Bernard Wolfe & Associates
Bernard R. Wolfe (Bernie) founded Bernard R Wolfe & Associates, Inc (BRW) in 1981. The firm provides wealth management services to individuals, families and businesses.
In 2002, BRW was sold to National Financial Partners (NFP), one of the nation’s premier independent financial services companies and a member of the New York Stock Exchange. Bernie Wolfe continues as President of BRW and as a principal in the company.
Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, Bernie attended Sir George Williams University and received a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a major in finance. He also played four years of varsity hockey, receiving the following accolades: Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, Athlete of the Year, three time All Star, and All Canadian. Following his stay at Sir George, Bernie was signed by the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL), where he played for nearly five seasons. Since retirement, he has been inducted to his university’s Hall of Fame as well as both the Canadian and US Jewish Sports’ Hall of Fame. He remains active with the NHL, serving as the president of the Washington Capitals Alumni for 15 years.
Bernie is a Certified Financial Planner practicioner (CFP®) as well as a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA). He was also one of the first members of the Registry of Financial Planners in the Washington DC area.
In this month’s newsletter, Bernard Wolfe, CFP ®, founder of Bernard Wolfe & Associates helps readers understand Roth IRA conversations and the new rules, which go into effect on January 1, 2010. “We wanted to provide a little background, the pros and cons, and help you understand how this may impact your financial management,” he says.
In a second article entitled, “5 Statistics Women Need to Know About Managing their Money — and 5 tips on how to take control,” Samantha Fraelich, a financial representative Bernard R. Wolfe & Associates, Inc., offers insights for women on how to best manage their money. “Whether you’re a women who is single, divorced, or widowed, it’s more likely than ever that at some point in your life you will need to fend financially for yourself,” Fraelich advises.
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Join Bernard Wolfe & Associates June 2, 6-8 pm, when the financial planning firm hosts an educational session on income-generating strategies for 2009 and beyond
Chevy Chase, MD, May 26, 2009 — As most people continue to navigate the volatile economic climate, the top-rated financial planning firm Bernard Wolfe & Associates (http://www.bernardwolfe.com) is taking the initiative to educate all investors by hosting informative seminars every other month to teach investors about the new landscape of financial planning.
“I have been in finance business for nearly 30 years, and am committed now more than ever to being a trusted advisor to all of our current and potential clients who might need to rethink their current financial strategies,” says Bernard Wolfe, a Certified Financial Planner, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA), and one of the first members of the Registry of Financial Planners in the Washington DC area.
What makes Wolfe’s firm stand out from the rest, he believes, is that he operates from a strategy he learned when he played for the National Hockey League’s Washington Capitals for nearly five seasons.
“As Wayne Gretzky used to say, ‘a good hockey player plays where the puck is, a great hockey player plays to where the puck is going to be,’” says Wolfe, who was named the Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, Athlete of the Year, and All Canadian by his alma mater, Sir George Williams University in Montreal. “That metaphor couldn’t be more appropriate than it is in this current economic crisis. What we try to do in our business is exactly what Gretzky spoke about in hockey. We try to anticipate how best to situate our clients and not rely on what worked over the last 20-30 years, but what will work today and tomorrow.”
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At the start of 2008, investors believed they were getting true diversification on their stock portfolios by investing in a variety of asset classes such as commodities, bonds, and real estate investment trusts (REITs). The prevailing thought was that these other asset classes would provide some hedge against pure stock portfolios.
Then the bottom dropped out. Last year’s global financial margin call, including a general collapse in the housing market and mass deleveraging of the financial system, caused many investors to liquidate everything and anything that had a market value. The spreads of many underlying securities widened, and prices dropped across the board. Keep in mind, certain bond positions dropped significantly, even in cases where there was no exposure to troubled assets.
So we began rethinking our strategy. Traditionally, many financial planners bought in to one philosophy: Buy and hold. This strategy has typically worked for the last 80 years. Indeed, studies have shown* that if you held a fully invested stock portfolio over that time period, your returns far exceeded those of bonds, treasuries, and cash. However, there aren’t many people who have 80 years to wait for their investments to increase. And we believe our retired clients, and those nearing retirement, cannot afford to go through another 2008. Our new motto: Row, don’t sail.
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