you gain more flexibility when deciding where to take money from in future years.

But even then – bigger isn't automatically better.

📉 Convert too much in a single year and you could push yourself into a higher tax bracket.
📉 You may increase Medicare premiums down the road.
📉 And you could trigger other tax consequences.

Social Security creates another tradeoff.

➔ Claim earlier and you begin receiving income sooner.
➔ Delay, and you give up those checks today in exchange for a larger monthly benefit later.

The right decision depends on much more than your break-even age. All of these must factor into your final decision –

➔ Your other income sources
➔ Portfolio withdrawals
➔ Your overall tax situation
➔ Health and longevity expectations
➔ Your spouse's benefits

Even investment decisions involve competing priorities.

➤ Keeping more money in cash can provide stability and liquidity, but too much cash can make it harder for your portfolio to keep pace with inflation over a long retirement.

➤ Taking more investment risk may increase your potential return, but it can also expose money you'll need soon to losses at exactly the wrong time.

Financial planning is about finding the decision with no downside.

✔️ It's about understanding what you're gaining,
✔️ And what you're giving up,
✔️ And how that decision affects everything else in your financial life.

Just like golf, you have to know which shot you're trying to hit before you choose the club.

Not sure what you're gaining and giving up in your financial plan? We can help: https://advisor.morganstanley.com/michael.mcginnis

⛳️Would you rather drive it farther or putt better?

08/18/2026

Think about your money the way you play golf.
The next shot starts with this one.

Golf is a game of course management.

The best players don't expect to hit every shot perfectly.
🏌️‍♂️They're thinking beyond the shot in front of them.

➔ Where do I want the ball to land?
➔ What trouble do I need to avoid?
➔ And if I miss, where is the best place to miss?

Financial planning requires much the same thinking.
Consider retirement income planning.

➤ You could take more money from a traditional IRA this year, but how will that affect your taxable income?

➤ You could sell appreciated investments to generate cash, but what will the capital gains mean for your overall tax picture or Medicare premiums?

➤ You could claim Social Security earlier to increase cash flow today, but what does that decision mean for your lifetime benefits?

➤ You could intentionally pay more taxes today through a Roth conversion but reduce future required minimum distributions and give you greater flexibility later.

➤ You could have a solid estate plan, but outdated beneficiary designations could keep your assets from passing as you intended.

None of those decisions exists in isolation.

✔️ Taxes affect income decisions.
✔️ Income decisions affect investments.
✔️Both can affect healthcare costs, Social Security and ultimately what you leave to your family.

That's why good financial planning isn't about finding the perfect investment or making the perfect move every time.

It's about understanding how today's decision changes the position you'll be playing from tomorrow.

Good golfers manage the entire course.
Good financial planning manages the entire financial picture.

Thinking about upgrading your financial course management? We can help: https://advisor.morganstanley.com/michael.mcginnis

⛳️ What's one course-management lesson you wish you'd learned earlier in your golf game?

08/05/2026

Golf's biggest lesson about retirement.
Every retirement has a different lie.

Every lie requires a different shot.

One ball is sitting perfectly in the fairway.
Another is buried in deep rough.
The next may be plugged in a bunker.

🏌️A good golfer doesn't pull the same club and make the same swing every time.
They assess the lie,
Understand the challenge,
And choose the shot that gives them the best chance to succeed.

Financial planning works the same way.

Two people can retire on the same day, at the same age, with the same amount of money, and still need completely different retirement plans.

➔ One may dream of traveling the world while the other wants nothing more than weekends with the grandkids.
➔ One may have a pension that covers most of their monthly expenses, while the other depends almost entirely on their investment portfolio for income.
➔One worries about leaving a legacy to their children while another's highest priority is simply knowing they'll never become a financial burden to the people they love.

That's why there is no such thing as an off-the-shelf retirement plan.

A financial advisor can't build the right plan by understanding your money alone.
They have to understand your life.

➤ What matters most to you?
➤ How do you want to spend your time?
➤ What concerns keep you awake at night?
➤ What does a successful retirement actually look like for you?

Those conversations shape every recommendation that follows.

✔️ They influence when you retire.
✔️ How much income you can comfortably spend.
✔️ When to claim Social Security.
✔️ Whether Roth conversions make sense.
✔️ How much risk your portfolio should take.
✔️ How your investments are allocated.
✔️ How taxes are managed over time.
✔️And how your estate plan supports the people and causes that matter most to you.

The numbers matter.
But numbers alone never tell the whole story.

The best retirement plan isn't built around a formula.

📈 It's built around your life, your values, and the future you want your money to make possible. Your retirement planning should be as unique as you are.

Ready to reevaluate your retirement "lie?" We can help: https://advisor.morganstanley.com/michael.mcginnis

⛳️ What's the toughest lie you've ever had to play and what made it so challenging?

08/04/2026

US equities advanced Tuesday, as the prospect of a US-Iran peace deal, strong AI-related fundamentals, and technical factors, powered the S&P 500 to a new all-time high. Read more in the 1% Move report:

morganstanley.com

08/03/2026

"US equities gained Monday as cooling US-Iran tensions, coupled with positive takeaways from the 2Q2026 earnings season, spurred risk-on sentiment. Read more in the 1% Move report."

morganstanley.com

08/03/2026

If you're considering upcoming milestones like buying a home or retiring, a mid-year check in on your financial plan may be beneficial. This checklist can help. https://livesocial.seismic.com/aMM6pP

07/31/2026

What would a multi-year health care need mean for your finances and portfolio? Explore planning considerations. https://livesocial.seismic.com/a4a3Jh