At Generosity Wealth Management, our commitment to straightforward and respectful interactions ensures you feel heard, valued, and confident about your financial future.
Effective communication is the foundation of a strong financial partnership. We believe in proactive, transparent conversations—so you’re never left in the dark. Watch this short video from Annie Everhart as she shares how our commitment to clear and respectful communication sets us apart.
Transcript
Annie Everhart with Generosity Wealth Management
Today I wanted to talk to you about one of our core values as a firm, which is clear, proactive communication. We are committed to providing straightforward, respectful, and frictionless interactions with our clients, making sure that we know and you know that details matter and all of our clients can leave each interaction with a sense of hope and confidence. A lot of clients have come to us after having left a previous advisor, and in many cases the reason they said they left is because they never heard from their advisor and that this is something that they know they can get from us, so people aren’t necessarily seeking us out for the highest returns or some promise to beat the market. It’s really about the relationship, and communication is such a big part of that. So we cut through the jargon. We like to make our communication with you really clear and straightforward, easy to understand. We also believe in being really proactive rather than reactive and making sure we’re reaching out just to check in on you, reminding you that we’re here for you, checking in on your goals, are we on track, do we need to make some tweaks, and also making sure that we communicate with complete transparency. So, whether that’s no hidden fees or leaving questions unanswered for you, if something comes up in conversation, we don’t know the answer right on the spot. We are committed to getting that answer for you so our clients know we are here from them. We always return their calls and emails, and we like to be proactive to beat them to the punch. So again, we are here for you, and we plan to continue to be, and if there’s anything you need, please reach out, but hopefully we’ll anticipate that need and reach out first. Thanks for listening, and I hope you have a great day!
“Ego kills knowledge, as knowledge requires learning, and learning requires humility.” -Rolsey
In this video, Mike Brady, founder of Generosity Wealth Management, dives into the profound role humility plays in financial planning, especially as the year comes to a close. Reflecting on decades of experience, Mike emphasizes that “that which seems so very obvious sometimes does not play out the way that we think it will.” With the future inherently unknown, he encourages viewers to stay grounded, avoid emotional decision-making, and focus on long-term goals and risk tolerance. By filtering out the noise and distractions from pundits, politics, and market hype, you can approach your financial journey with clarity and confidence. Watch to discover how humility can guide your decisions and help you prepare for the opportunities and uncertainties of the year ahead.
Trasncript
Hi there. Mike Brady with Generosity Wealth Management, a comprehensive full service financial services firm here in Boulder and Fort Collins, Colorado. But I’ve got clients all over the United States.
Today, I want to talk about humility. I usually discuss this once a year because I think it is so important. When I talk about humility, I’m talking about the future. We don’t know the future–it is inherently unknown.
So one of the big things that I like to watch out for, or when someone, whether it’s a pundit on TV, whether or not it is a newspaper article, or whether or not it’s another person that I’m talking to, is talking with a level of confidence that they shouldn’t have because it’s about the future. Well, we know that this is going to happen. This is absolutely going to happen. From a financial point of view, we’re going to have this recession. This policy is going to be bad. I think that it’s going to be really not good. I know it will be a disaster next year, and we’re going to have all kinds of volatility.
That’s where I start to discount whatever the person says. Because knowing anything about the future is impossible. You might feel very strongly, you might have a high probability, hey, I believe that this is what’s going to happen. But we also have to have the humility that we could be wrong. I’m absolutely certain unless I’m wrong.
And as I look back at my life, I’m 55 years old. Some of the things that I was so certain of turned out not to be true. Some positions that I had 30 years ago, I have changed over the last 30 years. I mean, if I was the same person today at 55 that I was at 25 or at 20, how boring would that be? I would not have grown as a human being or as a person if I hadn’t at least refined certain beliefs or certain things that I hold true, which have changed a little bit.
