Rainier Wealth Planning

09/03/2026

Recent data regarding men's health highlight a critical reality that deserves closer attention:

1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.

Excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, it stands as the most commonly diagnosed cancer in U.S. men. While that statistic is stark, the turnaround potential is incredible:

🚀 When caught early, the 5-year survival rate exceeds 99 percent.

Here are the most critical facts to know about risk and prevention:

◾ The Age Factor: Approximately 6 in 10 cases are diagnosed in men aged 65 or older.

◾ Family History: Risk increases for individuals with a father or brother who has battled the disease.

◾ The Silent Nature: Early-stage prostate cancer rarely shows any symptoms at all, making proactive screening the ultimate defense.

The American Cancer Society recommends speaking with a healthcare provider to make informed decisions about testing. This conversation typically begins at age 50 for average-risk individuals and earlier (around age 40 to 45) for those with a strong family history.

Consider sharing this information with a colleague, friend, or family member who might need a reminder to prioritize their next check-up.

09/02/2026

For many Gen Xers, retirement is starting to feel less like a distant milestone and more like a looming financial reality.

The oldest members of the generation will turn 62 next year, the earliest age to claim Social Security. At the same time, many are approaching retirement with limited savings and fewer pensions than previous generations had.

The median Gen X retirement savings balance is about $107,000, while members of the generation estimate they’ll need roughly $700,000 for retirement. Social Security may also become an increasingly important source of income, with 41% of workers over 55 saying they expect it to be their primary source in retirement.

That gap is prompting some Gen Xers to rethink when they’ll stop working, how much they may need to save, and what retirement could realistically look like.

If retirement is getting closer, this may be a good time to review your savings, expected Social Security benefits, and other sources of retirement income.

Millions of Generation X Americans expect to depend on Social Security as their main — or only — source of retirement income.

09/02/2026

👉 Roughly 56 percent of IPOs bought at the offer price lost money after 3 years.

That's not the headline you see on day one.

You see the first-day pop. The company goes public, and its stock has averaged a 19 percent gain since 1980. Feels like a moment you should catch.

Here's what actually happens:

1️⃣ Institutional investors get the offering price before trading opens.

2️⃣ You buy at market open, after the move.

Then the real story starts.

🔎 This gap is based on research led by Professor Jay R. Ritter, who authored a 2026 report on IPO performance for the University of Florida. His analysis of 9,300 U.S. IPOs is one of the most comprehensive databases available.

Chasing IPOs can provide a thrill, but there are pros and cons.

A sound portfolio should reflect an investor's goals, risk, and time horizon. The risks of an IPO are not for everyone. 🎯

📋 Past performance does not guarantee future results. The return and principal value of IPOs and other stocks will fluctuate as market conditions change. And shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost.

08/27/2026

Two retirees can experience the same average market returns and have very different retirement outcomes.

Why?

Because the order in which investment returns occur can matter, particularly when retirement withdrawals have already begun.

This is known as sequence-of-returns risk.

The risk isn't simply that markets decline. It's that withdrawals may need to continue during a market downturn, which can have a greater impact on a portfolio than a similar decline occurring later in retirement.

A retirement income strategy may consider factors such as:

🔹 Where retirement income will come from
🔹 The role of cash or short-term reserves
🔹 Which accounts to withdraw from first
🔹 When and how portfolios are rebalanced
🔹 How required minimum distributions (RMDs) and Social Security fit into an overall withdrawal strategy

Sequence-of-returns risk may not receive as much attention as market performance, but it is an important retirement planning concept to understand.

Rather than attempting to predict market movements, many retirement plans focus on preparing for a variety of market conditions.

08/26/2026

By 2030, women are expected to control nearly two-thirds of private wealth in the United States, representing roughly $30 trillion, according to a landmark 2020 study by McKinsey & Co.

That shift is already underway.

More women than men now graduate from college. Women-owned businesses generate more than $2.7 trillion in annual revenue.

And because women statistically live longer than men, many also manage the final, and often most complex, chapter of a family’s financial life.

The numbers tell an important story:

🔸 Women make or influence a growing share of household financial decisions.

🔸 Yet many still report feeling less confident, less heard, and less well served by traditional financial preparation.

🔸 That gap isn’t about ability. It is about whether the guidance, questions, and process reflect the realities of modern wealth.

Today is Women’s Equality Day.

A financial strategy should reflect the life being built and the goals that matter most for women and men alike: family dynamics, longevity, business ownership, caregiving, legacy, and the financial decisions that shape what is possible.

Does yours?

08/25/2026

There is usually no single moment when the roles begin to shift with aging parents.

A confusing medical bill.
A missed payment.
A scam text that almost got clicked.

When and how do you step in without taking over?

The goal is not to take control.

The goal is to make sure helpful people, information, and safeguards are in place before decisions have to be made under pressure.

One potential conversation starter you could try…

“We are reviewing our own estate documents and realize we should understand where everything is.”

Sometimes, that is enough to open the door.

The families who tend to feel best about how this chapter goes are the ones who approached it as a proactive exercise rather than a response to a problem.

We are glad to be part of that process at whatever stage a family is ready to begin.

08/25/2026

There is usually no single moment when the roles begin to shift. It may be a confusing medical bill. A missed payment. A scam text they almost clicked. A question about an account they have had for years. A conversation where they...

08/21/2026

As today is National Senior Citizens Day, we wanted to draw attention to something that can sometimes fall through the cracks: the Medicare Part B late enrollment penalty.

Most don’t know that if you miss your Initial Enrollment Period (the 7-month window around your 65th birthday), Medicare tacks on a 10 percent surcharge to your monthly premium for every 12 months you delay enrollment.

No cap. No expiration date.

Delay two years, pay 20 percent more. Delay by five years, you pay 50 percent. Every month. For life.

How to manage it?

You are only exempt from this penalty if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP).

This usually means you delayed signing up because you (or your spouse) were still actively working and had "creditable" health insurance through that active employer.

If you’re concerned, ask your financial advisor where to find the most up-to-date Medicare information.

08/19/2026

Donating appreciated stock to charity has pros and cons. So, most donors still write the check.

When you contribute appreciated securities directly to a donor-advised fund (DAF), you can manage capital gains tax on the gain and perhaps deduct the full fair market value.

The charity receives the full amount. Nothing is lost to taxes in between.

From there, you can focus grants to any eligible nonprofit on your own timeline. The funds can stay invested and may grow while you decide.

💡 If you're holding appreciated positions and giving is part of your strategy, how you give can matter as much as how much you give.

📋 **Some donor-advised funds are considered mutual funds and are sold only by prospectus. The prospectus will provide information on charges, risks, expenses, and investment objectives and should be reviewed carefully before investing. Investment companies can provide a prospectus, or you may prefer to ask your financial professional.**

💡 Consider asking your financial advisor to work with your tax, legal, or accounting advisors if a DAF sounds interesting.

08/14/2026

Some professionals assume their financial strategy is in better shape than it is. Not because they're careless. Because they're busy.

Today is National Financial Awareness Day. Four questions worth sitting with:

▸ If something happened to you tomorrow, would your family know what you have, where it is, and what to do?

▸ Are you on track to replace your income in retirement, or are you assuming you will be?

▸ Has your financial strategy changed as much as your life has in the last 12 months?

▸ If markets dropped tomorrow, do you have written goals or a general sense of what you'd do?

You don't have to answer all four today. But if one made you pause, that's the one worth paying attention to.