Off The Wall Monument Wealth Management

Planning for retirement comes with many considerations and challenges, especially for those with a high net worth. 

 

In this episode of Off the Wall, Monument Private Wealth Advisors, Emily Harper, CFP® and Heaven Goodwin, CFP® chat with Michael Conrath, the Chief Retirement Strategist and Head of the Retirement Insights Strategy Team for J.P. Morgan Asset Management. 

 

The trio shares the most common challenges high-net-worth individuals face as they plan for retirement, how to plan for them, and what to consider throughout the retirement planning process. 

 

They discuss the emotional aspects of retirement and how to plan to ensure well-being, the challenges that longevity brings to the equation, and the varied ways taxes may affect your desired retirement. They also dive into the key considerations around Roth conversions, social security, Medicare, long-term care, and more. 

 

Retirement planning is often a detailed and complex process for high-net-worth individuals, but with the insights from these three experts, you’ll be better equipped to plan the retirement of your dreams! 

 

“There’s this big disconnect because we spend decades planning and working to reach that retirement point, but we sometimes spend very little time planning for how we’re actually going to spend the rest of our time, the next chapter, which could be easily 35+ years in retirement… It’s important to know what you’re retiring to rather than just what you’re retiring from.” 

– Michael Conrath 
 
Episode Timeline/Key Highlights: 

[00:23] Introducing Michael Conrath & the topic of today’s episode. 

[01:45] What is The Retirement Equation? 

[05:17] 1st retirement challenge for high earners: Not preparing emotionally for the reality of retirement. 

[09:55] The Retirement PUSH: Purpose, Use, Socialization, Health 

[14:20] 2nd retirement challenge for high earners: The ever-changing tax landscape. 

[18:11] Roth Conversions: Is there a sweet spot between current marginal rates and post-2025 marginal rates? 

[20:22] How taxable income amounts impact aspects of retirement, like social security benefits and cost of Medicare. 

[24:44] What is a “backdoor Roth”, and should I make one? 

[29:45] 3rd retirement challenge: With longevity, comes the need for assistance. 

[35:44] What to consider when self-insuring/self-funding long-term care in retirement. 

[41:31] What Mike is optimistic and excited about in planning for retirement. 

[43:15] Mike’s #1 recommended resource for gaining inspiration for your retirement. 

 

Please see important podcast disclosure information at https://monumentwealthmanagement.com/disclosures.   

 

Resources Mentioned: 

Subscribe to our Private Wealth Newsletter, Monument #Unfiltered: https://bit.ly/monumentunfiltered 

Check out J.P. Morgan’s 2024 Guide to Retirement: https://bit.ly/4dMU0F8 

Visit www.jpmorganfunds.com/mi for more information on the Retirement Insights program. 

Watch “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones”: https://www.netflix.com/title/81214929 

 

About Michael Conrath: 

Michael Conrath, CFP, CPRC, is the Chief Retirement Strategist and Head of the Retirement Insights Strategy Team for J.P. Morgan Asset Management. In this role, Michael is responsible for researching and delivering timely retirement-related insights to clients and financial professionals. Michael has over 25 years of investment and wealth management experience and focuses on identifying themes to improve retirement savings and deliver better retirement income outcomes for individuals across the wealth spectrum. 

 

Connect with Michael Conrath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-conrath-a7205410 

 

Connect with Monument Wealth Management: 

Visit our website: https://bit.ly/monumentwealthwebsite  

Think you have great instincts? Think again.  

 

Judgments and decision-making are common threads that run through not only your investing, wealth management, and business decisions, but also your quality of life. What impacts these decisions and judgments? Your instincts… (and your counter instincts). Today’s episode is all about how your instincts might be hurting your real-time decisions, your team, your wealth, and even your quality of life—and what you can do about it.  

 

In this Off the Wall chat, host David Armstrong and guest co-host Dean Catino speak with Krishna Pendyala, Founder & Chief Empowerment Officer at The ChoiceLadder Institute, as well as Co-Founder and President of The Mindful Nation Foundation. Krishna is an award-winning speaker, author, entrepreneur, and advisor who helps executives and entrepreneurs exercise better judgment and make wiser choices in business and leadership. 