But the reason why I bring this up is at the end of the year, and especially as we think about politics with our investments, we’ve got to divorce the two. I think that that’s really important. I have been advising clients for over 33 years at this point. It’s remarkable that when one political party gets into the White House, the other party is certain that the next four years are going to be horrible. And the other way around, okay, it’s remarkable. And neither of which turns out to be true. I remember when the big upset, the first time that Trump won over Hillary Clinton, that I heard people talking absolutely with conviction. “Well, you know, it’s obviously going to be very volatile. How are we going to handle all the volatility?” “This is absolutely what’s going to happen.” And if you look back, 2017 was one of the least volatile years we’ve had in the last 10 years. I don’t say that that will be the case going forward. I don’t know since it’s about the future once again, but I use it as an example of let’s have some humility. That which seems so very obvious sometimes does not play out the way that we think it will.
One of the most important things that we should have as investors is to know what our goals are. What is it that we’re trying to shoot for? Meaning, what’s our 5, 10, 20, or what’s our financial goals? What are we trying to do in life? What’s our duration? What’s our time horizon to get there? And what level of risk allows me to get there, but also allows me to stay with it without trying to change it every month or every quarter, or for me to listen to people on the news or read something, et cetera, who are trying to excite my emotions, not necessarily to inform me.
I think that’s really important as well about humility is understanding the objectives of the people who are talking to me so that I can filter it. I’m the. I’m the hearer. I can take all the data in. It doesn’t mean that it’s God’s truth. It doesn’t mean that it’s absolutely going to play out the way whoever it is that’s saying it or writing it says it will. I’ve got to listen and use my own judgment on that, but also gauge them and what their objective is. Are they here to inform me, or are they here to excite me? And I think that, especially in emotional and political environments, we can get ourselves all worked up if we allow ourselves to.
I have recommended that no one make any changes due to the election. I have said this for the first, you know, 10 months, 11 months of the year, and I’m saying this now. We just got done with November. Remarkably, it was the best month of the entire year for the unmanaged stock market index, the S & P 500. And do I think that it would be different if the other candidate had won. No, I don’t. Okay, I’m just going to tell you that right off the bat.
Let’s divorce what our pundits are telling us and what we believe, you know? We have to have some humility. As we go forward from our investments, we stay with our duration, we stay with our plan, we stay with the level of risk that allows us to stay with that plan. And we don’t get distracted by who won this election, and that election–this particular policy or that particular policy.
It is about the future, and it is inherently unknown. And we don’t know the future. And anyone who says they do know it with conviction, discount them.
That’s all I’m saying. Mike Brady. Generosity Wealth Management offices in Boulder and Fort Collins. Always love to hear from you. Hope you have a wonderful December.
At the end of December, beginning of January, I’ll have a more technical outline, rehash of 2024. And as we look into 2025. So have a wonderful, wonderful month.
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” – Aesop
At Generosity Wealth Management, financial planning goes beyond numbers—it’s about creating a legacy of impact. In this latest update, Mike Brady shares his personal experience working with children affected by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the role his clients have played in making this possible. Through community involvement, both locally and internationally, Generosity Wealth Management continues to foster a life of significance. Read on to learn how you can live a life of purpose and create a lasting impact.
Transcript
Mike Brady, Generosity Wealth Management, a comprehensive full-service financial services firm headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.
Today’s video is a little bit lighter than normal. I’m going to have a more serious one at the beginning of the next quarter, which is right around the corner.
So today, I wanted to focus on the impact that you’re having as my client. So many of you are involved, whether it’s financial or sweat equity, in your community, nonprofit, church, school, whatever it is, and making your community better. And some of you have said, “Hey, I want to be involved”. And if you haven’t found your path to living a full life and being involved, give me a call. Maybe we can brainstorm that together.
But today I want to thank you for allowing me to live my best life, for me to be involved in the community. I’m involved both locally and globally. And you’re making that impact by being my client. You’re allowing me the resources and the flexibility to be out there, if nothing else, to be your ambassador for the good. That a Boulderite, some American, can work in the world.
