Archives

I help clients develop tailor-made financial plans that are designed to move with them through each stage of life. I excel in empowering clients to take control of their financial destinies with confidence.

My passion lies in helping families with young children build a more secure financial future. I sweat the big stuff for you, from college planning to retirement planning, so you can manage the smaller stuff and enjoy life.

I assist high-net-worth clients with developing long-term plans for wealth preservation that also allow them to further their philanthropic goals. My approach is proactive and client-centric. And my focus is on helping you create a comprehensive estate plan that incorporates a legacy of giving.

My clients’ financial well-being is a number one priority. I specialize in helping them develop custom pathways to reach their objectives. It’s my goal to ensure that you’re fully prepared for not only your financial future, but the here and now.

I work with young, unmarried professionals who need a dedicated problem-solver to help them navigate the challenges of creating a financial plan. My clients rely on me to help them produce results that align with their goals, needs and risk profile.

I help pre-retirees navigate the transition period from their working years to retirement as smoothly as possible. That includes developing a game plan for claiming Social Security benefits and timing retirement plan withdrawals to ensure maximum growth.

I help clients who are getting a late start on retirement planning get caught up, so they’re not shortchanging their financial goals. I understand the challenges of delaying retirement savings and offer realistic, proactive solutions for gaining ground.

Writing a branding statement requires some internal reflection and research to make sure you’re conveying what you want to say clearly and effectively. Here are five general tips that can help you craft a branding statement that sticks with prospects and clients alike:

• Think with your target audience in mind. Who is your ideal client? What messaging is most likely to convince that person to choose your firm over another advisor’s? How you answer those questions can help you draft your brand statement.

• Look at the competition. Pick three to five of your top competitors and review their branding statements. Where do you see similarities? What are the key differences? How would you feel reading each of these messages as a prospective client? Comparing competitor branding statements may spark inspiration for what to include in yours.

• Assess your values, mission and strengths. Your branding statement is a chance to highlight your strengths and broadcast your core message. Consider what you value most and what makes you unique, then use that to start formulating a first draft.

• Ask for feedback. It never hurts to have a second set of eyes look at your branding statement, and offer feedback on where you might be able to improve. If you have one, you could ask your mentor, or reach out to another advisor in your network who’s willing to review your branding statement.

• Modify as needed. Don’t be afraid to change up your branding statement if your business’s values, mission or niche change. You don’t have to do a complete rebrand. But you should make sure that your branding statement is always aligned with what your business is about.

If you’re having trouble creating your statement, you might consider working with a professional branding agency. Branding agencies can help you flesh out a winning brand image from scratch and manage it for optimal results.

Creating a brand statement for yourself or your firm can help you forge stronger connections with the prospective clients you’d like to serve. Whether you use the examples included here as a blueprint or develop a template of your own, taking time to develop a financial advisor branding statement can help you connect with more targeted prospects.

• Good branding tells a story about you and your firm, and storytelling is a critical component in marketing. Marketing, in turn, is critical for long-term growth. If you’re looking for a simpler way to promote your business and attract new clients, you might consider partnering with an advisor marketing platform. SmartAsset AMP (Advisor Marketing Platform) is a holistic marketing service financial advisors can use for client lead generation and automated marketing. Sign up for a free demo to explore how SmartAsset AMP can help you expand your practice’s marketing operation. Get started today.

• Cultivating your brand image is a facet of business development for financial advisors. Business development spans all of the things you do to encourage growth, from conducting marketing research to tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) to building strategic partnerships. Having a business development plan can help you scale at a pace that’s realistic and comfortable for your firm.

Photo credit: ©iStock.com/courtneyk, ©iStock.com/ijeab, ©iStock.com/Pattanaphong Khuankaew

The post 7 Examples of Financial Advisor Branding Statements appeared first on SmartReads by SmartAsset.

This pivot set the stage for the generative AI revolution that kicked off early last year. It’s estimated that Nvidia controls as much as 98% of the data center GPU market, according to semiconductor analyst company TechInsights. Since the vast majority of AI processing takes place in data centers, the accelerating adoption of AI directly benefits Nvidia, as its GPUs are the cornerstone of the technology.

The company delivered five consecutive quarters of triple-digit, year-over-year growth, so a slowdown was inevitable. However, its most recent results are still enviable. For its fiscal 2025 third quarter (ended Oct. 27), Nvidia generated record revenue of $35 billion, surging 94% year over year and 17% sequentially. This resulted in adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.81, which soared 103%.

Management is predicting its growth spurt will continue, albeit at a more moderate pace. The company is guiding for Q4 revenue of $37.5 billion, which would represent growth of 70%. The biggest unknown, at this point, is the ongoing supply constraints, which management predicts will persist well into next year. However, if Nvidia’s suppliers can accelerate output, sales could jump.

Given the company’s pivotal position in the AI revolution, Wall Street is understandably bullish on the company’s prospects. Of the 64 analysts who have offered an opinion thus far in November, 94% rate the stock a buy or strong buy, and none recommend selling. Furthermore, an average price target of roughly $170 suggests there’s still upside potential of 16% compared to Nvidia’s closing price on Wednesday.

