Author: Mau Sanchez, Chief Investment Officer

Image description: A dark green and cream editorial illustration shows a modest “2027 COLA Estimate” sign connected to a broader retirement planning path labeled “Not the Whole Plan.” A projected Social Security cost-of-living adjustment can be useful for planning. It can help retirees estimate how their monthly benefit may change next year and provide a…

Retirement readiness is often reduced to one question: How much have you saved? That question matters, but it does not tell the whole story. A household with $750,000 invested may be well-positioned if its spending is modest, reliable income covers most essential expenses, and its portfolio risk matches its timeline. Another household with the same…

An editorial illustration showing how a potential move can connect housing decisions with retirement cash flow and portfolio planning. What would happen to your retirement plan if your home became smaller, your housing costs changed, and a significant amount of home equity became available? For many households, downsizing before retirement is more than a real…

Different comfort levels with investment risk do not have to divide a household retirement plan. A shared framework can give both spouses a meaningful role in the process. Retirement planning can become complicated when spouses view investment risk differently. One may be comfortable with market fluctuations in pursuit of long-term growth. The other may place…

An editorial illustration showing how shared visibility can help a household coordinate accounts, retirement income, and financial decisions. Many couples naturally divide responsibilities. One spouse may manage investments, pay bills, track account statements, or communicate with financial professionals while the other focuses on different household priorities. That arrangement can work well during ordinary times. The…

An editorial illustration representing the trade-off between predictable pension income and the flexibility of a lump sum. A pension election can be one of the most consequential financial decisions you make as retirement approaches. In many plans, you may have to choose between receiving a lump-sum payment or collecting monthly payments for life. The decision…

An investment can appear attractive on paper and still be a poor fit for money you may need soon. That is the central issue behind liquidity risk, which is the possibility that you cannot sell or redeem an investment when you need cash, or that doing so requires accepting a significant cost or uncertain price.…

A strong account balance is important, but retirement security also depends on how effectively that balance can support spending over time. What does your retirement plan look like if you focus only on the balance displayed on your latest portfolio statement? A large number can provide reassurance. It can also create a false sense of…

An educational illustration of the issues retirees may review when borrowing costs and market interest rates remain elevated. Image: Portafolio Capital Management. What would change in your retirement plan if interest rates stayed elevated for several more years? That question is different from predicting what the Federal Reserve will do next. It is a planning…

An editorial illustration showing how a fund can hold many investments while still being dominated by a small number of large positions. A fund that owns hundreds or thousands of companies may appear highly diversified. But the number of holdings does not tell the entire story. If a broad market fund is weighted by market…