FOUNTAIN STRATEGIES LLC is an independent, fee-only firm that offers financial planning and investment management services with equal vigor, to our clients. Anticipate opportunity.
Experience
At 10-years-old life is simpler. “Going fishing” at that age means finding a pole, some line, a hook, and some worms. It works perfectly. At 20-years-old one’s vision has expanded. Going fishing involves multiple choices: lake or stream, large fish or...
1.618
Find an 8-1/2″ X 11″ sheet of paper, fold it in half, then look at the smaller rectangle you just formed. If you divide the long side length by the short side length the result will be a number like 1.545, a “nice” proportion but not perfect....
Operating Manual
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and...
Growth or Value?
What’s the difference between a growth stock and a value stock? Common shares of Apple and Google are examples of growth stocks: most investors want to trade in them today because the companies are doing well and boast strong earnings. By contrast, in 2011 Bank of...
Two Kinds of Balance
If our household checking and savings and investment reserves equal the amount we owe for living expenses and loans, our budgets balance. If our reserves exceed our deficits, we feel good that we have money to spare. If our personal and business deficits exceed our...
One Giant Step in the Right Direction
In June 2017, financial advisors who recommend retirement plan investments will be required by the Department of Labor to act as a FIDUCIARY by putting your financial best interests ahead of theirs. You may ask, “Don’t they always do that?” Not necessarily. One mark...
Stay In Touch!
Starting on 17 April 2017 maybe someone you know, or their tax preparer, could be chatting on the phone with a tax collector contracted by the IRS. No kidding: www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/private-debt-collection The calls will not be...
Recovery
Down markets are bad, but recovery is worse. It is hard to grasp the fact that a 50% drop in value requires a 100% market improvement for complete recovery. Look at the red curve reflecting performance of an all-stocks portfolio that lost 59% of its value in the...
Big Budget
The real mountains represent surplus in the private sector of an economy. The reflected mountains represent government deficit. If the private sector holds a surplus of cash reserves in excess of costs, the government shows an equal amount of deficit because it...
Ethics
Registered Investment Advisors now have to perform as fiduciary professionals, which puts a new strain upon just what constitutes a “fiduciary.” There is no clear guidance other than to put our clients’ interests before our own. The Boy Scout oath...Video: Questions to Ask Before You Meet a Financial Planner