I was just in Ukraine and in Poland, working with the orphans. And I’m going to put some photos up on the screen so you can see some of what I was doing. But we’ve got a country that’s been at war for two and a half years; I’m on the board of Frontier Horizon, an international hosting and adoption agency. And Ukraine is not letting any of these kids have international adoptions, and we have people here in the United States who want to adopt children. We have children who want to be adopted, and that’s not going forward. So what we’ve done now for the last year and a half is we have these one-week camps. I was there in August, and we had kids very close to the east and the central front line. They’re having missile attacks and going to air shelters, etc. We had them on buses to western Ukraine, where I was. It was very safe. And we have a traditional camp for the kids, like a summer camp, where they all show up together. They bond, make new friends, have arts and crafts, have friendships, and learn English.
This year, this summer, I’m very proud of it. I have to tell you that this is partially through my very good friend Janelle. She’s called an OSJ. She’s my office of supervisory jurisdiction. She’s someone with whom I work within the business world. And the name of her company is Preferred Partners. She sponsored our counselors for that camp for that week to go through trauma counseling so that they could identify children who have trauma and address it immediately right there on the spot. This is the first time we’ve been able to do that, and I’m very proud of that. These counselors are also teachers who will take that back to their school so that they can have that training for the rest of the school year. They’re going to continue to get certified from a Ukrainian university, a certification of how to deal with children with trauma children.
I was there with these orphan kids who are within the borders of Ukraine, and I was helping them. I helped fund it, I helped work with them, and I had lots of fun along the way. So if you ever want to have an experience, please give me a call. Experience working with a bunch of 6 to 16-year-old kids–we had 240 of them. And the reason why I was able to do it is because of you, my client.
I did something very similar right after Ukraine. Up in Poland, we had 148 children who are still. They’re in an orphanage in exile from Ukraine. And I worked with them, played Frisbee with them, I had arts and crafts. For a 55-year-old guy who’s a businessman, going to play with kids for a while is very rewarding. And I’ve got some photos up on the screen there as well. So I’m involved in many different things, both domestically and internationally, and I want to encourage you to do it, you know, that kind of involvement as well, or at least in your local community, as I mentioned earlier about the school, your church, et cetera, whatever you feel makes the world a better place.
And the reason why I encourage you to do that is I’m not your typical financial advisor–I’m a wealth manager. I care about you reaching your goals in life, how to get there, have a plan, how to get over those speed bumps that will get in your way. But it’s really living your life to its fullest. I mean, how do you, while you’re living and after you pass on (because none of us are going to live forever) be significant? How do you live a life that you can be proud of? You look back on your deathbed and say, you know what? I made a great impact. I raised my family. I was a good person, and I left the world a little bit better place than when I entered. And that’s really what my company is about: Generosity Wealth Management. It is about learning to be generous and happy with yourself and being an example to other people. About how you can do that and live a life that you’re proud of.
So anyway, I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the flexibility, for being my client, and for giving me a business that allows me to live my life while I’m serving you. And so for that, it’s because of you that I’m able to do that.
Mike Brady, Generosity Wealth Management 303-747-6455 Have a wonderful day. Thanks.
“Play by the rules, but be ferocious.” – Phil Knight
As we welcome the start of another promising year, it’s not just about making resolutions but also about making wise decisions—especially when it comes to our finances. That’s why Generosity Wealth Management is stepping in to shed light on a crucial part of your financial journey: tax planning.
In our latest video, we invite you behind the scenes with Michael Brady as he guides you through the early stirrings of the tax season. Discover the critical steps you should take now to ensure a smoother, more beneficial tax return process. From understanding the significance of your 1099s to preparing your documentation, this video is your first step towards fiscal responsibility in 2024.
But that’s not all. Generosity Wealth Management goes the extra mile by offering an exclusive opportunity. Once your taxes are filed, we invite you to share your return with us. Utilizing advanced Optical Character Recognition technology, our team will meticulously analyze your documents, helping you strategize and make informed tax decisions for the upcoming year.
And if you’re not yet a client? Consider this your invitation. Share your completed tax return with us, and let’s explore how our savvy tax planning can set the stage for a prosperous year. Your financial well-being is our priority, and it starts with making smart moves today.
