by Brian Jacobs | Aug 18, 2026 | Blog, Investment Concepts
Back in 1900, you didn’t take a great family picture so much as you had one painted. John Singer Sargent, a successful portrait painter at the time, charged ~$5,000 a portrait at a time when the average American earned about $450 a year. The fee bought months of...
by Brian Jacobs | Jul 21, 2026 | Blog, Investment Concepts
I rarely share other people’s charts in these posts. This one is too good not to share. Chart source: Cullen Roche, Discipline Funds 07.15.2026 Ask most investors to rank assets by risk, and you will get the same answer. 1. Cash is safe 2. Bonds...
by Brian Jacobs | Jul 20, 2026 | Blog, Investment Concepts
Not every dollar an investment pays out is income. And not every dollar is taxed the same (or, in some cases, taxed at all). Return of capital (RoC) does not change what an investment earns. It changes when the tax bill arrives for an investor and what that bill looks...
by Brian Jacobs | Jul 13, 2026 | Blog, Investment Concepts
On July 4, a new kind of account opened for business. Trump Accounts, created by the 2025 reconciliation law, are tax-deferred investment accounts for children. Kids born between 2025 and 2028 may receive a one-time $1,000 seed from the federal government. Parents,...
by Brian Jacobs | Jul 1, 2026 | Blog, Investment Concepts
You don’t earn your gross salary. The number on the offer letter and the number in your bank account are two different figures, and everyone understands the gap. Withholding comes out first. But the subtler trap comes when you receive a small raise. Picture a 3% bump...
