dsmWealth December 3, 2020

So, just how is your money managed? What do the people you have asked to care and nurture it do to ensure that you can sleep without worrying that a zero or two will fall off your account statement overnight?

Turns out they have a process. You should expect this. It will vary from firm to firm, but to give you an idea of how it should operate, we talked to Jason Gunkel (pictured), chief investment officer at financial planner firm Syverson, Strege & Co. Here’s his explanation of how his West Des Moines firm handles clients.

Syverson Strege is first a planning organization, so they’ll ask new clients a lot of questions about their goals, their timeline, their aversion to – or tolerance of – risk. They deploy software and crunch numbers to size up where you land, or should land, as a conservative, moderate or aggressive investor.

“We try to put as much science behind our portfolio building as is possible,” Gunkel said.

Let's say all this assessment pegs you as what the firm calls a dynamic moderate investor – you’re willing to accept some risk but don’t want to go too far out on a limb. With that information, Gunkel can build your portfolio. As such an investor, the company divvies your money up among five asset classes of stocks and bonds, then further divides it among nine sub-asset classes, such as developed international stocks and emerging market stocks. As is common with wealth management firms, Syverson Strege assigns the task of finding individual selections to professionals outside money management firms, such as Nuveen or PIMCO.

“We’re definitely not stock pickers,” Gunkel said of this process. Rather, “we’re asset allocators.”

The universe for this is large – some 25,000 different securities that could be individual securities, exchange-traded funds, bonds or mutual funds. In especially large accounts, the firm can bring into play individual securities.

Gunkel heads a five-man team at Syverson Strege that makes up their investment committee. They meet monthly to measure performance and make any adjustments. Accounts are programmed so that the firm can make changes for an individual, or for a class of investors, or for their entire roster of clients.

Clients and planners meet twice a year and will review portfolio performance at least once. Then they can go home and hopefully get a good night’s rest.

Philanthropists Focus on Fighting Food Insecurity

BY RACHEL VOGEL-QUINN

Mary and Doug Bruce, married 34 years, have spent their lives giving back to their community. Fighting food insecurity is a cause close to their hearts.

“We live in Iowa, the breadbasket of the world,” says the 67-year-old Mary. “It’s heartbreaking to see children who do not have food.”

That dichotomy is especially galling to a family whose livelihood is so closely tied to the agricultural industry. Before passing the torch to his daughter last year, Doug Bruce, 71, was the fourth-generation owner of Osmundson Manufacturing Co. in Perry, which produces tillage blades and tools.

In 2017 the Bruces were one of the top donors to an extensive $6.9 million renovation of the Food Bank of Iowa, financing the addition of a kitchen for cooking classes and a room to break down bulk food donations. They also support the BackPack Program, which provides sacks of healthy, kid-friendly food to students every Friday during the school year.

Declaring that philanthropy has improved their quality of life, the Bruces encourage everyone to practice generosity in some form. “Just do it,” Mary says. “Write the check. Give your time. It doesn’t have to be a huge amount.”

The Rich Kids Who Want to Get Rid of Their Money

BY ZOE BERRY FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Lately, Sam Jacobs has been having a lot of conversations with his family’s lawyers. He’s trying to gain access to more of his $30 million trust fund. At 25, he’s hit the age when many heirs can blow their money on harebrained businesses or a stable of sports cars. He doesn’t want to do that, but by wealth management standards, his plan is just as bad. He wants to give it all away.

“I want to build a world where someone like me, a young person who controls tens of millions of dollars, is impossible,” he said.

A socialist since college, Jacobs sees his family’s “extreme, plutocratic wealth” as both a moral and economic failure. He wants to put his inheritance toward ending capitalism, and by that he means using his money to undo systems that accumulate money for those at the top, and that have played a large role in widening economic and racial inequality.

Millennials will be the recipients of the largest generational shift of assets in American history — the Great Wealth Transfer, as finance types call it. Tens of trillions of dollars are expected to pass between generations in just the next decade. >> READ MORE

Improve Your Mindset to Increase Your Wealth

BY JACOB SCHROEDER FOR KIPLINGER

For an extraordinary high achiever, such as NBA legend Michael Jordan, you could reasonably attribute his success to one of many things. His famous work ethic. His high basketball IQ. His shoes. But to His Airness himself, it was the result of a relentless mindset:

"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

Jordan acknowledges that he’s had his roadblocks along the way. "Everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it."

When you think about what it takes to become financially successful, what comes to mind? A smart investment strategy? Sure. The discipline to spend less than you earn? Definitely. A high-paying job? Certainly helpful. But one thing you may not have thought about — and that is often overlooked — is a Jordan-like mindset. That doesn’t mean the determination to become the greatest investor of all time, but rather, the desire to consistently improve. >> READ MORE