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3 Estate Planning Analogies, Dilemmas and Solutions

1/23/2025

 
Holistic Wealthcare
By D. Scott Bloom, CFP®

The goal of this article is for readers to consider their own circumstances to validate the need to conduct annual hypothetical “scenario testing” simulations on their existing estate planning documents. In other words, see the need and benefit to review your documents for updates annually, at best, every 3-5 years at least. Three practical analogies are presented to reinforce the necessity and benefits of stress-testing the reader’s estate planning intentions in comparison to their aging documents, namely to their revocable living trust, powers of attorney and advanced healthcare directive documents. Keep in mind, updates and changes to any documents should be completed by a competent attorney/ firm licensed in your state of residence and preferably one who specializes in estate planning and trusts.      
Holistic Wealthcare
The Paradox
​The important subject of estate planning may be viewed as a paradox: 

On one hand, estate planning is a necessary process for the orderly and efficient control, management and transfer of an individual’s assets and estate. More bluntly, it’s what responsible and successful people do as a means of helping their families and successors avoid the perils of probate and a host of costly, administrative nuisances that come with disorganized estates.    

On the other hand, estate planning is often considered a complicated, intimidating legal matter that often evokes negative, yet subtle emotional responses having to do with considering our own imminent demise and how that unavoidable event ties into the subject of our finances. More bluntly, the idea of spending thousands of dollars, answering questions in an attorney’s office and discussing our future death (possibly with our spouse), is cringeworthy.  

Astute advisors and attorneys are generally insistent that clients review and update their estate planning documents periodically. Client’s generally postpone doing so and they procrastinate. This is understandable human behavior that we can acknowledge and overcome when we consider the following 3 analogies and their merits.      

Architecture & Construction 
Your estate plan is a set of blueprints for the future construction of a structure (house, building, museum). The blueprints of this structure represent the vision of your legacy. The estate plan documents you’ve signed and notarized are static, time stamped and dated- figuratively etched in stone and snapped into a 3-ring binder. These blueprints get printed, saved as .pdf files and or uploaded into the cloud. The architectural blueprints for any construction project are similarly dated, printed and timestamped. Accordingly, these documents age with time. 

The risk and dilemma: Over time, as zoning laws change, construction standards improve and building materials evolve and modernize, the architect’s blueprints remain rolled up and stored in cylindrical cardboard tubes. Many times, there are unforeseen delays. When it’s finally time to break ground on construction, (ie: the triggering event being your incapacity or death), the outdated plans can’t be carried out according to legal codes, industry standards and available construction materials.            

Hollywood Movie 
Your estate plan is a screenplay, the script for an Oscar winning film. The screenplay involves the producers and scriptwriters  (you & your spouse), a director (successor trustee), a movie set (state law),  the cast of actors and audience (your beneficiaries). Your script is composed of scenes and acts, literal future actions that you’ve imagined and dictated for the director to interpret, both literally and with a certain amount of creative subjectivity. You’ve included a happy ending where the actors ride off into the sunset, happily ever after.

The risks and dilemmas: When filming is set to begin (ie: the triggering event being your incapacity or death) the award winning director is no longer the Hollywood favorite, they’ve retired, slowed down or they’re otherwise no longer your best choice to do the job. Meanwhile, the movie set you had in mind is no longer suitable due to state laws, the studio moved operations or this type of filming is done digitally. The young actors you had in mind have aged (minors beneficiaries reaching adulthood) or circumstances changed (married, divorced, remarried with step-children, etc)        

Autobiography 
Your estate plan literally begins with an autobiography, a self-written account of your life. At the date of publishing it is entirely historical. By definition, there is no “ending” yet. This is where non-fiction turns into science fiction, the best-case scenario and predictive foretelling of your future intentions. With estate planning, you write your own ending- AND THE SEQUEL- to your life story. Similarly to an actual autobiography that you have published during your lifetime, your estate plan documents are dated- and they will age with time. Accordingly with an autobiography and your estate plan documents, you may want (or need) to reprint a revised edition. This is for the benefit of your reader and, in this example, for your heirs.   