 

Listen in as Krishna breaks down examples of how our instincts and counter-instincts affect our decisions. He also highlights the easiest way to pause before making decisions and why it’s so critical for executives, leaders, and business owners to pause before every decision. He also shares some great tips for managing impulsive decisions and reactions to fear-based narratives around wealth and finance. 

 

“If you do want to behave differently and not be impulsive, not make hasty decisions, which really end up creating new problems that you end up cleaning up, or in your industry, losing money… that’s where I think counter instincts come in.” – Krishna Pendyala 

 

Tune in to find out how your instincts are impacting your judgment and financial decisions. 

 

Episode Timeline/Key Highlights: 

[00:00] Intro 

[00:27] Learn about Krishna Pendyala & the topic of today’s episode. 

[03:23] How our instincts work and how they impact our decisions. 

[06:48] Examples of instincts and counter instincts. 

[12:22] Fear and greed are driving the markets. 

[16:32] The Power of Pause & The meaning of “Beyond the PIG and the APE”. 

[20:35] How do we help clients see how their finances are impacted by their instincts? 

[27:10] How to manage impulsive financial decisions. 

[36:02] The Power of Loss Aversion: Navigating the emotional impact of loss. 

[40:28] The 1 in 60 Rule. 

[41:39] Judgment: A common thread in your investing, wealth management, and quality of life. 

 

Please see important podcast disclosure information at https://monumentwealthmanagement.com/disclosures.   

 

Resources Mentioned: 

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl: https://amzn.to/3W7kUky 

Give us your feedback! Take our survey: https://bit.ly/3RZp77h 

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://bit.ly/MonumentWealthBlog 

 

About Krishna Pendyala: 

Krishna Pendyala is the Founder & Chief Empowerment Officer at The Choice Ladder Institute. The Choice Ladder Institute helps entrepreneurs, executives, and financial advisors exercise better judgment and make wise choices to achieve a higher quality of life and not just a better standard of living. Good goal setting and leadership skills enable driven individuals to accomplish their goals. However, we often notice that these same people aren't as fulfilled as one would think. Too much emphasis seems to be placed on success and leadership development and too little if any on developing basic choice-making or judgment skills. Leadership skills alone aren’t enough to move the needle. It takes both raising judgment and leadership skills to improve the quality of our life and of those around us. 

 

Krishna is an award-winning speaker, Instinctive Behavior Evangelist, and the author of “Beyond the PIG and the APE”. He has also been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, The New York Times, TEDx, Vistage, Inc. & Thrive

How is it that we are already heading into Q2 of 2024? In this episode, we deep dive into the first quarter of 2024 with special guest Jordan Jackson, Executive Director and Global Market Strategist with JP Morgan Asset Management's Global Market Insight Strategy team. 

Tune in for our breakdown of the Q1 2024 market and our optimistic (and pessimistic) views as we head into Q2. We explore the best and worst performing sectors, unpack the Federal Reserve's recent actions and their impact on interest rates, and delve into the ongoing S&P 500 bull market with a focus on future growth potential.  

Additionally, the episode tackles the record concentration within the top holdings of the S&P 500, analysing potential future trends as well as considerations for investing in small cap stocks, particularly in a rising interest rate environment. Finally, the team goes round-robin to share their optimistic and pessimistic views on the markets going forward. 

“75% of the time, going back to 1980, the equity market has been positive by calendar year. I think that's really important. Yes, volatility is a price we pay as investors, but as long-term investors investing in equities...that [staying invested] is how you grow your wealth.” Jordan Jackson 

 

Episode Timeline 

[00:00] Intro 

[02:00] A Historical Look at The Fed’s Interest Rate Moves During Election Years 

[03:50] Erin’s Take on Where we Are with the Current Bull Market and How long it Might Last 

[05:26] Nate Talks about the Spike in Commodity Prices and its Impact on Volatility and Inflation 

[06:50] Jordan Jackson’s Bullish Take on the Equity Markets and Fed’s Monetary Policy 

[9:10] Do We Need Interest Rate Cuts to See Successful Equity Markets and Economic Growth? 

