Podcast

Podcast
Listen

Log In

Client Portal
Log In

Author name: Michael Baker

Insights

What Makes a Business Exit-Ready

Many owners assume exit planning begins when they’re ready to sell. In reality, the most successful transitions start much earlier. Exit readiness is about building a business that can operate independently, understanding what drives its value, and aligning future liquidity with personal goals — long before any transaction is on the table.

Insights

Clarity Is the Real Competitive Advantage

In today’s financial world, sophistication is everywhere — advanced strategies, complex structures, endless data. Yet for many high-achieving individuals, the real challenge isn’t access to opportunity. It’s deciding what actually matters. In a landscape defined by complexity, clarity has quietly become the rarest and most valuable asset.

Insights

Fixed Income Fundamentals

Bonds are often viewed as simple income investments, but their real value lies in how they help manage risk and stabilize portfolios. This overview breaks down what bonds are, how they work, and why they play a critical role in long‑term portfolio construction.

Insights

Quarterly Market Commentary

While there’s been much discussion around the weakening employment outlook, signs point more towards a tentative equilibrium than a collapse in labor demand.  Although the unemployment rate has increased slightly, it remains near historically average levels while new jobless claims have yet to tick up.  Unimpressive job creation figures are more likely attributable to demographic factors than underlying economic frailty.

Insights

Mid-Quarter Market Commentary

Over the past 30 years, a 60/40 portfolio of equities and fixed income has delivered positive performance in 99% of rolling 5-year periods.  After 10 years, that improves to 100%.  During that time, the real value of cash has been constantly eroded by inflation.  Although cash can feel like a haven, it rarely outperforms inflation over extended periods.  While it may be tempting to sit on excess cash for a variety of reasons, including elevated valuations or economic uncertainty, holding cash above and beyond your prudent reserve requirements is a losing game.