Aequus Newsletter

Finding Meaning in the 2nd Half of Life

Individuals in mid-life and beyond are increasingly viewing retirement not as a time to relax, but as a time to explore their potential. It was Abraham Maslow, a psychologist, who gave us the term, “self actualization.” He called it man’s desire for fulfillment, “to become everything that one is capable of becoming.” For many, the path to self-actualization is through their “work”— which should be defined as the productive activities, paid or unpaid, that gives their lives meaning and a sense of purpose.

Is the Market Making You Motion Sick?

Nobody needs to be told that the markets are volatile. The CBOE Volatility Index, known as the “Vix” or Wall Street’s “fear gauge” jumped in the summer of 2011 to its highest level since the financial crisis of 2008. It is not unusual for the Dow Jones to gain 100 or more points in a single day and then fall 100 more points the very next day. Up and down. Down and up.

How Can We Teach Our Children the Value of a Dollar?

Start teaching your children at a young age that money is earned by working and that you should spend less than you earn. To help them understand what it’s like to get paid on a schedule, you may want to begin paying them an allowance. Then help your children set goals for how they spend and save their allowance.

The Psychology of Giving

    Although a number of studies have focused on the effect of income on happiness, Elizabeth Dunn, a social psychologist at the University of British Columbia, also wanted to understand the effect of spending choices on happiness. For example, previous research clearly demonstrated that income has a predictably positive effect on level of happiness, but these levels remain flat over time even as income increased. This finding puzzled Dunn and she wanted to find out why happiness did not increase along with income.

We Depend on Word of Mouth

One of the keys of our success, if not our survival, is word of mouth. Not so much ours…but yours. According to investment firm Charles Schwab, a typical independent advisory firm gets over 88% of its new clients through referrals. Your recommendations and introductions can help Aequus grow it network of valued business associates as well as clients.

Emerging Fraud Trend: Hostile Email Account Takeover

Do you know who is on the other end of that email address? It might not be as apparent as you think. Learn how to identify possible fraudulent requests. Many who have fallen victim to identity theft assumed it could never happen to them.