Rosenblatt analyst Hans Mosesmann continues to be the biggest Nvidia bull on Wall Street. In the wake of the company’s impressive results and robust guidance, the analyst maintained a buy rating on the stock while increasing his price target to a Street-high $220, which represents potential gains for investors of 50%.

Mosesmann cited Nvidia’s “beat and raise” quarter, strong demand for its Hopper chips, and the upcoming ramp of its Blackwell architecture as catalysts to push the stock higher. He isn’t the only one that’s bullish: A whopping 15 analysts boosted their price targets for Nvidia on the heels of its results.

Some investors may be hesitant to buy the stock given its lofty valuation, and on the surface, that argument has weight. After all, Nvidia is currently selling for 69 times earnings and 38 times sales, which certainly appears expensive. However, Wall Street expects Nvidia to generate EPS of $4.36 in fiscal 2026, which begins in late January. That works out to roughly 33 times forward earnings.

I’d argue that’s an attractive price to pay for an industry leader with unrivaled market share and a solid runway for growth ahead. For my money, Nvidia is a buy.

Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you’ll want to hear this.

On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a “Double Down” stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you’re worried you’ve already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it’s too late. And the numbers speak for themselves:

• Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you’d have $368,053!*

• Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you’d have $43,533!*

• Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you’d have $484,170!*

Right now, we’re issuing “Double Down” alerts for three incredible companies, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.

See 3 “Double Down” stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of November 18, 2024

Danny Vena has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intel, Nvidia, and S&P Global. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short November 2024 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Meet the Newest Stock-Split Stock in the Dow Jones. It Has Soared 910% Since Early Last Year, and It’s Still a Buy Right Now, According to Wall Street was originally published by The Motley Fool

Describing demand for the Blackwell chips on the earnings call, CFO Colette Kress said, “Every customer is racing to be the first to market.”

Management stressed how broad Blackwell’s reach is in terms of applications and customer base, and how vast its partner ecosystem is. “[A]lmost every company in the world seems to be involved in our supply chain,” Huang said.

Beyond the concerns that rivals could make headway against it, the other bearish case about Nvidia revolves around the idea of an “AI bubble.” Some onlookers think that market demand for AI applications won’t justify the massive capital expenditures on AI infrastructure that are fueling Nvidia’s growth.

However, when asked about it on the earnings call, Huang pushed back on the idea that AI is reaching scaling limitations, saying, “Our foundation model pre-training scaling is intact, and it’s continuing.” He also said that it was key for post-training and inference to scale in order for large language models and other AI models to become more capable.

After having successfully withstood competition from AMD and Intel, and delivering another blowout quarter, Nvidia looks unstoppable.

Its guidance for the fourth quarter calls for another surge in revenue to $37.5 billion, up 70% from the quarter a year ago even as “demand greatly exceeds supply. Huang has described a vision for the future that has Nvidia’s technology at the center of AI factories — data centers tasked with powering artificial intelligence applications — and companies of all stripes are racing to get to that future.

Nvidia’s stock pulled back slightly in after-hours trading Wednesday, but that seemed to be more of a reflection of the stock’s valuation and management’s guidance. However, that misreads the business. Based on its run-rate EPS, the stock trades at a P/E ratio of 45, and its profits are likely to soar over the next year. Relative to its growth rate, the stock doesn’t look overpriced.

Nvidia remains in the driver’s seat of the AI revolution, and the stock continues to look like a screaming buy.

Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,885!*

Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of November 18, 2024

Jeremy Bowman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short November 2024 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Can Anything Stop Nvidia? was originally published by The Motley Fool

Under a prior agreement to return his money, Soros took back most of his capital from Key Square in 2018 and he no longer has any money managed by Bessent, sources told Reuters.

Key Square didn’t immediately comment on the Reuters story.

Bessent’s experience in finance helped him earn positive reactions from Wall Street after he was nominated to lead the Treasury Department. But more importantly for Bessent, his experience helped him secure the president-elect’s confidence.

“Scott is widely respected as one of the World’s foremost International Investors and Geopolitical and Economic Strategists,” Trump said in a statement posted on social media Friday. “Scott’s story is that of the American Dream.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

Analysts expect $7.87 in EPS this fiscal year and then even more:

This is why 20 of 25 analysts rate the stock a buy or strong buy with an average target of $145 per share, or 10% above the stock’s price at the time of this writing. However, analyst estimates may not yet account for the potential of Dell to take market share from Supermicro. This gives the stock more room to run.

Dell is also attractive because it pays dividends and repurchases stock. The company intends to return 80% of adjusted free cash flow to shareholders and grow the dividend, which currently yields 1.3%, by 10% annually. Adjusted free cash flow hit $5.6 billion in fiscal 2024 and $3.7 billion through two quarters of fiscal 2025. Free cash flow should grow significantly along with earnings.

Data center infrastructure needs are exploding, and Dell looks like the company in the best position to benefit over the next several years. Tech investors should consider a long-term position in the stock.

