Larry Halverson: I've Been Thinking

It’s been over a year since the last communication went out under the IBT banner. I understand a few of you, at least, missed seeing them and wondered what I’ve been doing. Well, if you think I haven’t been thinking, think again.

A topic I’ve found myself thinking about a lot lately is retirement – in general as it applies to our clients and specifically as it applies to me. I’m within a year or two (or three . . . ?) of a career change that will probably be perceived by most as retirement. So, a few of us here in MEMBERS Capital Advisors thought it might be helpful to some of our representatives and clients if I were to share my thoughts on retirement as they accumulate over the next several months. And, we’d like to hear some of your thoughts on my thoughts. Hence, the blog format – today’s equivalent of the open-ended coffee house conversations of my younger days.

Why would reps and clients be interested in my thoughts on retirement? They may not; that’s yet to be determined. If some do, though, it will probably be because of two things. One, I recently completed my 36th year of managing investments for institutions and individuals. I have learned a few things about investing that I believe are worth sharing. Even more likely to justify some interest, however, is my more than 60 years as a “time scout” doing life reconnaissance for the baby boom generation. I was born two and a half months before the first boomer (officially, those born between 1946 and 1964) and have been leading them through life (in age, at least) ever since.

As one of this generation’s lead dogs, whatever I saw as newly important or interesting or appealing at my age would soon become important, interesting or appealing to many of the millions of boomers who followed – as I ran on ahead to the next new thing. I saw this happen in food (pre-prepared, then drive-through, then organic, then non-fattening), cars (muscled, then compact, then vans, then SUVs, then muscled again, but nicely appointed this time), music (Elvis, then the Beatles, then . . . a long dry spell that led to classical for some, country for others and both for many), as well as in the many other aspects of life in the USA.

And now, of course, the topic that’s particularly important and interesting and appealing to me is preparing for and living in retirement. Hence, this blog. I expect to post something here approximately weekly. And, I hope you will visit it regularly in the weeks to come, and will also occasionally share your thoughts* on my thoughts or on the topic in general. I hope to be informed and entertained by you, too.

So, for now, I wish you and yours the very best in the New Year. We’ll talk more later.

* It’s my blog (with the support of my employer), so I get to make the rules. And, I get to make them up as I go. Initially, there will be only one rule, and that is that I get to review everything submitted from readers for posting, and I may delete any or all of anyone’s input before or after it is posted. I intend to do that only where I believe the potential negatives outweigh the likely positives – to our other readers, my employer and me in total. I will acknowledge any partial deletions, but may or may not note total deletions. I hope never to have to do either.