TandemGrowth Financial Advisors, LLC

Many retirement portfolios are built around two familiar asset classes: stocks and bonds.

In the latest episode of The Money & Meaning Show, Jeff Bernier sits down with Peter Nakada, Chief Education Officer at Stone Ridge Asset Management, to discuss diversification, alternative investments, and how some investors think about portfolio construction beyond traditional asset classes.

As life expectancies increase, many retirees may face investment horizons that span decades, creating unique challenges around balancing growth, income needs, and portfolio risk.

Topics include:
• The difference between traditional alternatives and "true alternatives"
• How reinsurance works and why it exists
• Considerations for incorporating alternative investments into a diversified portfolio
• The role diversification can play within retirement portfolios
• Common behavioral challenges investors may face when evaluating less familiar asset classes

For those preparing for retirement, this conversation offers perspectives on diversification, risk, and long-term portfolio construction.

🎧 Listen here: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-z3ekk-1ae3e9f
👀 Watch here: https://youtu.be/RzZGu4_bQK8

We're honored to share that The Money & Meaning Journey recently earned Amazon Best Seller rankings across multiple categories, including:

🏆 #1 Best Seller in Retirement Planning
🏆 #2 Best Seller in Personal Finance
🏆 #5 Best Seller in Retirement Planning Books
🏆 #5 Best Seller in Success eBooks

Thank you to everyone who has picked up a copy and shared the book with others. We're grateful to see its message continue to resonate with readers.

If you'd like to learn more or get a copy, you can find it here: https://a.co/d/08AXhWKm
Learn more about the author: https://www.jeffbernierauthor.com/

Jeff recently came across this chart from Capital Group and thought it was worth sharing.

Looking back over the past several decades, many of the world's largest companies eventually gave way to new leaders. Oil companies dominated the early 1980s. Japan led in 1990. Technology companies took center stage in 2000 and 2020. Today's leaders may not be tomorrow's leaders.

For investors, it's a reminder that market leadership can change over time and that maintaining a diversified portfolio may help reduce the risk of relying too heavily on any one company, sector, or theme.

Take a look at the chart and commentary at the link below.

https://www.capitalgroup.com/advisor/pdf/shareholder/MFGEOS-448-1086549.pdf

If you work for a large employer such as Delta Air Lines, UPS, The Coca-Cola Company, Home Depot, or a similar organization, nonqualified deferred compensation may be an important part of your compensation package.

In our latest blog, Jeff walks through through some planning considerations executives may want to explore well before retirement approaches, including:

✅ How distribution elections work under IRS Section 409A
✅ Why the timing and structure of distributions matters for your tax picture
✅ How deferred compensation interacts with Social Security, RMDs, and other retirement income sources
✅ What to understand about the risk profile of NQDC plans compared to qualified accounts

Understanding how these plans fit alongside retirement income, taxes, and other assets is often most effective when explored years before retirement.

Read the article here: https://www.tandemgrowth.com/blog/deferred-compensation-planning-considerations-for-executives-approaching-retirement/

For individuals approaching retirement, investment risk is about more than just market volatility.

But what if the greater challenge is being forced to make financial decisions during periods of uncertainty because of income changes, fixed expenses, or limited liquidity?

In this month’s Perspectives episode of *The Money & Meaning Show*, Jeff Bernier explores why financial resilience is about more than portfolio allocation alone.

Topics include:

• Why staying invested matters during market downturns
• The role liquidity plays in long-term investing
• How fixed lifestyle expenses can increase financial pressure
• Why flexibility can matter just as much as investment strategy

🎧 Listen to the full episode here: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-kaes7-1acdc60

👀 Watch the episode here: https://youtu.be/9OPckJjH8cM

Retirement rarely follows a straight line.

This WSJ piece shares real stories of individuals navigating divorce later in life and the financial and personal adjustments that came with it.

The article highlights a few themes:
📍Retirement assets and income streams are often divided after divorce
📍Housing decisions and taxes can have a meaningful financial impact
📍Some individuals delay retirement or adjust spending as a result
📍Planning decisions may become more complex when navigating these changes

It’s may offer a helpful perspective on how life events can influence retirement planning in ways that aren’t always easy to anticipate.

https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/divorce-retirement-america-6d03e3e2?mod=personal-finance_trendingnow_article_pos2

Retirement isn’t just about a number. It’s about the life you want to live.

In our latest article, we explore a different way to think about retirement planning—one that starts with your lifestyle, your priorities, and what matters most to you.

From travel and family to flexibility and giving, your plan should reflect the choices that shape your life.

If you’re thinking about what the next chapter could look like, this may be a helpful place to start.

Lifestyle Retirement Planning: Design Your Future | TandemGrowth Retirement looks different for everyone, especially for those who have spent years building wealth, businesses, and meaningful careers. For many, the goal is not just stepping away from work. It is about stepping into a lifestyle that reflects personal values, long-held ambitions, and the freedom to...

We’re continuing to grow at TandemGrowth Financial Advisors!

We’re looking to add a Wealth Advisor to our team in Alpharetta, GA. This is an important role for us, and we’re taking a thoughtful approach to finding the right fit—someone who enjoys building real relationships with clients and values a deep financial planning process that looks beyond the numbers.

We’re ideally looking for a CFP® professional with at least five years of experience working directly with clients in an advisory role, preferably in a fee-only or planning-focused environment.

If you or someone in your network might be a fit, we’d welcome the conversation.

Check us out here: https://www.tandemgrowth.com/who-we-are/

Learn more here: https://bit.ly/4n4VXBO

New episode of Money & Meaning is out!

Financial planning isn’t just about numbers. It’s about making thoughtful decisions that support the life you want to live.

In this conversation, Jeff sits down with Jason Lina of Golden Bell Financial Planning to share perspectives on how experienced advisors approach uncertainty, build simple and durable plans, and help clients stay focused on what matters most.

It’s a look at what thoughtful financial planning can look like over time.

Listen here 🎧 https://bit.ly/4vXjyIs
Watch here 👀 https://bit.ly/3R6nczK

40 Years

1986 was a memorable year: the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, Chernobyl, the Reagan–Gorbachev summit in Reykjavik, Iran-Contra, and Mike Tyson becoming the youngest heavyweight champion ever.

On April 1, 1986, the S&P 500 closed at 235.52. (It closed at 6,528.52 on March 31, 2026.)

And I began my career as a financial advisor.

Hard to believe — 40 years ago, I started this journey in financial planning. I was young, excited, and honestly had no idea where the path would ultimately lead. But I knew I had found something meaningful: helping people make informed decisions about their financial lives.

Over the first 17 years, I built a practice within a larger financial services firm. The last 23 years, I’ve had the privilege of serving as both advisor and entrepreneur at TandemGrowth Financial Advisors. It has been an incredible ride.

I’m deeply grateful to the TandemGrowth team, our clients, and colleagues who have made my life’s work possible.

In 2013, when I turned 50, something became clearer. I gained a sharper vision of how our firm should serve clients. We became more intentional about helping people uncover what matters most — and aligning their financial plans with those priorities.

That mission continues today: helping clients gain clarity and confidence so they can focus on what matters most in their lives.

I feel fortunate to have found a profession that allows me to live out what I believe is a God-inspired calling. I remain excited about the future and look forward to leading a team committed to serving clients with excellence for many years to come.

Thank you for being part of the journey,
Jeff