Neil H Gendreau CFP, CHFC

10/13/2026

Even if they saved the same amount.

10/07/2026

Six Estate Planning Assumptions Worth a Second Look

It's easy to set estate planning aside once you've done a version of it. You sign the paperwork. You name a beneficiary. You mentally close the file.The only thing is, the file keeps changing. Accounts get opened. Families grow. Laws shift. And in the space between signing and revisiting, a handful....

10/05/2026

Nvidia, Apple, Broadcom, Google, Amazon, Palantir, company stock....what do these have in common?

Potentially large capital gains exposure. These are great companies, including where you work. But these juggernauts also invite increasing portfolio risks with changes that occur within industries, markets, and the economy.

If you are concerned about portfolio balance, especially as you approach critical withdrawal thresholds such as retirement, what is the answer to this dilemma? Is it worth paying a 23.8% capital gains rate (not including state taxes)? What strategies are available to diversify concentrated assets while continuing to defer capital gains taxes?

IRS Section 351 ETFs and 721 Exchanges are possible strategies for you, but there is no such thing as a free lunch - many conditions must be met for compliance and acceptance. Each has its own diversification and holding rules which are discussed by this video.

This video is part of a series for high net worth investors who may benefit from a comprehensive strategy to address such issues. There are many tools in the box, but it's important to know how and when to use them.

Neil H. Gendreau CFP, ChFC
415 Boston Turnpike Rd., Ste. 213
Shrewsbury, MA 01545
Phone: (508) 845-8585
Fax: (508) 845-9705
Mobile: (508) 864-6053
www.ngendreau.com

Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. Neil H. Gendreau, CFP, ChFC is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS.

https://www.kestrafinancial.com/disclosures

Nvidia, Apple, Broadcom, Google, Amazon, Palantir, company stock......

09/30/2026

Should we be worried about inflation?

“$6 for this?” You’ve probably had a moment like that lately. Maybe it was at the grocery store. Maybe it was when you filled up your car. You see the price, do a double take, and wonder if you remembered it wrong. Did this really cost that much last time?

09/29/2026

People are easily distracted by dangling carrots. That's because they don't understand the concept of opportunity cost. If a potential recipient is not collecting Social Security but delaying benefits to age 70, where will that foregone income come from? Most often it's from their investments, which not only may earn the 8% increment or better, but who knows how long anyone will live? Family history is not a guarantee of anyone's life expectancy. A bird in the hand is always worth two in the bush. If the typical retirement age is 65, that recipient would lose the equivalent of almost four times the cumulative annual benefit by deferral to age 70. For most people, this is serious money that allows existing portfolios to compound with less interruption - and that's nearly a guarantee! On the other hand, if that same person dies tomorrow, so usually does their Social Security benefit, with no better than half to a surviving spouse if that option applies. The public is largely ignorant about this, but any financial advisor should clearly know better. It's not rocket science, but you'd be surprised how clueless much of the industry is. If you can't do math or properly assess risk, you shouldn't be a financial advisor.

09/12/2026

More Than a Number: The Four Risks That Shape Your Retirement

Many people can tell you their portfolio balance. Far fewer can tell you what else determines whether their retirement actually works.That's understandable. The balance is the number on the statement. It's concrete, and it feels like a score. But judging retirement readiness by that one figure is a....

09/09/2026

Retirement Isn't Just About How Much You Save. It's About When.

You can do everything right on paper — save diligently, spend reasonably, stay invested for the long haul — and still land in a very different retirement than someone who did the same things.The difference often comes down to a factor many retirement checklists leave out entirely: timing.

08/31/2026

Permission to Spend in Retirement: A Skill Rarely Taught

For decades, you trained one financial muscle: save, invest, don't touch it. Then retirement arrives and asks you to do the opposite.Nobody teaches that part. There is no course on how to spend the money you spent a lifetime building, so the discipline, the caution, and the watchful eye on every bal...

08/27/2026

Explore the next chapter you get to author.

08/25/2026

Your portfolio is more than a performance number.