White Oaks Insights
Economic and Corona Virus (COVID-19) Update
In this economic review video, White Oaks CEO, Sharon Bloodworth, CFP® discusses the corona virus and its potential impact on the global economy and stock markets.
Insuring Your Health When Traveling
Your health and travel. Zipping up your suitcase and heading to the airport to embark on a new adventure is exciting. But the to-dos that happen before you leave might not generate the same level of enthusiasm. For example, booking flights, confirming accommodations,...
Gold- A Precious Holding in Your Portfolio
Alex Duty, Portfolio Manager, CFA®, CIPM of White Oaks Investment Management, Inc. explains an often misunderstood investment- gold. In this video, Alex will help investors understand gold and what it does in a portfolio. If you have any questions regarding the video,...
A Benefit I Can’t Wait to Use at 62
A Benefit to Being 62 and Older I love studying and continuing to learn. I loved college and just finished a year-long Stanford program on innovation last month. An unbelievable benefit of living in Minnesota is that we have a special statute that allows for people...
How I Learned to be Brave
In early September, I started on a journey to become brave. I spent every Tuesday evening for 10 weeks at the Brave New Workshop as part of the Brave Tuesdays program. To oversimplify a truly great program, we focused on going from fear-based behaviors to a discovery...
Tricks and Treats: How to Make Money Less Scary
Tricks and Treats While our business offerings aren’t conducive to any “pumpkin spice” variations, we couldn’t resist an opportunity to incorporate the Halloween spirt into this latest blog post. Money and finances continue to be topics that illicit fear, stress and...
With Fall Comes Open Enrollment
Open Enrollment Cooler temperatures and colorful leaves are the most obvious signs that we're about to transition seasons. The new season also means the arrival of the annual open enrollment email in your inbox. It's easy to make this decision on auto-pilot, choosing...
Investment Diversification, Part II
Diversification Video, Part II Before watching part II, please watch Alex's Diversification, Part I Video. In Part I, Alex Duty, CFA, CIPM, discusses the functionality of diversification. Alex speaks about investment strategies and the science of a well-diversified...
Are You Prepared to Freeze Your Credit?
Freeze Your Credit The thought of freezing your credit can seem like taking a test that you are not really prepared for. In the heat of the moment, you may find the only thing freezing is your mind. Unfortunately, data breaches continue to increase in frequency and in...
When Can I Retire?
When can I retire?...a question of great significance to many individuals. Laura Bereiter, CPA, CFP®, of White Oaks was quoted for answering this very question. The article consists of the Top 11 Retirement Planning Questions Clients Ask. Laura comments, "Our answer...
The Debate Over Dividend Stocks
Alex Duty, our portfolio manager, wrote a great white paper on dividend investing. Dividend investing is a popular strategy and one we come across from incoming clients. Alex’s position is that dividend stocks only earn abnormal returns due to their value tilt, not...
Families and Financial Planning
Families and Financial Planning While studying Personal Financial Planning (PFP) at Texas Tech University, I noticed in one of my classes of 40 students, I was one of 10 females. Then, I realized that this pattern is the gender distribution in all my PFP courses....
Gift Card Fraud – Protect Yourself
'Tis the season for gift cards! Gift cards have become a very popular and easy way of gifting, and scammers and fraudsters are waiting out there to take advantage of retailers and consumers. I would like to share our experience of gift card fraud with you, so you can...
Lending Money to Family
A situation we see here at White Oaks often is our clients want to help family. One way to do this is by a family loan. Whether to a parent, a sibling or a child, our clients often feel an altruistic pull to help family out by lending them money. This can often be a...
Trusts: Top Ten Reasons Why
Just like school subjects get more complex as you age; so too, does managing your finances. Sure, you may have established a standard will and healthcare directive early in your financial life. Those, however, may not address the more complex needs you have as you age...