[14:00] S&P 500 Market Concentration – How Durable is the Equity Market Considering the Top 10 Names Hold over 34% of the Value? 

[20:00] Stats and Advice for People Investing in Small Cap Stocks 

[25:00] Why Should Investors be Optimistic About Investing Now? 

[30:00] Momentum Investing and Long-Term Gains 

[32:00] Speed Round: A Round-Robin Take on the Markets – Both Optimistic and Pessimistic Views 

[44:00] Jordan Jackson’s Optimistic Wrap-Up and Kind Words About Monument 😊 

[47:00] Outro. 

 

About Jordan Jackson 

Jordan Jackson, Executive Director is a Global Market Strategist on the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Global Market Insights Strategy Team. Jordan is responsible for delivering timely market and economic commentary to clients across the country and is a frequent guest on Bloomberg, CNBC, and other financial news outlets. 

He has authored several papers on the economy and markets, with a focus on public fixed income and monetary policy and is often quoted in the financial press. In addition, Jordan is responsible for conducting research on the global economy and capital markets as well as publications such as the Guide to the Markets and weekly blog posts.  

An employee since 2015, prior to his role on Global Market Insights, he worked on the Global Consultant Strategy Group based in New York where he was responsible for serving the investment needs of institutional asset management consultants in North America and Canada.  

He earned a B.A. in African-American Studies from the University of Virginia and holds Series 7 and 63 licenses. 

 

Follow Jordan Jackson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordankjackson/ 

 

Resources Mentioned: 

J.P. Morgan Guide to the Markets: https://bit.ly/48I0YbY 

Jordan Jackson's writings and blog posts: https://am.jpmorgan.com/us/en/asset-management/adv/bios/jordan-jackson/ 

Follow Jordan Jackson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordankjackson/ 

 

Follow our Portfolio Management team on LinkedIn: 

Erin Hay, CFA https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinhay 

Nate T

As a philanthropist, how can you do more than just “give back” to a charitable cause? How do you make a real impact with your time, skills, passion, and money? Should you become a board member for a non-profit? Let’s dive into it. 

 

In this Off the Wall chat, hosts David B. Armstrong and Jessica Gibbs welcome Meera Pillai, a retired IT professional turned philanthropist, to talk about the ways you can make an impact through philanthropy and board membership. Jessica also picks Dave’s brain about his own philanthropic endeavors, as he has many of them! 

 

Meera shares her thoughts on what it takes to serve as a member on a non-profit board, the benefits and challenges of board membership, and how to make the most of your philanthropic efforts. 

 

Plus, they discuss other (lower commitment) ways to volunteer your time, skills, and money to make an impact in local non-profits and community foundations. 

 

“All you need is passion. If you have passion and you have an interest in a mission area, that’s all you need to serve on a non-profit board, in my opinion.” – Meera Pillai 

 

So, which type of philanthropy is right for you? Tune in for ideas from an experienced philanthropist. 

 

Episode Timeline/Key Highlights: 

[00:53] Introducing Meera Pillai & the topic of today’s episode. 

[02:37] Dave’s philanthropic background. 

[03:11] Meera’s & Dave’s transitions from philanthropist to board member: Why, when, and how they made the leap. 

[08:34] How to choose which charity to support. 

[09:41] What are the expectations/roles of a non-profit board member? 

[14:08] Signs you should not be a non-profit board member. 

[16:58] Surprising benefits and challenges of serving on a board. 

[22:01] Important things to understand about your non-profit’s culture. 

[28:22] Other ways to work with non-profits and get involved in local philanthropy. 

[31:35] The key difference between restricted giving and unrestricted giving. 

[38:53] What is a community foundation? + Why you should consider supporting one. 