The risk and dilemma: Leaving to chance how the original edition of your life’s story is interpreted by successor trustees, third parties and the courts has negative consequences that can outlive our own life expectancies by years. As long as we are still living and have the capacity to do so, we should ensure that our “happy ending” is realized by our loved ones.
Regularly reviewing and updating your estate planning documents ensures they remain aligned with your intentions, responsive to changing circumstances, and compliant with evolving laws. By adopting a proactive approach—such as annual or periodic “scenario testing”—you can prevent outdated plans from causing unintended consequences. The solution is simple: treat your estate plan as a living document, evolving with you, and review it with qualified professionals to secure your legacy and provide clarity and peace of mind for your loved ones.

​-D. Scott Bloom, CFP®

Quality vs Quantity: The Merits of Holistic Wealthcare

1/22/2025

 
By D. Scott Bloom, CFP®
This article seeks to validate holistic wealthcare as a sustainable innovation in financial services and demonstrates how its application to investment advice and financial planning can lead advisors and their clients to achieve immensely more abundance and well being than traditional financial industry models. More importantly, this effort asks you to explore and uncover hidden opportunities to improve and sustain your overall results when you apply the holistic wealthcare methodology to your financial goals. 

It starts with two basic premises and asks readers for validation of both. From there, we build on these foundations to form a basis for a rationale to apply the Holistic Wealthcare approach to financial decision making and methods to identify when to do so.

The first premise: Groupthink impedes exceptional results. 

Example:
Groupthink describes members of a group - in this context, traditional financial advisors- who prioritize consensus and cohesion over critical analysis, individual opinions, or alternative solutions. Conformity to traditional norms prioritizes the harmony of adhering to the “status quo” the expense of critical evaluation and independent thinking. The pressures to conform to acceptable schools of thought create illusions of consensus that dismiss alternative strategies resulting in overconfidence in conventional decision making. In simple terms: Groupthink breeds complacency, leading us to substandard outcomes that work against our own best interests.  
​

The second premise: Focusing on purely financially measured and tangible outcomes at the expense of subjective, non-tangible considerations impedes exceptional results and outcomes of comprehensive wellbeing that compliment wealth.  

Example: 
If markets are unbeatable over the long term and Efficient Market Theory is indeed valid, then the pursuit of sustainable, exceptional financial performance is elusive, at best, when measured solely in monetary metrics. In simple terms: When “more money” is the primary cause, the only resulting effect is “more money”. Then what?    
If we can simply agree on the merits of these two foundational premises above, a case emerges to validate holistic wealthcare as a more efficient means to deliver investment advice and to achieve long term well being. The old model that equated well being with dollars is broken.  

The world of financial services is all about money. By definition, by habit and by all reasonable critical observation, the money business is about money. Period. The End.

If that is true (and let’s assume for a moment that it is true), what are the effects of succeeding in the world of finance, or any other business pursuit when the outcomes are measured monetarily?  

Practical Observation 
A business owner said they were laser focused on the goal of “becoming the biggest company in the industry”. All of their effort, energy, time and resources were being dedicated to becoming the biggest. All of this focus on “biggest” came at great compromise and sacrifice of other parts of their life. Relationships, health and all of life’s truly important facets were being consciously subordinated to the goal of becoming the biggest. There would be nothing to stop this business owner and nobody else would impede them. That is, until they, themself, could take a few hours (or an entire day) to ask themself two easy questions:
  1. How does one measure “biggest” and in what terms? 
  2. Could one shift their goal to “becoming best” instead of “becoming the biggest” and how is that measured? 

The” biggest” is measurable in quantitative terms only, in volume of dollars and/or percentages represented in economic terms, (revenue, profit, market share or capitalization). Not only is “biggest” all about the money, it is ONLY about the money. 

Conversely, we measure the “best” both ways, expressed in qualitative (subjective) terms and quantitatively in dollars. “Best” can (and usually does) include economic metrics, but the “best” is ALWAYS about more than money. In most cases, the ‘best” is less about economic volume and more about subjective qualities such as consumer favorability, brand reputation and public relations. 

In the evolving landscape of financial services, Holistic Wealthcare emerges as a financial technology innovation by redefining success metrics and transforming how we measure and achieve client well-being. This disciplined approach prioritizes quality over quantity, urging a shift from purely numerical outcomes to a more balanced, comprehensive view of success. Traditional financial models have long been driven by metrics like revenue growth, return on investment and portfolio size, but holistic wealthcare challenges this paradigm by emphasizing intangible outcomes that support sustainable, multidimensional well-being.

