At Ballentine Capital Advisors, we pride ourselves on our unique and intentional approach to investment, which is tailored to meet your temporal financial needs and goals. As a Greenville, South Carolina-based wealth management firm recognized for our community engagement and numerous awards, including Best Wealth Management Firm in the 2023 SC Best in Business Awards, we categorize our investment strategies into three purpose-based “buckets”: Short-term, Mid-term, and Long-term.
Short-term: The Grill (Years 1 to 5)
In the initial 5-year period, we describe your money as being on the “Grill.” This is a crucial stage for funds that you’re likely to use in the short term, such as for a major purchase, emergency fund, or upcoming expense like a child’s education or a sabbatical. Because this money is earmarked for a day in the near future, our strategy is conservative, emphasizing stability and liquidity in case of sudden financial needs or changes. We focus on investments like high-yield savings accounts, short-term bonds, or stable-value funds that offer modest returns while prioritizing the preservation of your capital. The objective is to keep these funds readily accessible and safe from market volatility, ensuring that they’re available when you need them.
Mid-term: The Fridge (Years 6 to 10)
For the funds you plan to use in 6 to 10 years, we place them in the “Fridge.” This is the period where you have more flexibility in terms of risk and can consider investments that offer higher potential returns than the Grill bucket. These funds might be earmarked for goals like purchasing a second home, funding a significant renovation, or preparing for the early stages of retirement. We typically employ a balanced mix of investments, such as a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds, which can offer better growth potential while keeping risks in check. The goal of this bucket is to protect your money against inflation while still moderately growing your wealth in real terms, which requires modest risk and prudent planning to ensure your money is ready for you by the 61-month time horizon.
Long-term: The Freezer (Year 10 and Beyond)
The “Freezer” is reserved for your long-term financial goals, stretching beyond 10 years. This could include retirement planning, legacy aspirations, or funding long-term dreams like starting a business or a charitable foundation. It’s also where we work to beat inflation and taxes as the growth engine of your investment plan.
Given the extended time horizon, we have the opportunity to pursue more aggressive investment strategies. This might involve a higher allocation to equity investments. The key here is to balance risk and reward: we aim to maximize growth to outpace inflation and tax impacts over the long term while aligning with your risk tolerance and life goals. Regular reviews and adjustments ensure these investments stay on track with your evolving needs and market conditions.
Tailoring to Individual Needs: Tax Status and Other Considerations
At Ballentine Capital Advisors, we prioritize planning that carefully considers your unique financial circumstances, including tax status and Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). We provide expert guidance on managing RMDs, especially vital for traditional IRAs and 401(k)s, with a keen focus on tax efficiency across all investment stages. Our strategies incorporate the latest changes in RMD rules, ensuring compliance and avoiding penalties while also integrating Roth IRA advantages into long-term financial planning. By aligning our investment approach with your broader financial goals, whether it involves estate planning, charitable giving, or specific income needs, we create a financial plan that is as unique as you are, ensuring that each aspect of your financial picture is thoughtfully addressed.
A Comprehensive, Client-Centric Approach
Our commitment at Ballentine Capital Advisors extends beyond financial stewardship to active community engagement. Through initiatives like our Connected by Community Podcast and informative articles on topics such as RMDs and QCDs, we demonstrate our dedication to both financial literacy and community involvement. Our strategy of dividing investments into the Grill, Fridge, and Freezer offers you a clear and actionable path for managing your finances through different life stages. By considering your individual needs, tax implications, and long-term goals, we ensure that your investments are not just preserved but also poised for growth. With Ballentine Capital Advisors, you have a trusted partner to navigate the complexities of wealth management.
For more information on our unique bucket strategy, read Chapter 4 of “Wealth on Purpose” by Bryan Ballentine. If you have any questions, give us a call!
Have a great weekend!
Source: Ballentine Capital Advisors
Golf Tip of the Week
PGA Tour Suspends Jon Rahm, Which Has Domino Effect On Other Players’ Eligibility For 2024
The PGA Tour put out a memo to its players on Monday evening announcing that World No. 3 Jon Rahm, who signed a deal last week to play for LIV Golf, has been suspended, an expected move that will have a positive domino effect for numerous players. The tour also addressed recent player concerns about how FedEx Cup points will be allocated during the 2024 season, but it stopped short of making any changes for the time being.