Dive into our video now and take the first step towards a financially secure future.
Transcript
Hi there. Mike Brady with Generosity Wealth Management, a comprehensive, full-service financial services firm headquartered here in Boulder, Colorado.
Today, I want to talk about taxes. First, I want to talk about the logistics of it before we talk strategy. The logistics, especially for my clients, are that the first 1099s will start going out around February 1. Whether you get them electronically or they mail them, the first ones go out around February 1, and then every two weeks, if you haven’t gotten it they send out another draft copy. If you’re confused by anything that I’ve said so far just send me an email. My email is up on the screen and Felicia and I will walk you through or even compile on your behalf what you need and send it to you or your CPA as a package. We want the tax document collection to be a stress free event. If you’ve got three, four, ten accounts with me it doesn’t matter with different registrations. We’ll tell you, Hey, I have these different ten accounts. You should be receiving three or four, and here they are. Or we might say you need three or four documents. Two of them are ready, and two of them are still waiting. Because of complex reporting requirements, some 1099s don’t go out to clients until February or March, which is kind of irritating because you want to get your packet together and get it into your CPA, but that’s the reality. Many 1099s are done right at the beginning of February, and then there are a few stragglers that for whatever reason sometimes clients haven’t received them going forward even into March. Be patient, don’t get frustrated. Give me an call or send me an email and Felicia and I will get you hooked up to tell you what the status is.
The second thing I wanted to talk about is this really cool report that I have and I’d love to offer it to all my clients as well as people who are not my clients but are watching this particular newsletter. Once you get your 2023 taxes done I will provide you with a link so that you can upload it to me and I will have this optical character recognition, or OCR, and it will convert that into my computer into this wonderful little spreadsheet. It will tell me everything about your tax returns and even some areas that we could have a conversation for tax planning within the year 2024. What I like at the end of that conversation is I’ll go over it with you once I have your tax return for 2023 and say hey listen, let’s understand what the present situation is and then we have two or three or four different avenues for looking at hey, maybe we can save some taxes here or we could do a conversion over here, et cetera. Just so we can have the conversation as 2024 unfolds. Please take me up on that. It is free and I’d love to talk with you, I’ll talk with your CPA, your tax preparer so that we’re all on the same page.
Most people’s single biggest expense is taxes, but they don’t understand their taxes. They don’t under what options they might have before them, and that’s what I want to do is help you so you can have that conversation with your CPA or we can loop in your CPA and have that conversation together.
That’s it for today’s video. I just wanted to let you know 1099s are coming down the pipeline. They’re going to arrive in February and March. If you have any questions send me an email or Felicia and we’ll get you hooked up. If you’ve got your 2022 we can do it immediately. We can look at what your 2022 taxes were, but definitely when you get your 2023 done send it to me so that we can have a really good conversation and do some tax planning.
Mike Brady, Generosity Wealth Management, 303-747-6455. Have a wonderful day. Thanks. Bye-bye.
“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
In 2023, the financial markets underwent a significant transformation, moving away from the volatile, stimulus-driven landscape of the post-pandemic era. This year was marked by remarkable economic resilience and recovery, characterized by easing inflation and a robust job market, diverging from the prior year’s instability.
Despite early concerns of an imminent recession, both the U.S. and global economies displayed strong growth. The U.S. economy, buoyed by consumer spending and a persistently low unemployment rate below 4%, coupled with a global economic uptick of 2.8% in the first half, showcased recovery strength. These gains were partly fueled by diminishing supply chain disruptions and geopolitical tensions from the pandemic.
Inflation, while starting the year at higher levels, showed a declining trend, with the U.S. CPI dropping from 6.4% to 3.1% by November. This downward trajectory is expected to continue, aiming for the Federal Reserve’s target of around 2% by mid-2024. However, global core inflation remains a concern, likely staying above 3% into 2024.
The stock market in 2023 witnessed a shift in leadership, expanding beyond the tech sector. The energy and industrial sectors outperformed, signaling a move towards a more diversified and balanced market. The bond market experienced modest gains, as reflected in the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index, reminding investors of the inverse relationship between bond prices and interest rates.
