The CFA Society of New Mexico recently hosted a fireside chat by Andrew Fastow, the former CFO of Enron. Mr. Fastow began the time by acknowledging that what he did was wrong, unethical, and illegal. He also took full responsibility for his actions and apologized.

For the rest of his talk, however, Mr. Fastow did not focus on Enron, but rather the way we work to rationalize questionable behavior. Mr. Fastow led us through a few thought exercises that might appear to be unethical, but upon further examination and with a little more information were actually examples of routine business practices. Read more. Read More

Have you ever wondered what happens in the background or behind the scenes before one of the professionals at REDW Wealth meets with a client to present and discuss a tax return or financial plan, or quarterly portfolio reports?

Over the years, a number of our clients have asked that question and been surprised at the answer. Read more. Read More

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, people (mainly men) worked for one company their entire professional career, saved for their retirement, retired at age 65, received a gold watch and a pension, and then did not live very long after that. Does that sound familiar to you? It was certainly the story for my father and both of my grandfathers.

Oh, how times have changed. Read more. Read More

Last quarter, this newsletter focused on the Retirement Planning section of REDW Stanley’s Wealth Management map. We looked at the inter-relationships between various aspects of financial planning and how retirement planning can span decades and often dominate other planning goals.

At the bottom of the diagram are three additional sections we refer to as the lenses through which we view the decisions that are made in the main planning areas. Because we at REDW Stanley are fiduciaries, we must first act in our client’s best interest. Then we measure and account for the tax impact of planning decisions, and finally, we factor in how those decisions affect risk.

When risk is considered, the following are possible responses... Read more. Read More

Curious about blockchain? Like bitcoin, it’s a new digital technology term you may have heard bandied about recently. You may have even heard it described as a secure method for people and organizations to transact business with each other without requiring a trusted, central institution to verify the information. With a blockchain, there is no central authority, like a bank, involved in the transaction. What does that mean? Read more. Read More

A rule requiring financial advisors to act in their clients’ best interests with regard to retirement accounts has been ended by a U.S. court. The “fiduciary advice rule” made investment advice standards for retirement savings tougher, requiring investment professionals to put clients’ interests ahead of their own with regard to retirement accounts. Read more. Read More