Rahm was suspended under rules the tour adopted upon the inauguration of LIV that “ensure that suspended members do not negatively impact other players’ tournament eligibility, position on the Priority Rankings, or eligibility to compete in the Playoffs and Signature Events.” As such, the tour said that Rahm’s results from the 2022-23 season—in which he won four times and finished 18th in the FedEx Cup—will not count in the points list that prioritizes eligibility for the 2024 season.
The happiest player in the circumstance is likely Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes, who moves from No. 51 to No. 50 in the standings and will now be eligible for the eight signature events in 2024 with $20 million purses. The other trickle-downs are that Alex Smalley moves to No. 60 and gets into two early signature events, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, and Carl Yuan will keep his tour card by moving to 125th after he finished 126th following the FedEx Fall.
The tour noted that the final eligibility will be determined on Dec. 31, which leaves open the possibility that others could move up in the standings should there be more defections to LIV.
In the memo’s second section, the tour addressed concerns that were expressed in a petition circulated to the PGA Tour membership last week. That petition requested a “special meeting” to address how FedEx Cup points are calculated; the number of signature events; the PIP Program; and a discussion PGA Tour leadership, policy board, and player directors.”
In 2024, winners of signature events will earn 700 FedEx Cup points compared to 500 for winners of other PGA Tour events, with the distribution of points more heavily weighted to signature events for all other finishes. The tour responded on Monday, saying the PGA Tour Policy Board and management team discussed the matter on a recent call and that “the board is listening to the concerns expressed by individual members and takes the concerns seriously.”
The memo noted that there was “considerable effort” to devise the 2024 schedule model, numerous scenarios were considered and the result came from extensive modeling. “Having performed this,” the tour said, “we believe the model approved by the board is the best model to achieve this goal.”
The tour said that it will closely monitor the model in the first half of 2024 and conduct a thorough review of the system and determine if adjustments need to be made before the 2025 season.
Tip adapted from golfdigest.comi
Recipe of the Week
Holiday Cheese Ball Wreath
16-20 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 cups shredded firm cheese, such as Cheddar, pepper Jack or Colby
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup pickled piquante peppers, such as Peppadews, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives
- Crackers, sliced bread or crudites, for serving
Instructions
- Line the inside of a 6-cup Bundt pan with plastic wrap. Process the cream cheese, shredded cheese, Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt and few grinds of pepper in a food processor until smooth. Empty the mixture into a medium bowl, and fold in all but 2 tablespoons of the chopped peppers.
- Spoon the cheese mixture into the prepared Bundt pan; pack it in, spread into an even layer and cover (or simply form the cheese mixture into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap). Refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour up to 2 days.
- Uncover and invert the cheese mold (or unwrap and transfer the ball) onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with the chives and parsley to completely coat the wreath, and garnish with the reserved 2 tablespoons peppers. Serve with crackers, sliced bread or crudites.
Recipe adapted from Foodnetwork.comii
Health Tip of the Week
7 Easy Fixes For Snoring
You may be among the 45% of adults who snore at least occasionally or you likely know someone who does. They may be the brunt of jokes (“Uncle Joe snores so loudly he rattles the windows!”), but snoring is serious business.
For one, a snoring person often keeps their partner from a good night’s sleep, which can be stressful. “Snoring can create real problems in a marriage,” says Daniel P. Slaughter, MD, an otolaryngologist and snoring expert at Capital Otolaryngology in Austin, Texas.
Not only is snoring a nuisance, but 75% of people who snore have obstructive sleep apnea (when breathing is disrupted during sleep for short periods), which raises the risk of developing heart disease, Slaughter says.
Use caution before you self-treat with over-the-counter sprays and pills until you’ve checked with your doctor, says Sudhansu Chokroverty, MD, FRCP, FACP, program director for Clinical Neurophysiology and Sleep Medicine at JFK Medical Center in Edison, N.J. “Many stop-snoring aids are marketed without scientific studies to support their claims,” says Chokroverty, who is also a neuroscience professor at Seton Hall University’s School of Health and Medical Sciences.
Instead, try these natural solutions and lifestyle changes, which may help you stop snoring.
1. Change Your Sleep Position.
Lying on your back makes the base of your tongue and soft palate collapse to the back wall of your throat, causing a vibrating sound during sleep. Sleeping on your side may help prevent this.
“A body pillow (a full-length pillow that supports your entire body) provides an easy fix,” Slaughter says. “It enables you to maintain sleeping on your side and can make a dramatic difference.”
