Taxes

Crypto’s Impact on the War in Ukraine

October 27, 2022 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

Reading Time: 2 minutes

In this episode of Intelligent Money Minute, we interviewed Matt Hougan, Chairman of Inside ETFs on the crypto’s impact on the war in Ukraine. During the war in Ukraine, Ukraine President Zelenskyy called upon other nations to donate via cryptocurrency in an effort to combat Russia. As Matt Hougan states, war is chaotic derailing standard infrastructure while crypto remained intact. Matt highlights the potential positives of an established cryptocurrency as a means of anti-fragility in the midst of uncertainty.

As a reminder, the views and opinions expressed on the Intelligent Money Minute podcast are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of Intelligent Investing, LLC. Intelligent Investing does not imply any endorsement or approval of any of the investments mentioned on the podcast. This podcast is to educate the public, and the investment strategy and themes discussed may not be unsuitable for investors depending on their specific investment objectives and financial situation.

Our boutique firm serves high-net-worth individuals and families. We would be honored to sit down with you to discuss your investment objectives and financial situation.

We are excited to be interviewing Matt Hougan, and we have several more episodes where we explore the ins and outs of ETFs, bitcoin, and blockchain, so be sure to subscribe to our podcasts to hear all the interviews.

Matt Hougan Bio

Matt Hougan is one of the world’s leading experts on crypto, ETFs, and financial technology. He is the Global Head of Research for Bitwise Asset Management, creator of the world’s first cryptocurrency index fund. Hougan is also Chairman of Inside ETFs, the world’s largest ETF conference. He was previously CEO of ETF.com, where he helped build the world’s first ETF data and analytics system. Hougan is co-author of the CFA Institute’s Monograph on ETFs. He’s also a crypto columnist for Forbes and a three-time member of the Barron’s ETF Roundtable. For more resources from Matt Hougan click here.

The Implications of Heading Towards a Digital Dollar?

September 15, 2022 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

In this episode of Intelligent Money Minute, we interviewed Matt Hougan, Chairman of Inside ETFs on the implications of implementing a digital dollar. The world is changing rapidly, and so is our financial system. As Matt mentioned, it appears to be easier and cheaper to transfer money digitally using blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies. There are of course many risks, so you may need a financial guide on your journey. We’d love to be considered your financial accountability partner to help you navigate through the emotional rollercoaster our markets provide.

Our boutique firm serves high-net-worth individuals and families. We would be honored to sit down with you to discuss your investment objectives and financial situation.

Matt Hougan Bio

Dangerous Assumptions in Retirement Pt.2

September 1, 2022 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

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On today’s Intelligent Money Minute, we continue our conversation with Morningstar’s director of personal finance, Christine Benz on dangerous assumptions made in retirement. Hans and Christine highlight the value of being conservative in your assumptions and expectations. During this episode, Christine breaks down another area retirees often make dangerous assumptions. Christine talks about setting a legitimate return assumption that factors in all areas realistically.

If you are wondering what kinds of risks are in your current portfolio, or where there may be an unforeseen risk you aren’t aware of, consider contacting us for a complimentary call or coffee. If it makes sense, we may perform a complimentary portfolio review for you so you can get an idea of the types and current risk level in your portfolio.

Schedule a short discovery call or meeting

We’ll be interviewing Christine on several podcasts regarding retirement strategies, passive investing, and diversification, so be sure to subscribe to our Intelligent Money Minute podcasts.

Christine Benz Bio

Christine Benz is Morningstar’s director of personal finance and author of 30-Minute Money Solutions: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Finances and the Morningstar Guide to Mutual Funds: 5-Star Strategies for Success. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and Russian/East European studies from the University of Illinois. Christine lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, Greg. She is an avid cook, a political junkie, and a long-suffering Chicago Cubs fan. Follow Christine on Twitter.

The Risks of NFTs

August 25, 2022 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

In this episode of Intelligent Money Minute, we interviewed Matt Hougan, Chairman of Inside ETFs on the risks of NFTs. Like any investment, NFTs are not immune to risk. Risk is impossible to eliminate completely. Risk can be transformed and transferred, and you should be compensated for the risk that you take in your portfolio. At Intelligent Investing, we have invested heavily in Intelligrations™ or intelligent integrations to understand what risks are in portfolios. We view risk in 4 ways—your ability to take on risk, your willingness to take on risk, your need for risk, and your actual portfolio’s risk.

