In 2016, greater risks on a number of fronts are likely to increase the frequency and magnitude of volatility spikes for investors. 

It seems like yesterday that my daughter, Nina, turned one year old and was an adorable, chubby little girl. Now, she’s a beautiful 15-year-old teen who loves reading, skiing, tennis, travel, choir, and piano. As a parent, I feel the urgency to teach her essential life skills before she goes off to college, especially around financial literacy and money management, which are critical for her success and happiness.

So, this blog post is written for her and the teens in your life. Be sure to

It’s tax season again, and a question we get from a number of clients after receiving their year end statements is, “Are my investment advisory fees tax deductible?” And the answer is an equivocal, “It depends.”

Congress did grant a tax deduction for certain investment expenses, but with anything to do with the tax code, the devil’s is in the details. Not to worry though, we’ll use this opportunity to settle the issue no matter your situation.

Driving requires a glance at the dashboard on a regular basis to monitor all of the various gauges that let us know when things are on track and when we don’t have enough gas to get to our destination. The same is true for your finances.

In our time together previously, we have driven through financial planning topics at a relatively high rate of speed. From investment planning, tax strategies, estate planning, and more, we’ve covered a lot of ground.

Throughout this road trip, I’ve mentioned

Oh, the dichotomy of money talks with your spouse. They’re so vital to have, yet they are often uncomfortable. So, not surprisingly, most married couples aren’t properly communicating about financial habits and money values.

When a couple marries, they bring their individual money values into the union, which can be as unique as their fingerprints. These values have been created over a lifetime, often through observing parents, and most people are deeply entrenched in them. The trouble is that

Have you ever wondered how to merge savings into your budget? What if there was a way to save efficiently without putting you in a panic about having enough money on hand to pay monthly expenses or for discretionary spending? Think about your spending habits for a second. Most of the time, we don’t even think twice about swiping a card or dishing out cash for smaller purchases and monthly expenses. If you live in an apartment, you pay rent. You might also have a car payment, utilities, or a

Independence Day is one of America’s favorite summer holidays. What is one of your favorite traditions on Independence Day: fireworks, hotdogs, parades? In this blog, I want to talk about another kind of Independence Day, your Financial Independence Day.

If money and time were not an issue, what kind of activities would you be doing over the next twelve months? The day when work becomes optional—when you can choose to stop working and start doing those activities that you enjoy while

Nobody likes thinking about the end, or picking a guardian to raise your children, or having to pick which of your children would best at managing your money in your absence. But the thing about estate planning is, if you don’t do it, you lose your say in how things are handled when you pass away or if you are incapacitated and unable to speak on your own behalf. Without a will, your estate may end up in court, divvied up based on a judge’s decision—not your own.

Doing pretty well

Picture this - I’ll be at a networking event, wearing a sticker name tag and holding a plastic glass of tepid water, and a guy with a bad suit and even worse haircut will, out of nowhere, shout, “I don’t get what you wealth managers do.  I do pretty well on my own just using the internet.”  And, before I can respond, he’s off to give his opinion again, rambling about the cheese tray to the hotel staff. 

When I founded Echo Wealth Management in early 2015, I had a vision in mind for my new company: take complexity out of wealth management while helping clients gain the confidence to follow their dreams.  And over the past 18 months, through investing in cutting edge technology, and bringing Steve Drost and Tyler Lodahl aboard as associate wealth managers, I am thrilled by what we have achieved together: over $59 million in assets under management and 50 clients.  In addition, I

Echo Huang recently sat down with the Brave by Design podcast to share her personal story and discuss financial planning for retirement. 

We are pleased to announce that Echo Huang, CFA, CFP®, CPA was interviewed by Maddie Swenson from Winona State University recently and is featured today in the “This is WSU” campaign:

Echo Huang recently sat down with Merilyn and her Lead Your Day podcast to simplify wealth management and take the complexity out of finances. 

Echo Huang recently sat down with DPL's Tim Rembowski for their podcast series: Advisor Relations Podcast. 

Oh, the dichotomy of money discussions. They’re so important to have, yet they are often uncomfortable and, therefore, avoided at all costs. Couple that with the fact that money disagreements are a leading cause of divorce,[i] and it’s no surprise most married couples aren’t properly communicating about financial habits and money values.

[i] https://www.cnbc.com/2015/02/04/money-is-the-leading-cause-of-stress-in-relationships.html

In a two-parent household, raising children can be quite the task. Raising children as a single parent brings additional challenges, stressors, and responsibilities – many of which are financial.

Though financially stressful, it’s important to remember that it’s possible to raise a child on your own and have a stable financial life. It merely requires discipline and planning. So, if you’re a single parent and feeling a bit overwhelmed, use these steps as a guide to help you achieve financial

With thankfulness and appreciation for my friends, family, team and clients, I am excited to celebrate the 2nd birthday of Echo Wealth Management today! It has been a satisfying journey over the past two years of building a strong foundation for the business that focuses on taking the complexity out of wealth management. We have been blessed with amazing client experiences and the supportive efforts from our centers of influence, including attorneys, CPAs, insurance agents, business operations

When I worked as a tax CPA for KPMG in the late 90s, I served many corporate executives and wealthy families as their senior tax specialist and prepared many individual income tax returns, trust returns, and gift tax returns. Now, I use that knowledge and expertise to help my affluent and high-income clients plan ahead to keep more money in their pockets by using smart tax savings strategies. 

Looking at this Historical Tax Rate Chart 1913-2021, you can see that the current top income

Recently Echo sat down with the Business Credit and Financing Show to discuss how to safeguard and market-proof your financial portfolio in any crisis.

Sometimes, the unknown can be a bit scary. Previously, I’ve shared several financial tips that will allow you to plan for your financial independence and to own your future. Today, I want to ask you to give me a few somber minutes of your time.

I am asking you to turn off your emotions and turn on your intellect only. This way, you will be protected from your emotions entering in and shutting you off from discussing a tough but important topic: Long-Term Care. Come out from under the blanket