Looking ahead to 2024, the economic growth is expected to moderate, necessitating a diversified investment approach and vigilant monitoring of inflationary trends. Central bank policies will be crucial in shaping the market, emphasizing the importance of staying informed and adapting strategies accordingly. With both positive and negative factors at play, it’s vital to maintain a forward-looking perspective and seek tailored guidance for individual financial situations.
Here’s what Generosity Wealth Management founder, Michael Brady, has to say:
Transcript
Mike Brady with Generosity Wealth Management, a comprehensive, full-service financial services firm headquartered here in Boulder, Colorado. It’s a lot more fun to make today’s video than it was this time last year because 2022 was a dumpster fire. Unmanaged stock markets and unmanaged bond indexes are both down over 10 percent, depending on which one you want to look at. Nothing was good, and it felt that way. You know what? That’s not the situation we’re seeing ourselves in for 2023.
Let’s go back just a few years as a little bit of a multiyear view of the world. So, 2020 was a positive year, with lots of money dumped into the economy because of the COVID shutdown. In 2021, we still had supply issues, but we dumped lots of money in and 2021 was a positive year for the unmanaged indexes. In 2022, we had supply issues and lots of money inflation, so 2022 was a bad year. Just horrible. In 2023, the first and second quarters were good. The third quarter was not good for the unmanaged indexes. This fourth quarter has been just a roaring great quarter. For 2023, we’re looking positive, depending on the indexes. It’s definitely double-digits. The unmanaged bond indexes are still single digits, and we’re clawing our way back from what was given up in 2022.
You have to remember that with unmanaged bond indexes, when interest rates go up, bonds go down. The bond indexes go down in general, and of course it’s the flip. When the interest rates go down from the Fed, the unmanaged bond indexes will hopefully go up and should go up. That’s why there’s that inverse relationship.
As we’re looking at 2024, we should be optimistic because it feels like the markets, most of your pundits, the media, and most of your major investors are expecting a 2024 decrease in interest rates after such a sharp increase in 2022. This is good for the unmanaged bond indexes and for the stock indexes, and hopefully that will also correlate to people being a lot happier as we have a positive 2024.
Let’s not forget that we have a pretty volatile situation going in with a sitting president who is running for reelection and a former president who, if he’s the candidate, may run again. Nonetheless, we’re going to have two candidates for the presidency in a very sharply divided country. As always, there’s lots going on in the world, whether that’s the Middle East or Ukraine. Hopefully, in 2024, we don’t have any issues with China that we’ve all been talking about.
If you’re looking for something to be pessimistic about, you know what? I’ve got something for you. If you’re looking for things to be optimistic about, hey, I’ve got that too. We’ve got the interest rates. We’ve got an economy that’s chugging along. We’ve got companies that have made themselves more profitable by increasing the profit margin. If you’re looking for stuff that’s going to be positive, there is lots to be positive about as well.
Three out of four years historically, as we go back 100 years, the unmanaged stock market indexes have been positive. We had a negative year in 2022, and 2023 has been positive. Hopefully, 2024 will continue, but I have to say that humility is a big part of everything that I’m about. Generosity, humility—and why do I say humility? For the first part of my life, I wasn’t as humble as I should have been. But with some experience, I realized that you never know everything. There’s lots going on that you miss. You do the best that you can, and the future is also inherently unknown, so what can we do to navigate inherently unknown waters going forward? That’s what we’re doing here today.
Mike Brady, Generosity Wealth Management, 303-747-6455. Let’s have a great 2024. Thank you for being my client in 2023.
“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” ― Stephen Covey
Growing wealth is a journey; like any expedition, it’s essential to be prepared for the unexpected. While we often discuss strategies to expand your financial horizons, in this video we’re shifting our focus to a cornerstone of wealth preservation: insurance. It’s the metaphorical shield in your financial armor, ensuring that the wealth you’ve tirelessly built is protected against catastrophic events. Join us as we delve into the often-overlooked world of insurance and discover how it plays a pivotal role in safeguarding your legacy and the future of your loved ones.
