Apr 2, 2025 | Blog, Stories that Empower
With tariffs in the news lately, I thought it might be insightful to tell the story of Willis Hawley. Willis was born into an Oregon farming family in May of 1864. Driven and highly intelligent, Willis would go on to earn both a Bachelor of Science, and a Bachelor of...
Mar 6, 2025 | Blog, Stories that Empower
My wonderful colleague Sarah recently graduated from a professional development program called “Trauma of Money”. The course looks at the intersection of human psychology and finance. I’m excited to have her guest write this month’s newsletter as she shares her...
Feb 10, 2025 | Blog, Stories that Enrich
A few weeks ago, I did a talk for Nature London, as part of their Nature in the City series. While I do a lot of talks on financial, charitable and estate topics, this one was a bit different, as it was on my passion for astronomy, and astrophotography in particular....
Jan 9, 2025 | Blog, Stories that Inspire
If you have been a long-time reader, you’re probably somewhat surprised to get a January newsletter from us. Most years we take January off, as we have found that nobody likes to think about their money this time of year. Recent events have gotten me thinking about a...
Dec 4, 2024 | Blog, Stories that Amplify
Normally at year end, I like to tell the story of a real person – often we make it someone with a lot of personality or character who has done something unique and amazing with their estate. I’ve spent the year debating what story I should tell. And then, perhaps with...
Nov 11, 2024 | Blog, Stories that Empower
In 1899, a young lad was borne to two American-Italian parents in New York City. Alphonese Capone, or “Al” as he was known, got off to a rough start. He was in a gang by the age of 13, and had a side hustle as a bouncer at bars and brothels. It would be this latter...
Oct 8, 2024 | Blog, Stories that Empower
“Hi Ryan. I hope you’re doing well. Let me know when you’ve got time for a call. I have something I need to talk about with you. Thanks, Rob” – Jan 23, 5:33pm. Never have I written a article that I wanted to write so much, but couldn’t bring myself to do. This one has...
Sep 5, 2024 | Blog, Stories that Empower
Once upon a time, there was a very talented, but nameless, prince. He built a fabulous empire, filled with creativity, raspberry berets, song and dance, and it was worth a fortune. A $260 million fortune, to be precise. And the queen – oh the queen, how well she could...
Aug 6, 2024 | Blog, Stories that Empower
July was a fantastic month for my wife Bridget and myself, as we finally managed to take our “buck list” trip to Scotland that we had planned for our 20th anniversary. It was a trip with some special meaning – years ago, Bridget and I met in music school at...
Jul 4, 2024 | Blog, Stories that Empower
Happy July everyone, it’s Sarah here! While Ryan is off in Scotland this month, I’ve taken over the newsletter to share some personal insights on a recent experience with digital will planning platforms. I know all too well how quickly life changes because...
