Melanie Obura - Atwell Private Wealth Management

04/28/2025

After two years of intensive study and eight 2-3 hour exams, I am so pleased to receive my Chartered Financial Consultant certification from The American College. Just another step to more deeply serve our amazing clients!

03/08/2024

Happy International Women's Day! Women, you bring so much good to every sphere you touch: personal and professional

Today we celebrate you!

05/01/2023

Subscribe to the Notes on the Week Ahead newsletter to receive it directly in your inbox and access Market Insights on Amazon Alexa & Google Home. On Ireland’s Atlantic seaboard, ten miles west of the town of Lisdoonvarna, stand the majestic Cliffs of Moher.

04/19/2023

I have received a lot of questions surrounding US currency and concern for it's stability in the future. I think this article by economists Bryan Wesbury and Robert Stein provides an incredible amount of perspective around these concerns. It's honest, easy to understand and short! :)

Check it out and reach out if you would like to discuss!

Happy Hump Day and make it a good rest of the week!

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12/22/2022

Laughing our way into the holidays! Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas from the Atwell Private Wealth Management Team!

11/10/2022

https://www.lpl.com/newsroom/read/practice-pointers-maintaining-your-investment-cool-when-markets-are-volatile.html?utm_medium=email-internal&utm_source=thrivalist-newsletter&utm_campaign=market-volatility&utm_content=investor-facing-blogs&utm_term=maintain-cool-volatility&utm_type=11-8-22&utm_postid=b5550

As an investor, inflation and market uncertainty can make you feel jittery. Keeping your investment cool is critical to financial success. Here are 6 things to do.

10/24/2022

"As long as I’ve been in this business, I’ve seen the market swing from excessive enthusiasm to extreme pessimism. An investor with a reasonable degree of objectivity can benefit from selling the former and buying the latter. It’s an approach that frequently causes pain and tends to pay off mostly during the early stages of market upturns, as pessimism gives way to optimism. Warren Buffett said it best: Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful. Put another way, bear markets are an investor’s friend, provided they remain calm, patient and focus on the long term." - Steve Watson, Principal Investment Officer, International Growth and Income Fund - 34 years of investment experience

Capital Group portfolio managers with more than 30 years of investing experience share lessons learned from past bear markets and how they are investing today.

09/21/2022

Financial Advisor Erin Botsford once said "Don't touch other people's money unless you genuinely care what happens to it." Wise words I seek to live by in this industry. But what about you? In your line of work, what is the one thing for which you take responsibility each day. Fill in the blank for yourself:

Don't touch other people's ________ unless you genuinely care what happens to it (or them).

Remember, work is a blessing and a way to serve both God and neighbor. Let's do so today!

08/29/2022

Did you know you can change the beneficiary on a 529 college savings plan? If you're like me and plan on having kids but don't have them yet, here is a fun idea: Consider opening a 529 college savings plan naming yourself as the beneficiary. When you have your first child and receive their social security number, you can then change the beneficiary to their name. Let's face it - higher education can often be very expensive and most of us want our children and grandchildren to have the opportunities of some form of higher education. Don't wait until later to start planning for the future. Discipline and time in the market is everything! The time to begin is always NOW when it comes to starting the journey toward your goals.

Reach out to me to chat if you would like to discuss whether or not this could be a good strategy for you.

08/09/2022

What a Water Bottle Can Teach Us About Financial Planning

Discipline is hard. It's necessary, good and reaps reward, but it can be hard. It requires sacrifice. It requires effort and planning, especially to get started. But as this little water bottle reminds me: a little planning, a little disciplined consistency, and you can hit your goals. I am on my way to becoming a more hydrated individual, but it's not because I chose to just "start drinking more" and then started chugging large amounts of water at random. It's not because I try a new strategy every month or jump on the train of the latest trend. I simply found a tool (this water bottle) to help me make small, attainable goals for myself in an effort to meet a larger goal - to drink 64 ounces a day. This water bottle sits beside me at my desk every day, reminding me to slowly and consistently chip away at my goal. It's doable. It's sustainable.

My point? The role of a good financial advisor is to work with you to help you create a disciplined strategy to reach your unique financial goals, monitoring and adjusting that plan over time as life changes. But discipline and consistency is the key. No one gets to where they want to be overnight. They need to know where they are going and why. They need a plan of steps they can take to get there. They need education, advice and accountability to remain consistent.

Are you staying disciplined to your plan? Do you have a plan? When was the last time it was reviewed? Reach out to me to let me know how I can serve you on your financial journey.

07/28/2022

The Atwell Private Wealth Management team spent the last 4 days in the great city of Denver, CO at the LPL Financial Focus Conference. What a great event! This annual conference gathers independent financial advisors from across the United States to network, collaborate and learn. The goal is to help us be the best we can be for our clients, and I truly felt that in every part of this event. I called this my financial advisor nerd out convention. Fantastic keynote speakers, incredibly informative breakout sessions and an expo packed with resources. My highlights:

1) Keynote speakers, journalist Malcolm Gladwell and the world famous photographer Platon. Both men have had some fascinating experiences and their unique view of the world was very insightful.
2) Breakout sessions (too many to specify here) were exceptional. I unfortunately had to except that I couldn't be in two places at once and thus couldn't attend every breakout session, but what I did attend was fantastic! I had valuable nuggets I was able to take from each presentation.
3) Female advisor network. I came up to Denver early so that I could attend a pre-conference session specifically for female advisors. All I can say is WOW. These women blew me away. I was inspired and excited to get connected with such an amazing network of women.
4) Spending time with my team. Jeff and Sherrill are incredible people and I'm so thankful to have the honor of working with them. And they're just flat fun! We shared lots of laughs, swapped stories, and had fun nerding out together. If you get a chance, ask Jeff how much free swag we was able to snag from the vendors at the expo. The quantity was quite impressive!
5) The people I met. There were multiple opportunities to meet fellow advisors from across the country. Whether at dinners, breakout sessions, etc, I met some of the kindest people. Two different dinners found me next to advisors older and wiser than myself, and they were eager to answer my questions and instill their wisdom from over the years. What I also noted was how humble they were and eager to learn from others. It was very encouraging and inspiring.

All in all, an event well worth the trip. Already ready for next year!

Now back to work!