Our boutique firm serves high-net-worth individuals and families. We would be honored to sit down with you to discuss your investment objectives and financial situation.

Matt Hougan Bio

Dangerous Assumptions in Retirement Pt.1

August 4, 2022 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Reading Time: < 1 minutes

On today’s Intelligent Money Minute, we continue our conversation with Morningstar’s director of personal finance, Christine Benz on dangerous assumptions made in retirement. During this episode, Christine breaks down four areas retirees often make dangerous assumptions, hurting them in the long term. In particular, Christine talks about what types of risk to assume in the stock and bond market.

Schedule a short discovery call or meeting

We’ll be interviewing Christine on several podcasts regarding retirement strategies, passive investing, and diversification, so be sure to subscribe to our Intelligent Money Minute podcasts.

Christine Benz Bio

Are Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) a Fad?

July 27, 2022 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

In this episode of Intelligent Money Minute, we interviewed Matt Hougan, Chairman of Inside ETFs on whether NFTs are a fad. Commodities, common shares, and dollar bills are examples of fungible goods, which means they are able to be replaced by another identical item. My dollar bill in my pocket is essentially the same as the dollar bill in your pocket. Non-fungible tokens (or NFTs) are cryptographic assets on a blockchain with unique identification codes and metadata that distinguish them from each other. Unlike cryptocurrencies, they cannot be traded or exchanged at equivalency. This makes them quite volatile. NFTs differ from fungible tokens like cryptocurrencies, which are identical to each other and, therefore, can serve as a medium for commercial transactions. Non-fungible tokens are mostly digital art, but as Matt mentioned there are some potential uses for NFTs (like representing individuals’ identities or property rights). Time will tell which NFTs appreciate and which ones will be worthless.

Our boutique firm serves high-net-worth individuals and families. We would be honored to sit down with you to discuss your investment objectives and financial situation.

Matt Hougan Bio

Crypto ETFs with Matt Hougan

July 7, 2022 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

In this episode of Intelligent Money Minute, we interviewed Matt Hougan, Chairman of Inside ETFs on crypto ETFs. Matt Hougan returns to the Intelligent Money Minute podcast to talk about all things in the realm of crypto. During this episode, Matt Hougan talks about the first electronic exchange fund created for cryptocurrency and how it works. Matt understands the natural interest of investors but heeds a cautionary warning to those with little understanding of crypto’s risk.

Like any asset class or new investment, smart investors will not rush into it and ask questions later, but rather spend time in due diligence to understand the benefits, the risks, and the potential.

Matt Hougan Bio

Matt Hougan is one of the world’s leading experts on crypto, ETFs, and financial technology. He is Global Head of Research for Bitwise Asset Management, creator of the world’s first cryptocurrency index fund. Hougan is also Chairman of Inside ETFs, the world’s largest ETF conference. He was previously CEO of ETF.com, where he helped build the world’s first ETF data and analytics system. Hougan is co-author of the CFA Institute’s Monograph on ETFs. He’s also a crypto columnist for Forbes, and a three-time member of the Barron’s ETF Roundtable. For more resources from Matt Hougan click here.

What Rising Interest Rates Mean for Retirement

June 29, 2022 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

On today’s Intelligent Money Minute, we continue our conversation with Morningstar’s director of personal finance, Christine Benz on the implications of rising interest rates on retirement. During this episode, Christine breaks down the impact of rising interest rates on pre-retirees, and what you can do to prepare in an inflationary environment. In particular, Christine lays out the history of bond valuations in 2022 and their price performance and durations during these inflationary times. Another consideration investors need to make are their time horizons.

As Christine mentioned, be mindful of your liquidity needs and your time horizons. When we develop a portfolio for a client, we keep these two constraints in mind, as well as other factors such as tax location and risk tolerance.

Schedule a short discovery call or meeting

We’ll be interviewing Christine on several podcasts regarding retirement strategies, passive investing, and diversification, so be sure to subscribe to our Intelligent Money Minute podcasts.