 

Please see important podcast disclosure information at https://monumentwealthmanagement.com/disclosures.   

 

Resources Mentioned: 
Giving USA 2023: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the year 2022: https://givingusa.org/ 

Give us your feedback! Take our survey: https://bit.ly/3RZp77h 

Subscribe to our blog: https://bit.ly/MonumentWealthBlog 

 

About Meera Pillai: 

Meera is a retired IT professional turned philanthropist. After an 11-year career at Booz Allen Hamilton, she left industry to focus on raising her children and shift her life purpose towards philanthropy and impact. Now with grown children, she is fully focused on local philanthropy supporting the Northern Virginia area through Board membership and outreach.  

 

She currently serves as Board Chair of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of DC whose mission is to ease the hardship of childhood illness on families. She has also served as Chair of their annual fundraising 5K event. During her tenure, she has raised on average $15k annually for the organization.  

 

Meera also serves on the Board of the Community Foundation of Northern Virginia, whose mission is to advance equity through support of local philanthropy and community leadership and outreach. She currently serves on the Nominating Committee and Gala Committee. Meera served as Emcee of the 2022 “Raise the Region” Gala, which raised nearly $650,000 for the organization. She recently helped launch the Scholarship Fund for Northern Virginia, dedicated to supporting local students pursue higher education at a Virginia public college.  

 

Most recently, Meera joined the Board of Educate Fairfax, the charitable foundation supporting Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), whose mission is to engage th

With the rising prevalence of cyber-attacks on both individuals and small businesses, it’s more important than ever to learn how to boost your cybersecurity and protect the wealth you’ve worked so hard to grow. 

 

In this episode of Off the Wall, you’ll meet Cathleen Phelps, a Client Experience Manager at Monument, and Bill Phelps, a Cybersecurity Expert and Strategist with over 26 years of experience. Tune in to learn easy ways to identify and prevent fraud, phishing, and identity theft, including AI-generated fraud, so you can protect your personal and business assets from cyber-attacks. 

 

Over the years, Cathleen has successfully coached clients on how to protect themselves online as well as what to do if their personal information has been compromised. As an expert in the field, Bill has delivered cybersecurity consulting and incident response services to some of the most sophisticated clients in the world.  

 

Together, Bill and Cat offer a treasure trove of knowledge about protecting yourself and your wealth against bad actors. 

 

“The amount of money paid to cyber criminals and ransomware in 2023 passed a billion dollars for the first time… and that is disproportionately hitting small businesses, and for that matter, schools, hospitals, other organizations that have only more recently started to invest in appropriate cyber defense measures.” – Bill Phelps 

 

Episode Timeline/Key Highlights: 

[00:51] Introducing today’s topic & guests. 

[02:40] Are hackers/scammers getting more intelligent with their tactics? + The most prevalent and emerging cyber threats people should look out for. 

[05:54] Anyone is Vulnerable: How cyber scams and phishing emails are affecting teens, adults, and the elderly. 

[09:00] AI and Identity Theft: How to protect yourself from AI fraud. 

[12:26] How people’s personal information gets compromised. 

[13:54] Phishing red flags to look for in your emails. 

[16:20] What to do if your personal information has been compromised or if your identity was stolen. 

[19:17] How secure are online password managers? Should I be using one? 

[22:32] Cybersecurity for small businesses. 

[25:30] Easy ways to protect yourself and your business from cyber-attacks. 

[32:46] When should I be using a VPN (Virtual Private Network)? 

 

Please see important podcast disclosure information at https://monumentwealthmanagement.com/disclosures.   

 

Resources Mentioned: 

Report Identity Theft: https://www.identitytheft.gov 

Article: 9 Steps You Can Take to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft Fraud: bit.ly/3uuURYC 

Have feedback on our podcast? Take our survey: https://bit.ly/3RZp77h 

Subscribe to our blog: https://bit.ly/MonumentWealthBlog 

 

About Cathleen Phelps: 

Cathleen has two big drivers – a challenge and a love of learning. Cathleen has a degree in Commerce from the University of Virginia with concentrations in MIS and Marketing. She started her career as a process and change management consultant at Accenture. Now, she loves working at Monument because it’s a small and smart group where she is still using technology to help a business run better. And as before, she feels the best part is working with clients to help them achieve the life they want and ensuring their Monument Client Experience is something they enjoy and want to share with others. 

