White House Financial & Settlement Solutions, LLC

On July 18 the city of Detroit filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, making it the largest municipal bankruptcy case in U.S. history. We have been following this historic event with our strategic partners and have highlighted some of the key opinions and research pertaining to the city's filing in video format. We hope you find it informative. Detroit Bankruptcy Video Commentary

We know that many of our clients are concerned about the volatility we experienced in the financial markets during the second quarter of this year. Therefore, we'd like to present our insights into what transpired, what the catalysts were and our forecast for how the markets will react throughout the remainder of the year. Here is a basic recap of what transpired: The second quarter was a tale of two halves in the U.S., with mixed performance to go along with the mixed economic data. Financial markets reacted strongly in mid May after the Federal Reserve announced that its asset purchase program could soon wind down. All areas of the global fixed-income markets declined as real yields spiked. Global equity performance was mixed, with U.S. stocks outpacing most other regions. In the U.S., small caps led large caps. Emerging markets, encompassing both debt and equity, were laggards on rising treasury yields and uncertain growth in China. Concerns about moderating emerging m...

Thanks to everyone who attended the White House Financial & Settlement Consulting Client, Family and Friend appreciation event at our farm on Saturday! Thanks to my wife  Leslie Tewes White , daughters and team for making it a great event for the 9th year! Thanks to mother nature for the beautiful weather!! These events really make me appreciate the wonderful community of people I am blessed to associate with through my work, friends and my family! THANKS! White House Financial & Settlement Consulting helps busy professionals and entrepreneurs live easier and less stressful lives through the proper management of their financial resources.  We do this by acting as our clients’ trusted  adviser  providing a personal touch customized to the client’s needs!  Please visit our web site at  www.whitehousellc.com   or contact us directly for more information!

The role of Social Security in retirement planning is an important factor for long-term financial well-being.  The link below will take you to a video about the various options for Social Security recipients.  This is timely and important information for everyone regardless of when you are eligible to receive your benefits. ***The Keys to Unlocking Social Security***

Whether you're squared away and structured, live in functionally chaotic surroundings, or fall somewhere in between, there are many benefits to creating a financially organized life. Here's how to get a jump-start on creating a system to organize your bills, policies and other financial paperwork. . ***Continue Reading*** Considering everything going on in your life right now, finding time to complete a detailed inventory of important documents may seem like an impossible luxury. Have you got 30 minutes? That’s all it should take to fill out this executive summary—a quick collection of critical details. ***View Inventory*** 

I recently attended a workshop in Chicago that focused on closely held business transition planning.   I was interested in attending this workshop due to my goal of ensuring an ironclad succession and disaster plan for our firm and to be better able to advise many of our clients who are entrepreneurs and business owners.    As the owner of a closely held business for over eleven years I have tried hard to focus on the following mantra and which is the crux of what this seminar dealt with: Working on your business, rather than just in it! Sometimes a business can be humming along, increasing its net worth and profit margins, while the business owner overlooks potential major issues that can threaten its very existence.   This is rarely done intentionally or out of neglect, it is just that he or she is simply distracted by all of the progress being achieved. Many businesses are devastated when those events we do not like to consider take pla...

On, Monday, May 6 th , during an interview on CNBC, Warren Buffett, the venerated Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and famous investor, called the fixed income or bond asset class a "…terrible investment right now".  Obviously, it is important to listen closely to what Mr. Buffett has to say given his investment track record.  However, it is also important to take several other factors into consideration as well, such as: 1.) Mr. Buffett is in a different financial position than probably 99% of us and, therefore, can afford to take a different amount of risk.  This is also likely true for most of the people who earn a living by making financial predictions. 2.) As  The Wall Street Journal wrote on Sunday , bond bears were making the same calls in the beginning of 2010, 2011, and 2012; those predictions led to lower yields (e.g., higher bond prices and thus higher bond returns) as the year went on.  If the keep predicting this every year I guess eventually th...