By integrating this philosophy into fintech, astute investment advisors and financial planners can transcend the limitations of groupthink and monetary tunnel vision. They create solutions that focus not only on growing wealth but also on aligning financial strategies with personal values and life goals. This shift may enable clients to achieve not just financial abundance but also meaning, greater satisfaction, and overall life quality—proving that when quality leads, quantity follows naturally. Holistic wealthcare, therefore, is more than an innovation; it is a re-imagination of what true wealth means in a modern, interconnected world.
​

-By D. Scott Bloom, CFP®

​The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly. The economic forecasts set forth in this material may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that strategies promoted will be successful.

The Ongoing Development of Holistic Wealthcare in 2025

1/14/2025

 
It’s amazing how the measure of money can distract us from our stated goals, inherent intentions and best interests. This subconscious force seems unavoidable and something we should recognize and address as we strive to make decisions more confidently in an increasingly distracting environment of information overload.  

We’ve been developing and applying the “holistic wealthcare” methodology directly to financial planning and investment advisory client cases since first introducing the concept in November of 2018. I say “we” because I’ve been refining the holistic wealthcare innovation by collaborating with clients over the past 6 years with very encouraging results. The outcomes and the way we measure them suggest an increasingly productive road ahead as we can apply the “holistic wealthcare” approach to many, if not most, of our wider strategies and specific decisions.

What is “holistic wealthcare” (the short and simple synopsis)
A disciplined, wide-spectrum view of client well-being that subordinates quantitative metrics as the primary target and measurement. 

In other words, holistic wealthcare allows us to strive for and measure more than money in our financial planning and investment decision making. It’s important to add that the holistic wealthcare philosophy is more of a complement to traditional financial planning than it is a compromise of it. 

The Easiest Example
A thriving 48 year old wants to pay off her low interest mortgage. In theory, it’s a financial mistake. Her advisors, family and friends will oppose it every time. Holistic wealthcare enables her to make “the mistake” because it makes her feel well. The theoretical “mistake” is allowable because she is thriving. This decision compliments her overall well being rather than compromising it.

Another Simple Example 
A 64 year old is planning to retire with a state workers pension. Delaying retirement by 10 months will increase the monthly retirement income by $162. They have been miserable at work and hate their job, resulting in wide-spreading, negative consequences at home and with personal relationships. None of their advisors ever considered a holistic wealthcare perspective because it falls outside of traditional financial planning and they never asked. The intrinsic value of 200 days of freedom from misery was never weighed against the monetary value of $1,944 per year (or $9.72 per day in the first year).  

My clients, their affiliated advisors and I will continue to consider, apply and weight non-financial criteria to our decision making processes as a compliment to traditional financial planning strategies without compromising the value and integrity of them. 
​

In other words, we’ll be practicing holistic wealthcare. 

-D. Scott Bloom, CFP®  January 13, 2025

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly. The economic forecasts set forth in this material may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that strategies promoted will be successful.

2025 Outlook

1/13/2025

 
2050 may come faster than we expect and it’s realistic that a child born today will be alive in the 22nd century. I suggest taking an optimistic perspective in 2025 and I’ll share some reasons for this with a holistic perspective of 2030.  

Think back to Y2K and try to recall where you were that New Year’s Eve, what kind of phone you had and what computer brand you were using at the time. Now compare how your phone and computer have changed. Remember your landline, Compaq and Blockbuster Video? We’re halfway from there to 2050. 

We can also look back as recently as our outlook in 2019 to see how society has improved for the better, net of the obvious challenges. The point of this exercise is to highlight how the pace of technological advancement continues to accelerate exponentially, transforming industries and improving societies at an increasingly rapid rate. The rules are changing more rapidly and there are opportunities for everyone, and more so for those of us who are paying closer attention and avoiding the tendency to be distracted by habitual norms. 

                    The rules may be changing faster than our ability to pay attention to them.  

Let’s stay in contact to exchange our respective developments across both personal and financial aspects so I can help us pay attention to when and where the opportunities for improvement are present. I’m looking forward to applying this optimism with you and, of course, to your continued success.

-D. Scott Bloom, CFP®
 

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly. The economic forecasts set forth in this material may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that strategies promoted will be successful.






iScott Outlook 2019

1/2/2019

 
The general public seems fooled into believing we can (or should try to) predict where markets, politics and economies are headed in the short and mid term. People who claim to stay well informed seemed tricked and trapped into believing they have the tools and a basis for predicting outcomes- of elections, markets and economies. Instead, most of us should, but fail to, focus on predicting our own behavioral patterns. I can look at this as a tragedy or an opportunity. To me, this is very low lying fruit and presents enormous opportunity. 

