The Gatewood Blog

When Was the Last Time You Read Your Life Insurance Policy?

brian.mcgeehon@gatewoodwealth.com (Brian McGeehon, MAcc, CFA®, CLU®) — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT

When we get to life insurance in a planning meeting, most families tell me they’re covered. They’re usually right that they own something. What’s harder to answer is exactly what they own, who it pays, and when it ends.

What Is Dollar Cost Ravaging? The Risk Most Retirees Never See Coming

jared.freese@gatewoodwealth.com (Jared Freese, CFP®, CLU®, CEPA, ChFC®) — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Building wealth and spending wealth are two different skills. The same market decline that helped you accumulate assets can become a risk once withdrawals begin.

Executive Tax Planning in 2026: 8 Moves to Understand Before Year-End

kristin.edwards@gatewoodwealth.com (Kristin Edwards, MBA, CPA) — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 13:00:00 GMT

If your employer withheld 22% from a bonus, that wasn’t necessarily your tax rate.

Why Hold Bonds When They’re Down? Fixed Income in Retirement

nina.breen@gatewoodwealth.com (Nina Breen, CFP®, RICP®, CPWA®) — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Fixed income has been one of the lowest performing asset classes of the past year, and it is negative year-to-date. So why hold bonds when they’re down? Because fixed income was never in your portfolio to outperform stocks. It is there to be the asset you can sell when stocks are falling, so your retirement paycheck doesn’t depend on what the market happens to be doing that month. Judging bonds by their return is like judging a spare tire by its top speed.

If I Had a Million Dollars in 1988, What Is It Worth Now?

christopher.arends@gatewoodwealth.com (Chris Arends, CFA®, CMT®, CAIA®) — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 13:00:00 GMT

I heard “If I Had $1,000,000” by the Barenaked Ladies over the weekend, and — because this is apparently what happens to your brain after some time in the business — I did not think about the house, or the fur coat, or the exotic pet. I thought about inflation!