Mike Bergen, CIMA®

It’s A Prudent Measure To Assess The Risk In Your Retirement Portfolio

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | December 21, 2024

What Retirees Can, And Probably Should, Do If They Get A Lump Sum

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | December 14, 2024

Understanding The Federal Reserve System Makes It Less Mysterious

Most of us have heard of the Federal Reserve and know that the “Fed” has a role in setting interest rates, but many are unaware of what the Fed is and what it actually does.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | December 7, 2024

Your Retirement Might Differ Greatly From Your Parents’ Experiences

Retirement has changed in many ways over the last generation or two. Here are some of the most important ones, and what you can do to plan for them.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | November 30, 2024

When First Meeting A Financial Advisor, Consider A Few Things

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | November 23, 2024

Benefits Of Compound Interest Highlight Importance Of Investing Early

Investing when you’re young can have the potential to produce impactful earnings gains. And that’s because of a simple concept: compounding.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | October 19, 2024

Be Vigilant When It Comes To Protecting Yourself From Identity Thieves

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | October 12, 2024

Like The Rules Of Driving, Here Are 10 Rules For The Retirement Road

Learning to drive is an important milestone in one’s life. Other milestones, like retirement are no different – we look forward to it, but we need to prepare and we can do that by learning the “rules of the retirement road.”

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | October 5, 2024

Avoid Common Investment Pitfalls Along Your Road To Retirement

Planning for retirement should really start as soon as you get your first real job, but it should continue through each stage of life.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | September 28, 2024

Understanding The Positives And Negatives Of Roth Conversions

A Roth conversion is a strategic financial move that involves transferring funds from a traditional retirement account — such as a Traditional IRA or 401(k) — into a Roth IRA.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | September 14, 2024

If You Want To Be A Smarter Investor, Follow A Few Key Strategies

We are often asked, “What can I do to be a better investor?” There are many simple steps that you can take to improve your investment results.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | August 31, 2024

Nine Investing Myths And Why You Should Know They Aren’t Facts

Today, we are going to talk about myths that are widely regarded as truth. As Mark Twain said, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble, it’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | August 17, 2024

It’s A Good Idea To Have A Plan When Coping With Market Volatility

The volatility rollercoaster usually is accompanied by an emotional rollercoaster, and this is precisely the time it’s important to have a plan and to stick with it.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | August 10, 2024

Manage Finances During Retirement To Ensure You Have Enough Money

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | August 3, 2024

Follow The Three Most Important Topics In Financial Planning

In times like these, when there is uncertainty in the economy, prospective clients want to know what the most important steps are to reaching financial independence.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | July 13, 2024

Your New Summer Tradition – A Mid-Year Financial Checkup

With the data from the first half of the year available to you, look at how and where you spent your money.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | July 6, 2024

Potentially Improve Your Retirement Planning With These Tips

“What should I be doing to save for retirement?” The first step is to start contributing to your retirement plan, either through your employer or through you own private plan.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | June 15, 2024

Should I Be Saving For College Or Retirement?

College costs have risen much faster than inflation over the past 30 years, and as a result, a dilemma that many parents face is how to finance college and still save for their own retirement.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | June 1, 2024

What Is The Stock Market Really, And How Does It Work?

The stock market isn’t a single thing. It is a collection of thousands of stocks that represent ownership in very real businesses.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | May 25, 2024

Kick These Bad Money Habits To Take Financial Control

By identifying and addressing these bad money habits, you can take control of your finances and work towards a more secure future.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | May 18, 2024

Sandwich Generation: Caring For A Parent And A Child

One in eight Americans, 40 to 60 years old is caring for a parent while raising a child, according to the Pew Research Center.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | May 11, 2024

Some Important Estate Planning Tips To Consider

We all experience the death of friends and family members in our life. In financial planning, we often find ourselves involved in the aftermath of those deaths. If the deceased planned their estate before their death, it usually makes it easier on the survivors.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | May 4, 2024

Follow This Timeline When You Are Getting Ready For Retirement

The beginning of summer is also a time when many people start to think about retirement. I don’t really know why, but I suspect the reason has something to do with how great summers are around Kosciusko County.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | April 27, 2024

The Bucket Approach Can Help You Construct Your Retirement Portfolio

The bucket approach is an asset allocation strategy that divides your retirement resources into three pools, or buckets, based on when you will access the money.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | April 20, 2024

The Everyday Millionaire May Look Much Different Than You’d Think

We are often asked, “How do I become a millionaire?” The answer is, “By living simply.”

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | April 13, 2024

Why Various Types Of Inflation May Be A Risk To Your Portfolio

Inflation has been a topic that has been in the news a lot lately, perhaps more than at any other time since the 1980s. That’s a good thing, because if no one has been talking about inflation it could be because it has not been a problem.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | March 30, 2024

Beware Of The Various Risks Posed To Your Financial Portfolio

While many investors tend to think of fixed income investments as less risky than stock investments, fixed income investments face a variety of other risks as well.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | March 9, 2024

Follow These Organizational Tips For Your Financial Records

The first thing you need to determine is what to keep. Next, you need to decide how long to keep them. Third, you need a system for keeping them organized.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | March 2, 2024

How To Survive Financially If You Are Affected By A Job Loss

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | February 10, 2024

Coping Financially With The Death Of Your Spouse Or Loved One

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | February 3, 2024

Portfolio Review And Adjustments For The New Year

As we settle into 2024, with our first real taste of Indiana winter this weekend, it is a good time to review your investments and potentially make adjustments based on your results in 2023.

By MIKE BERGEN, CIMA® | January 13, 2024