You may have heard of holistic financial planning. As its name suggests, it is a method of financial planning that encompasses many different aspects of income and capital management, from planning for the education of your children, to saving and investing for retirement, to estate and business succession planning. According to Kiplinger research, holistic financial planning, and in particular in the area of investment, could net you 1.5 percent more in average annual returns.

The purpose of money is to create stability, peace of mind and enjoyment for you and your family. If you work towards these three things, you'll always be on the right track. With that in mind, here's the order in which you should take on your financial planning goals.

Generating positive results in unpredictable and often volatile financial markets can be a daunting challenge.  But it is not to say that this challenge cannot be overcome.  Embracing an approach that utilizes a variety of asset classes to generate returns is one key method of overcoming this challenge and the associated volatility, but it is not the only one. Overcoming this challenge means utilizing this method among others.

Consolidating your retirement assets may help you retire more comfortably.  Having your retirement assets working in a disjointed manner can significantly hurt your chances of a comfortable retirement.  Instead of these assets working in an uncoordinated manner, consider consolidating them.

Achieving solid investment gains helps investors achieve their investment goals.  The correlation between the two is obvious.  A solid investment methodology not only provides a plan of action, but also helps investors plan for the random variables involved with investing for the future. 

Market volatility has been endemic in seemingly every single asset class since the financial crisis started in 2007. Investment managers offer a variety of ways to cope with this new paradigm, such as attempting to profit from the volatility by active trading, or providing diversified exposure to different asset classes. 

Thematic Systematic Investing Top 1% – 1-Year percentile ranking out of 407 World Stock managers as of 12/31/16
#1 – 1-Year absolute ranking out of 407 World Stock managers as of 12/31/16

Global Thematic Accumulation Top 1% – 1-Year percentile ranking out of 407 World Stock managers as of 9/30/16
#2 – 1-Year absolute ranking out of 407 World Stock managers as of 12/31/16 

Recently, FREE Magazine featured our CIO, Jesse Mackey's, article Human vs. Robot: Winner Take All?

A publication of New York's American Portfolios Financial Services, FREE Magazine is a printed and digital news magazine that keeps AP’s advisors informed of best practices and issues regarding financial planning, along with industry news and occasional insight from other financial professionals. 

See the full article below.

4Thought Separate Accounts rank #1 and #2 in Morningstar’s “World Stock” category for 2016, Top 25% for 10 out of 18 strategies offered (As of 12/31/16)

Clients who experience market downturns often feel that they have limited access to investment options.  They feel more vulnerable and, by the same logic, so do financial professionals.  A lack of alternative assets being approved for sale by compliance, a lack of training on the part of advisors, and a lack of investor education hinders the understanding and usage of alternative assets by both investors and professionals alike.