Taping tennis balls to the back of your pajamas can also stop you from sleeping on your back, Chokroverty says. “Or you can recline the bed with the head up and extended, which opens up nasal airway passages and may help prevent snoring. This may cause neck pain, however.”
If snoring continues regardless of the sleep position, obstructive sleep apnea may be a cause. “See a doctor in this case,” Chokroverty says.
2. Lose Weight.
Weight loss helps some people but not everyone. “Thin people snore, too,” Slaughter says.
If you’ve gained weight and started snoring and did not snore before you gained weight, weight loss may help. “If you gain weight around your neck, it squeezes the internal diameter of the throat, making it more likely to collapse during sleep, triggering snoring,” Slaughter says.
3. Avoid Alcohol.
Alcohol and sedatives reduce the resting tone of the muscles in the back of your throat, making it more likely you’ll snore. “Drinking alcohol four to five hours before sleeping makes snoring worse,” Chokroverty says. “People who don’t normally snore will snore after drinking alcohol.”
4. Practice Good Sleep Hygiene.
Bad sleep habits (also known as poor sleep “hygiene”) can have an effect similar to that of drinking alcohol, Slaughter says. Working long hours without enough sleep, for example, means when you finally hit the sack you’re overtired. “You sleep hard and deep, and the muscles become floppier, which creates snoring,” Slaughter says.
5. Open Nasal Passages.
If snoring starts in your nose, keeping nasal passages open may help. It allows air to move through slower, Slaughter says. “Imagine a narrow garden hose with water running through. The narrower the hose, the faster the water rushes through.”
Your nasal passages work similarly. If your nose is clogged or narrowed due to a cold or other blockage, the fast-moving air is more likely to produce snoring.
A hot shower before you go to bed can help open nasal passages, Slaughter says. Keep a bottle of saltwater rinse in the shower. “Rinse your nose out with it while you’re showering to help open up passages,” Slaughter says.
You could also use a neti pot to rinse out your nasal passages with a salt-water solution.
Nasal strips may also work to lift nasal passages and open them up — if the problem exists in your nose and not within the soft palate.
6. Change Your Pillows.
Allergens in your bedroom and in your pillow may contribute to snoring. When did you last dust the overhead ceiling fan? Replace your pillows?
Dust mites accumulate in pillows and can cause allergic reactions that can lead to snoring. Allowing pets to sleep on the bed causes you to breathe in animal dander, another common irritant.
“If you feel fine during the day but obstructed at night, these things may be contributing to your snoring,” Slaughter says.
Put your pillows in the air fluff cycle once every couple weeks and replace them every six months to keep dust mites and allergens to a minimum. And keep pets out of the bedroom.
Beware before spending money on special pillows designed to prevent snoring, Chokroverty says. “They may work if it props up your head, which fixes nasal issues, but can cause neck pain.”
7. Stay Well Hydrated.
Drink plenty of fluids. “Secretions in your nose and soft palate become stickier when you’re dehydrated,” Slaughter says. “This can create more snoring.” According to the Institute of Medicine, healthy women should have about 11 cups of total water (from all drinks and food) a day; men need about 16 cups.
Overall, get enough sleep, sleep on your side, avoid alcohol before bedtime and take a hot shower if nasal passages are clogged, Slaughter says. “These simple practices can make a huge difference in reducing snoring.”
Tip adapted from WebMD.comiii
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Ballentine Capital Advisors is a registered investment adviser. The advisory services of Ballentine Capital Advisors are not made available in any jurisdiction in which Ballentine Capital Advisors is not registered or is otherwise exempt from registration.
Please review Ballentine Capital Advisors Disclosure Brochure for a complete explanation of fees. Investing involves risks. Investments are not guaranteed and may lose value.
This material is prepared by Ballentine Capital Advisors for informational purposes only. It is not intended to serve as a substitute for personalized investment advice or as a recommendation or solicitation or any particular security, strategy, or investment product.
No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve future profits or losses similar to those shown. You should not assume that investment decisions we make in the future will be profitable or equal the investment performance of the past. Past performance does not indicate future results.
Advisory services through Ballentine Capital Advisors, Inc.
i https://www.golfdigest.com/story/pga-tour-memo-jon-rahm-points-list-player-effect-2024-schedule-petition
ii https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/holiday-cheeseball-wreath-3363981
iii https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/easy-snoring-remedies
