Author: landaasco

  • Inevitable as taxes, yet rarely planned for

    By Joel Dresang Two of my brothers died in the last year. Neither gave the family much direction about what to do afterward. Of all the significant life events we can plan for, our afterlife is most often left untended. We put it off, and we put it on our bereaved survivors to try to…

  • For What It’s Worth: Bulls and Bears

    Bears and Bulls aren’t just the names of Chicago-based sports teams. They’re symbols of investor expectations. Since the 1700s, bears have been associated with investors anticipating prices will go down, while bulls believe prices are trending upward. As part of an occasional exploration of the origins of financial lingo, Joel Dresang hunts down how these…

  • Trying to transition off a treadmill

    By Joel Dresang Many retirees would rather be working. But at the same time that more employers are complaining about a lack of job applicants, they’re serving sheet cake for older employees who have cleared out their desks to head for home. Under the right circumstances, older workers can negotiate mutually beneficial work-to-retirement transitions. […]

  • Retirement confidence or ignorant bliss?

    So why are workers so confident of their retirement when they’ve done so little to prepare for it? […]

  • 5 tips for naming beneficiaries

    Designating beneficiaries for their accounts lets investors control who gets how much of the account’s distributions when they die. As Mike Hoelzl explains in a MONEY TALK VIDEO, naming beneficiaries can help cut confusion, delays and expenses for distributing funds. He offers five tips to consider. […]

  • Singling out concerns in your investments

    Technology helps make divestiture easier, but as Kyle Tetting explains in a MONEY TALK VIDEO, investors also have other factors to weigh. […]

  • Protect your wealth from cyber scams

    Lisa Lewitzke offers tips to guard against attempts to trick you out of financial information. […]

  • Emergency lessons from a 40-year-old deuce

    By Joel Dresang What strikes me now about that $2 bill in my wallet is the value of being prepared for an emergency. If you know you can cover a worst-case scenario, you have one less worry weighing you down. You can enjoy the here and now a little better. You’re afforded the luxury of…

  • How to use the Morningstar web portal

    Kyle Tetting, research director of Landaas & Company, shows investors in a MONEY TALK VIDEO how to make the most of updated features in the secure client web portal from Morningstar. New looks and functions are aimed at giving clients more control in checking up on their investments portfolios and drilling down to the details.…

  • Morningstar Client Web Portal

    Through its relationship with Morningstar, a global leader in independent investment research, Landaas & Company can provide clients a private web portal with secure online access to their account information. The portal also offers a secure way for clients and advisors to exchange sensitive documents. For clients who already have a Morningstar web portal, please CLICK…