The Compound Letter

CFP & practicing advisor. Client stories, honest lessons, what other advisors won’t say. Weekly →

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

I’m a CFP. Between my partner and I we have 38 years of real client conversations.
I write anonymously because it’s the only way to tell you what we actually see — the mistakes, the lessons, the things that don’t get said in a typical advisor meeting. 👇

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

He had $2 million invested and had been with the same firm for over a decade.
When we put his 1.6% fee into dollar terms he went quiet.
$32,000 a year. Gone before he earned anything.
That's before you run the 20-year number.
This week's issue → https://t.co/VFuOaiD906

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

She came in asking how much to pull from her accounts each month.
Her husband had handled everything for 40 years. The accounts, the bills, the passwords, all of it.
When he passed, the specifics passed with him. She was lost.
This week's issue → https://t.co/VFuOaiD906

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

They saved $1 million over thirty years.
She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at 74. Two and a half years in a private memory care facility later — $300,000 was gone.
The portfolio survived 2008. It didn't survive this.
This week's issue → https://t.co/VFuOaiD906

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

He had a trust, a will, and everything titled correctly.
One life insurance policy had a blank line where a contingent owner should have been.

That blank line sent his family to probate court anyway.
This week's issue → https://t.co/VFuOaiD906

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

We did it!
The S&P500 is back in positive territory for 2026. ✅ 📈

The market doesn't wait for certainty. It prices in fear, then prices in hope - often before most investors have time to react either way.

Your retirement account isn't a news feed. Stop managing it like one.

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

Their retirement plan was in great shape. Then her father passed away and left her a $620,000 IRA.

The inheritance triggered a ten-year tax clock nobody had told them about.

This week's issue → https://t.co/VFuOaiD906

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

He spent his career at a defense contractor. Rolled $1.1 million in company stock into an IRA when he retired.

Nobody told him about NUA first.

That one conversation — never happened — and it cost him greatly.

This week's issue → https://t.co/VFuOaiD906

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

A 75-year-old woman had been giving $10,000 to her church every year.

Taking her RMD. Paying the taxes. Then writing the check.

Nobody had ever told her the IRS would let her skip that middle step entirely.

This week's issue → https://t.co/VFuOaiD906

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

Most people think waiting on their IRA is the responsible move.

The IRS is counting on that.

Issue 3 is live → https://t.co/VFuOaiDGPE

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

Volatile week for Wall Street coming to an end.

What’s apparently not coming to an end anytime soon is the conflict in the Middle East as the US is now sending more troops. No resolution in sight.

All things considered, stocks continue to hold up okay. Stay invested!

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

Taking Social Security at 62 vs 67 vs 70 is one of the most important financial decisions most people make.

Most people make it without running the numbers.

The difference can be $100,000+ over a lifetime.

Age 70 wins in most scenarios. Very few people wait.

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

The rollercoaster in the market continues. Nasdaq down 1.78%, S&P down 1.52%. Oil back above $100.

The only way we can see a meaningful reversal is by getting good news around a ceasefire which seems to be a ways away for now.

Always remember, know what you own!

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

Loss aversion is costing you money right now.

Humans feel losses twice as intensely as equivalent gains.

So we sell when markets drop and buy when they’re high.

Exactly backwards. Every time.

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

@unusual_whales what we need to keep in mind is that they’re one of the few generations that will still be receiving a pension in addition to their social security. The bigger issue is that following generations that don’t have a pension, don’t have much more saved either.

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

@WatcherGuru We’ve been in a very tight trading range of the past 6 months. Any positive developments along with good tech earnings can definitely spark a rally for the markets

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

All things considered, a pretty mute day for the markets with the Nasdaq up 0.08% and the S&P declining 0.08%.

Oil remains in focus. Private lending lurking as a potential bigger issue. We can expect volatility to will continue for some time.

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

Definitely an interesting situation with two major stories playing out simultaneously here. While the war seems to be rather short lived, I’m afraid attention will shift towards the private lending crisis which could have significant impact on the public markets

[Finance News @ftfinancenews]

Goldman executive says private markets clients ‘glad’ for Iran war ‘distraction’ https://t.co/Yr14BIOMIr

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

Three clients. Three Social Security decisions. All three were right — until one of them wasn't.
This week's issue is live now → https://t.co/VFuOaiDGPE

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

@Investingcom A move that was widely expected. Will provide some temporarily belief, but might create more issues down the line if the war continues for an extended period

[The Compound Letter @compoundletter]

@zerohedge Very interesting to see Microsoft’s new developing relationship with Anthropic after their huge investment in OpenAI