So instead of going out on a limb, as I have in the past, and share my market forecast for the coming year, I’d be more wise (and likely accurate) to forecast what the average investor will say and do, especially in the wake of the past 3 months market correction. “Wait and see.” 

Wait to see what happens. Wait until the uncertainty goes away. Wait for a safer time to decide.

The markets are virtually impossible to predict with any reliability. There is no evidence to refute this. The same can be said about the the economy, vis a vie Gross Domestic Product (GDP). There are no models or proven algorithms that have accurately predicted what will happen with markets and economies. We might all admit that we are often surprised by the outcomes and results of both. This is the nature of opportunity and risk. The past few years have revealed great proof of this. 

What is much more predictable and worth paying attention to is human behavior, and namely, our own patterns of recurring behaviors when it comes to money and investing. This is what 2 decades of advising private clients has taught me to focus on. The practice of studying recurring patterns of predictable behaviors is also a tenet in the field of behavioral finance (aka behavioral economics). This helps explain why many people "buy high and sell low" and also why the pain of losing 10% hurts twice as much as the joy of gaining 10% feels good.  

This is important to us right now BECAUSE it helps us choose what we shall pay attention to. It takes strict discipline that many, if not most, of us lack. When we realize that paying closer attention to others and, most importantly, to ourselves, we can see the conundrum of trying to predict market outcomes and get stuck in this trap. Most people I have observed (including myself at times) seem to waste time and energy trying to process information (basically the news) and formulate opinions of the next move in the markets and economies. Take election results for example. We are often tricked into thinking the polls are accurate. Forget for a moment whether polls are accurate or not on any given day. what is important is how we are led (or tricked into) believing polls are reliable. The same conclusion can be drawn with market predictions and the media trying to sway public opinion. I would like to see some very pessimistic commentators making huge personal bets against the markets to support their opinions- but they do not put their money where their mouths are.

I am extremely optimistic amidst a storm of pessimism and I have my reasons, not the least of which is reliance on the iScott Information Processing Algorithm and the sequential refining of data through it. But, if it were for nothing else, the public’s short attention span, lack of conviction and doubtful confusion from information overload are reliable enough in my view.   

Here’s To A Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year 
D. Scott Bloom, CFP®

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly. The economic forecasts set forth in this material may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that strategies promoted will be successful.



INFORMATION PROCESSING ALGORITHM

12/6/2018

 
This iScott algorithm may be used to organize and refine raw information derived from subjective and quantitative sources of facts and opinions that are successively filtered downward from top to bottom and validated, in sequence, from left to right, then combined into relevant and material data that can be applied to a disciplined, decision making process. It is neither a mathematical computation or calculation but may be thought of as an information deduction funnel that can apply reliability and relevance to various sources of information in sequences that are intended to help make decisions based on data that is refined and considered both reliable and material.
The iScott Algorithm- Information Processing Diagram
File Size: 144 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

information processing algorithm, iscott
Sources of information, information processing algorithm

SOURCES OF INFORMATION WORKSHEET 

The following categories and specific information are first  identified and considered as relevant or not before given a weighting as to how important to the overall information refining process.
Sources of Information Worksheet
File Size: 120 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Holisitic Wealthcare

11/19/2018

 
Holistic Wealthcare D Scott Bloom CFP
D Scott Bloom Holistic Wealthcare
Introducing Holisitic Wealthcare
Holistic Wealthcare starts where traditional financial planning reached its limits. A breakthrough in the field of finance, Holistic Wealthcare merges behavioral economics and ancient philosophy with the technical aspects of financial planning to address complex problems measured by non-financial outcomes- instead of strictly dollar denominated metrics.

Stated simply, it’s not just about “the mighty dollar”, but instead, the effects and outcomes wealth can produce. In other words, HWC explains why some “rich” people seem unhappy and examines the method and means to correct this before it happens. This new way of addressing problems is reserved only for those individuals who already understand that money and wealth is not the true answer to a fulfilled life and lasting happiness. Wealth can be a means to happiness but not when it is intended as an ends.

