Sharon Allen’s article published by Financial Advisor Magazine

Financial Advisor Magazine, a national publication serving the advisory community, published an article written by Sharon Allen on understanding the squeeze a sandwich generation woman experiences and how advisors can help. Check out the full article here https://swmi.co/fa-sangen. To read her full white paper “Caught in the Middle: How Does the Sandwich Generation Woman Not Get Squeezed?”, see the Resources section of our website here.

Sandwich Generation Woman

Sandwich Generation Woman

Allen Addresses Advisers on Working with Breadwinner Women

This May Sharon Allen spoke at the national Financial Advisor Invest in Women conference in Dallas, Texas. She facilitated a panel of experts as well as shared her own expertise regarding the concerns and needs of Breadwinner Women in our society. Drawing from the national research from the Family Wealth Advisor’s Council, of which Sharon is a member, she focused on the resulting data highlighting the challenges and opportunities financial advisors need to be aware of when serving women investors. “I was honored to be asked to be a part of the conversation around this very important topic,” says Allen. “Despite a growing awareness of differences in the needs of women, our research shows that the financial services industry still needs to do a much better job in truly partnering with women investors.”

Sharon Allen, CFP(R), CTFA is the Co-Founder and President of Sterling Wealth Management, a fee-only wealth management firm. She has an exceptionally collaborative approach in working with her clients, and has a particular interest in the challenges facing women of wealth. Sharon has co-authored a paper on the Sandwich Generation Woman titled Caught In the Middle: How Does the Sandwich Generation Woman Not Get Squeezed?.

Successful Investing (while riding a roller coaster)

It’s natural human behavior in times of stress to reevaluate the current situation to find answers. This story rang true for many investors of globally diversified portfolios as the sharp declines of early 2016 caused some to examine their asset allocation and question if they were still making the right decisions. In fact, many investors follow their emotions and struggle to   separate those emotions from their investment decisions. Often, following a reactive cycle of excessive optimism and fear leads to poor decisions at the worst times.

Here is a picture of what that emotional investing cycle looks like.Investing Cycle

As professional advisors and fiduciaries of the precious resources clients have entrusted us to manage, we have answers that we feel will help our clients and those we care about have a successful investment experience. Here is what we found.

To Have a Successful Investment Experience… Read more

Allen Speaks on Breadwinner Women at National Conference

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This November Sharon Allen spoke at the InvestmentNews Women Adviser Summit in San Francisco, California. She shared her expertise regarding the concerns and needs of Breadwinner Women in our society. Drawing from the national research from the Family Wealth Advisor’s Council, of which Sharon is a member, she focused on the resulting data highlighting the challenges and opportunities financial advisors need to be aware of when serving these clients. “It was an honor to be asked to contribute on this very important topic,” says Allen. “Our research shows that the financial services industry needs to do a much better job in truly partnering with women.”

Sharon Allen, CFP(R), CTFA is the Co-Founder and President of Sterling Wealth Management, a fee-only wealth management firm. She has an exceptionally collaborative approach in working with her clients, and has a particular interest in the challenges facing women of wealth. Sharon has co-authored a paper on the Sandwich Generation Woman titled Caught In the Middle: How Does the Sandwich Generation Woman Not Get Squeezed?.

Holiday Conversation Starter – Family Financial DNA

multi-generation family white bkgd (standing)

What are your plans for this holiday season? Why not include some meaningful financial planning conversation while you pass the turkey?

Every family has a “Financial DNA”…a set of unique values and personality around money. These values guide life decisions that have economic impact. For example, if community is important to you, you might choose to spend $20 on diapers for the local emergency shelter instead of going out for coffee. Or if you want to see your family members hone a natural skill to excellence, you might choose to live a more simple life now to set aside financial resources for college or training for them in the future.

If you find yourself desirous of cultivating that DNA for future generations, here are some questions to spark conversation.

  • What’s important to you about money?
  • What is your definition of wealth?
  • What would you like to do for your community?
  • What do you want to do for the world at large?
  • What charitable causes tug at your heart?
  • What would your ideal weekend or vacation be?

There’s no right or wrong answer. And hopefully by starting the conversation, you will have had a chance to begin defining your family mission.