Before you buy stock in Dell Technologies, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Dell Technologies wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,885!*

Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of November 18, 2024

John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Bradley Guichard has positions in Amazon and Dell Technologies. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Prediction: This Company Will Be the Biggest Beneficiary of Super Micro Computer’s Problems was originally published by The Motley Fool

Given the degree to which consumers have moved many aspects of their lives online (shopping, work, keeping up with friends, etc.), it comes as no surprise that folks are increasingly doing their banking online too. What may surprise you, though, is the extent to which it’s already happened.

Yet, there’s still much more of this shift left to play out.

As of its latest look at the data, the American Bankers Association says that within the United States, a mobile banking app is the most commonly used means of handling banking business, with 48% of customers making it their first option. Online banking (via a web browser) is a distant second at 23%. In-branch visits and telephone calls are relatively rare.

Connect the dots. Most banking consumers are self-sufficient these days, so much so that they rarely — if ever — need any help from an actual person.

Enter SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ: SOFI).

Founded in 2011 as a platform intended to help consumers better manage student loans, SoFi has since evolved into so much more. Checking accounts, loans, credit cards, insurance, and investments are all in its wheelhouse, with all of these services available in a purely online package.

Consumers are increasingly embracing these options. As of the end of September, the company boasts 9.4 million customers, extending what’s become a four-year uninterrupted streak of quarterly user growth from a count of 1.5 million customers in the same period of 2020. Revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) have grown at a similarly fast clip as these customers sign up for additional products and services once on board. The company swung to a sustained profit early this year and is expected to continue widening these profits going forward.

There’s certainly plenty more room for SoFi Technologies to continue this pace of growth into the distant future, too. Despite the online banking industry’s growth thus far, YouGov reports that only 3 out of every 10 U.S. consumers currently have an account with an online-only bank. The other 7 are up for grabs. They’re apt to come around soon enough. Market research outfit Straits Research predicts that the global online banking business is set to achieve annualized growth of nearly 14% through 2030, led by the North American market.

Finally, add American Express (NYSE: AXP) to your list of fintech stocks to scoop up if you’re currently sitting on an extra $1,000.

It’s obviously far better known than Bill Holdings or SoFi Technologies. American Express is, of course, a credit card name. Its payment network handled nearly $1.7 trillion worth of transactions last year and turned that into $13.5 billion worth of revenue. There are roughly 140 million American Express cards in consumers’ hands right now.

The thing is, AmEx is unlike more familiar credit card payment networks like Mastercard and Visa. It’s far more accurate to see American Express as a credit card provider as well as a payment network platform combined in a way that creates a powerful revenue-bearing credit card ecosystem.

Think about it. Although almost every credit card offers perks of some sort, few compare to those received by Amex cardholders. Hotel-stay credits, cash back on groceries, discounted streaming services, access to airport lounges, and more are just some of the reasons people (and businesses) will pay as much as $695 per year to hold an American Express card. Merchants, of course, also pay the company a small fee every time a member uses one of its cards at their establishment.

It’s also worth noting that Amex tends to attract more affluent consumers who may not be as adversely impacted by economic headwinds as the average consumer occasionally is. That’s at least part of the reason the company’s now reported 14 consecutive quarters of revenue growth, carrying it out of its pandemic-prompted funk in a rather impressive fashion.

Its future is bright, too. Millennials and Gen Z, in particular, are big fans, collectively accounting for about one-third of the company’s payment volume and the vast majority of last quarter’s new cardholders. This under-40 crowd is already accustomed to membership-based ecosystems like Amazon Prime and access to Costco‘s stores.

As this crowd ages at the same time Generation Alpha reaches adulthood, look for more consumers to become even more willing to pay for Amex’s superior perks.

Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you’ll want to hear this.

On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a “Double Down” stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you’re worried you’ve already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it’s too late. And the numbers speak for themselves:

• Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you’d have $368,053!*

• Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you’d have $43,533!*

• Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you’d have $484,170!*

Right now, we’re issuing “Double Down” alerts for three incredible companies, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.

See 3 “Double Down” stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of November 18, 2024

John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Bill Holdings, Costco Wholesale, Mastercard, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2025 $370 calls on Mastercard and short January 2025 $380 calls on Mastercard. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

3 No-Brainer Fintech Stocks to Buy Right Now for Less Than $1,000 was originally published by The Motley Fool

This premium may be influenced by financial regulations that restrict Bitcoin ETF purchases, pushing investors towards MicroStrategy for exposure.

Furthermore, Saylor’s bold prediction that Bitcoin could reach $13 million by 2045 has sparked discussions about the potential economic implications, including massive hyperinflation.

This prediction, if realized, would elevate Bitcoin’s market cap to $250 trillion, dwarfing the current world GDP and global stock markets.

Amidst these developments, Warren Buffett’s decision to hold $325 billion in cash at Berkshire Hathaway has drawn criticism from Saylor, who argues that not investing in Bitcoin is a missed opportunity.

Read Next:

Photo courtesy: Wikimedia

Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge’s one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today’s competitive market.

Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga?

This article Michael Saylor Reveals MicroStrategy Is ‘Making $500M A Day’ With Bitcoin originally appeared on Benzinga.com