 

Connect with Cathleen: https://bit.ly/3ux6gaV 

 

About Bill Phelps: 

Bill Phelps currently serves on the Board at two cyber security companies, Deepwatch and Nisos. He is an Operating Partner and active investor with Blu Venture Investors and is a frequent advisor and mentor to other cyber and technology companies, their founders and investors.  

 

Bill retired in 2023 from Booz Allen Hamilton where he was Executive Vice President and Senior Part

The annual episode we’ve all been waiting for… What happened in the US market in 2023? How can we expect the market to perform in 2024? Tune in to find out! 

 

In this Off the Wall Market Update, hosts David Armstrong, CFA and Jessica Gibbs, CFP® are joined by Monument’s portfolio management team Erin Hay, CFA and Nate Tonsager, CIPM®. 

 

Listen in to hear their market recap for 2023 and outlook for 2024 – reviewing the US market’s best and worst performing sectors of last year, the stock rally of Q4 2023, and how experts’ 2023 market outlooks compared to actual market performance. 

 

Then, the team shares their thoughts on what might be ahead for the markets and the economy in 2024, including inflation, Fed rate cuts, affordability of housing, equity markets, the presidential election, and more. 

 

Plus, the essential things you need to be a great investor in 2024 and beyond. Finally, you’ll get to hear who won the great Jimmy John’s sandwich bet of 2023. 

 

“Investors shouldn’t be adjusting their portfolios based on what the market outlook says. You should only focus on your needs for long-term growth and short-term liquidity.” – David B. Armstrong, CFA® 

 

Stay tuned for more amazing content coming your way in 2024! 

 

Episode Timeline/Key Highlights: 

[01:42] 2023 Market Summary – What happened in 2023? 

[12:16] What experts’ 2023 market outlooks said vs. how the market actually performed in 2023. 

[21:46] Is the economy out of the woods? 

[23:32] What we’re most pessimistic about for the 2024 market and economy. 

[29:26] What we’re most optimistic about for the 2024 market and economy. 

[36:50] Predictions on inflation in 2024: Will inflation go up or down or stay the same this year? 

[40:08] Predictions on Interest rates in 2024: Will interest rates go up or down this year? 

[42:05] Our most important advice to investors as we enter 2024.  

[48:32] Were our 2023 predictions correct? + Our predictions for 2024. 

 

Please see important podcast disclosure information at https://monumentwealthmanagement.com/disclosures.   

 

Resources Mentioned: 

Give us your feedback! Take our survey: https://bit.ly/3RZp77h 

Subscribe to our blog: https://bit.ly/MonumentWealthBlog 

Matt Levine on Bloomberg: https://bloom.bg/3TUGEii 

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefèvre: https://amzn.to/3vwG8gm 

 

Follow our Asset Management team on LinkedIn: 

Erin Hay https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinhay 

Nate Tonsager https://www.linkedin.com/in/nate-tonsager 

 

Connect with Monument Wealth Management: 

Visit our website: https://bit.ly/monumentwealthwebsite  

Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/MonumentWealthIG  

Follow us on X: https://bit.ly/MonumentWealthTW  

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/MonumentWealthLI  

Connect with us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/MonumentWealthFB  

Connect with us on YouTube: https://bit.ly/YouTubeMWMFit 

 

About “Off the Wall”: 

OFF THE WALL is a podcast for business professionals and high-net-worth investors who want to build wealth with purpose. A little bit Wall Street, a little bit off-the-wall; it's your go-to for straightforward, unfiltered wealth advice on topics that founders, business owners, and executives care about. 

 

Learn more about our hosts, Dave and Jessica on our website at https://monumentwealthmanagement.com.