Welcome to the “Off the Wall” Podcast

Erin Hay and Ro Punyani from Monument’s Portfolio Management Team join Dave Armstrong to dig under the surface of the 2021 headlines to uncover what was REALLY going on in the market and how that will impact us moving forward. They review the big 2021 takeaways so we can use history as our guide.

Don't we all wish things would just go according the plan? But that's not life. What happens when things don't go as planned? Or if we don't actually know what our future looks like? Our guest, Terri Trespicio, says don't be wed to an outcome, which we can't control; instead be wed to something we can control: the planning. The best outcomes result from planning and preparation, and those are skills we can develop.

Looking to make a charitable impact AND save on taxes? Jessica Gibbs, CFP(R) discusses how to maximize the benefits of charitable giving, both for your personal finances and your charity of choice. Jessica shares her suggestions on how to define your charitable goals, and planning opportunities and solutions to consider that may help lower your taxes.

Is there a way to have have both long-term growth AND the risk management of bonds and cash? In this episode, Erin Hay and Ro Punyani are back to explain Monument's Flexible Asset Allocation strategy, which strives to have less drawdown and more upside relative to a static portfolio of 60% stocks and 40% bonds. Our strategy attempts to balance limiting drawdown while participating in upside by tracking momentum and following trends in the market.

Laws affecting trusts and estates are currently in flux. How should you be thinking about these changes? And how should you evolve your estate plan over time as laws change? Trust and estate attorney Catherine Schott Murray from Odin Feldman & Pittleman joins the podcast to share a run-down of proposed estate law changes, as well as what options will likely remain in place for reducing your gross estate.

Financial success is not about following arbitrary rules of thumb or beating a market index. It's about getting the big things right so that you can win at your game, not everyone else's. Emily Harper, a CFP(R) and Partner at Monument, joins Dave and Jessica to talk about better ways to think about success. She also shares how we define "financial planning" at Monument (spoiler: it's not budgeting).

"The Psychology of Money" by Morgan Housel is an endlessly quotable book. Dave, Jessica and Ro Punyani share our favorite quotes from the book and why they resonated with us. We talk about why you should keep cash, volatility and uncertainty, the difference between getting wealthy and staying wealthy, and why you should plan for your plan to not go to plan. Learn more about Monument Wealth Management at: www.monumentwealthmanagement.

Dividend-growth stocks are not the same as dividend stocks...they're better. Ro Punyani, a member of Monument's portfolio management team, joins our "Off the Wall" podcast with hosts Jessica Gibbs and David Armstrong to explain dividend-growth stocks, their role in a portfolio, and how you can even improve on them by also incorporating momentum.