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Economy Roars, Markets Mew. We may look back on the days of daffodils and tulips in 2018 as the sweet spot of the economic cycle for the current bull market. It is difficult to see how the statistics could get much better. Yet, investors may have begun to ask themselves how long bright blooms might last.
Recent Posts

Passing Down the Family Cabin
The family cabin often holds many memories and nostalgia, especially for multi-generational families, and for some for whom a cabin was the only “vacation” spot they ever knew.
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Meet a Team Member: Lori Buettner
Lori works in our St. Cloud, MN office as a Client Care Specialist for the wealth management team. She assists with client requests and helps the advisors to coordinate and prepare for client meetings and follows through with any paperwork that needs to be processed to ensure it is completely accurately. What is your favorite […]
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Meet an Advisor: Ted Nahas
Meet an Advisor: Ted Nahas Ted is a wealth advisor in our Des Moines, IA office. We recently caught up with him to hear his advice for others starting out in their careers and to get his take on what character traits he admires in others. What career advice would you give to someone who […]
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Leadership Lessons I Have Learned Along the Way
I still have the privilege of working with business owners and other clients but as my responsibilities have increased at the firm, I have been required to focus more of my time on our firm’s business, rather than working in the business.
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Hey Joel! – Answers from a recovering former practicing ERISA attorney
Do you have a question for an ERISA attorney burning in your heart? Well, you’re not the only one! Welcome to our new Retirement Times feature, Hey Joel! We’re featuring plan sponsor questions from all over the country and answers from our in-house former practicing ERISA attorney. Do we need to adopt a loan policy? […]
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Is it Time for a Plan Refresh?
The duty to provide participants with sufficient information to make consistently informed retirement investment decisions is a basic fiduciary responsibility under ERISA Section 404(a). However, there could be some plan committees who feel their participants are not consistently making prudent decisions. According to a recent JP Morgan survey¹ nearly 75 percent of participants say they […]
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What Happens When You Deposit Employee Deferrals Late?
Richard Fellows, ERISA Specialist and Senior Plan Advisor In our research, late deposit of contributions is a frequent error made by plan sponsors and is a key priority of the Department of Labor (DOL). In every plan audit conducted by the DOL, the investigator looks to see if contributions have been deposited in a timely […]
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Did You Know: Filing for an Extension Can Be a Good Idea?
With less than a week to go to meet the April 17 tax deadline, there are some circumstances where you may want to consider hitting pause rather than rushing through your tax return preparation.
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Wealth Management Quarterly Update – April 2018
Economy Roars, Markets Mew. We may look back on the days of daffodils and tulips in 2018 as the sweet spot of the economic cycle for the current bull market. It is difficult to see how the statistics could get much better. Yet, investors may have begun to ask themselves how long bright blooms might last.
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Did You Know: There Are Common Tax Return Pitfalls to Avoid?
It is very common for people to get stressed when they think about filing their taxes which can make it easier to make mistakes or make a person more prone to make poor decisions which can compound stress even further. There are some common pitfalls people should avoid when doing their taxes:
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