Our official 2024 Market Update is in! 2024 was an amazing year for investors. At Upward Financial Planning we doubled our assets under management by creating growth in our clients’ investments and by bringing in new clients. Balance Dec. 31, 2022: $6,655,698 Growth: $1,363,989 Net New Client Assets: $6,775,404 Balance as of Dec. 31, 2023: […]
Daniel Colston, CFP®
When Daniel is not giving financial advice or managing investments, he enjoys renovating properties, real estate investing, drinking coffee, hanging out with friends, spending weekend trips in his camper van, and exploring the outdoors on a hiking or biking trail in his hometown of Roanoke, VA and beyond.
Interest Rates are high: Opportunities for Bond Investing and Interest-rate arbitrage
Interest rates are high now (relative to recent investing environments) which means that you can get decent returns with little-to-no risk through bonds, CD’s, and fixed indexed annuities. While research suggests that stocks perform better than bonds a majority of the time, especially if held long-term, it can be a good option to invest in […]
Current Market Trends
Watch to hear our commentary on current market trends and the latest news and cutting-edge financial advice. Our lead financial advisor, Daniel Colston, CFP(R) shared about our firm’s history and the current inflation crisis, interest rates, stocks, and bonds. We talked about whether mutual funds or ETF’s or an annuity or even individual stocks and […]
Daniel Colston, guest on the Business Adventure and Mission Podcast
Daniel Colston was featured on the BAM school podcast where he chatted with fellow business owner Buddy Rathmell about the challenges and adventures of business ownership and living a life of mission to help others.
Telltale Signs of a Ponzi Scheme
Trying to find a financial advisor or investment manager whom you can trust is difficult enough. Add to that, the presence of bad actors in the industry, and it becomes even more difficult. I have been a financial advisor for 6 years now and have seen more than a handful of advisors who push bad […]
Why Muni Bonds are Hidden Gems Right Now
“Muni Bonds”, short for municipal bonds are an underrated, hidden secret right now for many reasons. With market uncertainty, it can be advantageous to invest in a bond versus a stock because bonds are completely different investments than stocks and have the advantage of not being as susceptible to market movements. Whereas a stock is […]
Our Investing Philosophy 101
You want a financial advisor who is working for you and keeping tabs on how your account performs. Learn about Upward Financial Planning’s investment philosophy and how you may benefit from working with a fee-only advisor who rebalances your account quarterly. As an investment manager rebalances quarterly, it updates the balances to target allocations so […]
Financial Planning to Enhance Your Life
As the owner and lead planner of Upward Financial Planning, I have a controversial take on vacations for business owners. I will be taking a month-long vacation to live in my camper van in Utah, starting May 10. I know a lot of entrepreneurs and business owners who work so much that they never have […]
Financial Planning for Pastors
Financial Planning for Pastors Holly: Hello, today we’re talking about financial planning for pastors. Daniel, you’ve worked with several pastors before. Can you explain how you came into this niche? Daniel: Yes I have several pastor clients, and I think it’s for several reasons, including the fact that I was a youth pastor for 6 […]
Real Estate Investing 101
Holly: Today we’re talking about real estate investing. Daniel, why are you so passionate about real estate investing? Daniel: Everyone loves the DIY real estate shows, right, but real estate can also be a very lucrative piece of your finances. Being a landlord and owning real estate allowed me the opportunity to quit my job […]