Should you require specialized referrals tailored to your distinct insurance needs, please feel free to reach out. It would be my pleasure to connect you with professionals best suited to address your unique circumstances and ensure you receive the most beneficial guidance.
Transcript
Hi there. Mike Brady with Generosity Wealth Management, a comprehensive, full-service financial services firm headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.
Today I want to do something a little bit different. I’ve been talking about investments so much and so much has happened in the world. I wanted to take a slight detour and talk about keeping our money, and part of that might be insurance. Now, you’ve heard me say before that 80% of reaching your goals is clearly defining them and having a plan for how to get there and having a plan to overcome those speedbumps that might derail you from reaching those goals. That could be the loss of your spouse, the loss of the ability to work, a long-term health issue, loss of your house. There’s a lot of issues that could derail you from reaching your financial goals.
The first thing someone might say is well, I have enough money to self-insure which is absolutely a possibility. You can self-insure your car as long as it’s paid off that if I crash it and it’s only worth $20,000, $30,000, $40,000 I have enough money I can go and buy a new one. That is a legitimate choice that you can make. You’re taking the risk upon yourself instead of transferring that risk to a pool of people for a particular premium. Everybody is paying that premium goes into a pool and if you have a triggering event then that pool pays out to you. That’s essentially what insurance is. The reason why I bring this up is one thing that the Marshall fires have shown us which of course for those who are not here in Colorado or the Boulder area was a devastating fire in the first couple of days of 2022 and it went through subdivisions. Not up in the mountains but it went through subdivisions and was just devastating. There were about 1,000 homes that were destroyed. A lot of people found that they were underinsured and that’s going to be a huge catastrophic event for them in their lives. It’s important and that’s what we call property and casualty insurance. I don’t do that. I don’t have that license. That is a specialty, but if you need somebody let me know. If you want to really ensure that you’ve got enough coverage, let me know and I can refer someone to you. I have a whole book of professional referrals that I feel comfortable with.
Another type of insurance is life insurance. What if you die? Is your family going to be taken care of? The income that they expected, especially if you have little kids, but even if you’re not. If you’re older, the income that you thought you were going to bring in because of your employment has now gone away. What other expenses does the other surviving family members have because of your passing. So, life insurance is absolutely essential, and there’s a whole video that I could do on the different types of life insurance. Just know that it’s absolutely essential in many situations. Talk to me if you feel that’s something that causes you to stay up at night.
Disability insurance. What if you lost your job? Would you be able to make your monthly expenses? You might have some with your current employer. Do you fully understand it? Most of the time employers provided disability insurance is taxable so you’ve got to look at it not of oh, I’m going to get $5,000 a month. It’s $5,000 before taxes. You’ve got to pay taxes so would that be enough to cover your expenses. You can actually buy personal policies to complement what you have at your company.
Long-term care. We’re all getting older every day and so many of us may need long-term care help in the future. Now is the time to plan for it. That’s something else I can advise on.
There’s a ton of different risks out there. I mean there’s a risk of getting out of bed in the morning and go to the grocery store. We assume that risk but we can mitigate it, of course, by being smart about how we drive, about how quickly we drive, by putting our seatbelt on or airbags, get a good car but the risk doesn’t go away. All of the things that I’ve talked about doesn’t mean that the risk goes away. It just means that we mitigate it by transferring that risk to a pool and at least being financially more secure, have a backdrop if a particular event does happen.
Insurance is important. I think we need to think about it. It’s not very sexy. If you’re at the neighborhood barbecue it’s not the topic that people like to talk about. They would rather talk about some stock buy or sell that they made. Of course they’re a genius. Or they like to talk about the big TV that they just bought. But, what’s going to impact your life, a catastrophic event, is something that maybe you could have transferred that risk to somebody else.
Mike Brady, Generosity Wealth Management, 303-747-6455. Have a wonderful day. Thanks. Bye-bye.