The field of finance and investment management may sometimes miss this point because they have answered the wrong questions to address the wrong problems instead of asking and addressing the right ones. Many of the problems that naturally follow in the path of wealth creation and transfer go unnoticed or ignored. These are the problems we uncover and address with Holistic Wealthcare.

D. Scott Bloom, CFP
​iScott

Why the Question is More Valuable than its Answer

11/13/2018

 
holistic wealthcareD. Scott Bloom
Why the Question is More
Valuable than its Answer

The right answers to the wrong questions are incorrect. This is the perfect time to point this out
amidst the era of ‘fake news’ and the increasingly unreliable nature of Internet search results.

Try not to let this sound silly or insult your intelligence. Because if you think about a few
examples, you’ll see how this is a more common, yet subtle dilemma happening all around us,
everyday. In the process of trying to solve our doubts we are sometimes increasing them and
this may be happening right under our noses.

True or false: Almost everywhere we look, many people are quick to offer their answers or
solutions (ie: their informed opinion) to the world’s problems, the direction of the economy or the
outcome of next election. To be fair, an ironic example is my opinion of this dilemma is itself.
We see it on cable news shows, hear it on talk radio and read it on social media post replies:
Many are quick to offer their correct answer but few point out the correct or alternate question.
(For instance, like I am doing right here)

Current examples of possibly wrong answers to unvalidated questions:
Answer: Our education system can be fixed by doing Z.
Correct question: Which system exactly and what specific problems?

Answer: The solution to the immigration crisis is X.
Correct question: What is the immigration crisis exactly?

Answer: The best sector in economy right now is Y.
Correct questions: What does “best” sector mean, and to whom?
Is it the fastest growing or the most consistently growing? Or is it the one with the furthest to
grow? Why does defining it matter?

Answer: The best way to invest my 401(k) is X
Correct question: Have I made the maximum contribution yet? Do I consider employer matching
to determine this?
​
Pay a little attention this week in your environment and think about the abundance of answers
floating around and the relative scarcity of “correct question alternates”. In other words, look to
see who or what is questioning the questions. How this applies to our daily decisions is at least
as important as it is to our financial decisions.
Pointing this out is something I do to help my clients.
D. Scott Bloom, CFP

What Really Matters & Why

11/7/2018

 
Wealthcare financial planner, holisitc wealthcare
iscott fee only financial planner
What Really Matters & Why
If you think about the infinite amount of information we have at our fingertips today, it’s seems overwhelming that we have to pick and choose what information really matters to our biggest decisions. In other words, what information is both reliable and relevant? How do we do this? Is there some method or system to test and validate the “stuff” that really matters?

In the context of financial planning and investment strategy, what really matters to our next important decision can vary widely depending on how we filter and process information, including identifying our influences and bias. Do we consider everything we need to? Do we exclude the information that doesn’t matter? Do we always consider our own inherent biases?

Looking in the mirror and being very honest with myself, the answer is usually no.

In my professional practice helping clients through the process of deciding some of life’s most important financial decisions, I’ve had to develop a systematic process to filter and test all of the raw “info-gredients” into well-refined, validated information we will use, together to make knowledgeable decisions. Over 20 years in this role, and from the dawn of the “information age”, I’ve had to evolve and adapt my skills to weed and sift through all the raw material. 

This is relevant and you can relate to this when you see people making irrational decisions and these life mistakes transcend well beyond financial concerns. Immaterial factors can influence our decisions and usually weaken our chances of success, no matter how we measure it. 

What is your process for refining information? Have you developed a disciplined process that you can strictly apply to almost any decision in your life?

Neither had I- until I did. The ability to extract usable knowledge from raw information is the most valuable tool I can use to help my clients.

​D. Scott Bloom, CFP®

Looking at Objects from Multiple Perspectives Helps Us See More  

2/20/2013

 
Do you consider your investments from multiple perspectives?

Most of the time, when we look at an object or we look at any situation, we tend to look at it from a singular perspective, from our own view. But we were to force ourselves to consciously look at a single object or situation from varying, multiple perspectives, even if they’re ones we don’t want to look at, we see more of the object, we see more of the situation. And when we can see more of the situation, we are in a lot stronger of a position to judge the situation. Pointing this out is something I do to help my clients.


-D. Scott Bloom, CFP

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendation for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate consult your financial advisor prior to investing. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are
unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly.


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