Financial Perspectives: The Podcast | Foster Group

Why Your Portfolio Needs a Lifeboat | A Conversation with Baird’s Warren Pierson

Most investors focus on stocks, but the bond market is actually larger, and it can play a critical role in protecting your portfolio when markets get rocky. In this episode of Financial Perspectives, Gretchen Muller, Director of Communications, and Warren Pierson, Co-Chief Investment Officer at Baird Advisors, discuss the "lifeboat" concept in portfolio construction, Warren’s current outlook on inflation and interest rates, where he sees value in fixed income today, and the biggest long-term risk to the bond market. Whether you're near retirement or building long-term wealth, this conversation will help you understand how bonds fit into a well-designed financial plan. Subscribe & Connect with Us! * Gretchen Muller [https://www.fostergrp.com/team/gretchen-muller/] * Financial Perspectives [https://www.fostergrp.com/financial-perspectives/] * Foster Group [https://www.fostergrp.com/] * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FosterGrp] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/foster-group] * X [https://x.com/foster_group] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvjzIN7CWlR7c-uvQbrEUDA]

Chief Master Sergeant to CFP: Military Benefits and the New Trump Accounts

In this special edition of Financial Perspectives, Daniel Hawthorne, Air Force veteran, SERE specialist, retired Chief Master Sergeant, and advisory team manager at Foster Group, joins Director of Communications, Gretchen Muller, to discuss two timely topics: navigating military financial benefits and the new 530A (Trump) Accounts launching July 4th, 2026. Subscribe & Connect with Us! * Gretchen Muller [https://www.fostergrp.com/team/gretchen-muller/] * Daniel Hawthorne [https://www.fostergrp.com/team/daniel-hawthorne/] * Financial Perspectives [https://www.fostergrp.com/financial-perspectives/] * Foster Group [https://www.fostergrp.com/] * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FosterGrp] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/foster-group] * X [https://x.com/foster_group] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvjzIN7CWlR7c-uvQbrEUDA]

Care Planning: Financial Strategies for Disability, Special Needs, & Elder Care

Care planning often feels like something that applies to someone else. In reality, it touches nearly every family. In this episode of Financial Perspectives, Director of Communications Gretchen Muller along with Senior Lead Advisor Matt Stagner, a nationally recognized advocate for the disability community, unpack what care planning really means across disability, special needs, and elder care. As Matt explains, it affects far more of us than most people realize. Matt and Gretchen talk through the financial realities families face, from the "disability tax" of higher everyday costs to the benefit rules that can make saving and investing complicated. They also walk through practical solutions: building the right care team, ABLE accounts, special needs trusts, and the value of writing your plan down and talking about it openly as a family. At Foster Group, we believe care planning isn't about replacing the support systems families build. It's about strengthening them and helping people create the independence and quality of life they deserve. Subscribe & Connect with Us! * Gretchen Muller [https://www.fostergrp.com/team/gretchen-muller/] * Matt Stagner [https://www.fostergrp.com/team/matt-stagner/] * Financial Perspectives [https://www.fostergrp.com/financial-perspectives/] * Foster Group [https://www.fostergrp.com/] * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FosterGrp] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/foster-group] * X [https://x.com/foster_group] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvjzIN7CWlR7c-uvQbrEUDA]

Planning for Inflation: What You Can, and Can’t, Control

In retirement planning, some variables you can control, and others you can’t. Inflation is often an overlooked variable. In this episode of Financial Perspectives, Gretchen Muller, Director of Communications, and advisor Ben Berger walk through the "retirement equation" and use Monte Carlo modeling to stress-test a hypothetical plan against a 5% inflation shock. Ben also shares examples of adjustments that can help keep purchasing power on track. Subscribe & Connect with Us! * Gretchen Muller [https://www.fostergrp.com/people/gretchen-muller/] * Ben Berger [https://www.fostergrp.com/people/ben-berger/] * Financial Perspectives [https://www.fostergrp.com/financial-perspectives/] * Foster Group [https://www.fostergrp.com/] * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FosterGrp] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/foster-group] * X [https://x.com/foster_group] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvjzIN7CWlR7c-uvQbrEUDA]

Staying Invested During Uncertainty: A Conversation with Wes Crill (Dimensional Fund Advisors)

Gretchen Muller, Director of Communications, and Wes Crill, Vice President and Senior Client Solutions Director for Dimensional Fund Advisors Global Client Group, discuss how markets price uncertainty, why discipline matters more than reaction, and what history tells us about navigating volatility – including the Iran conflict and its economic implications. Subscribe & Connect with Us! * Gretchen Muller [https://www.fostergrp.com/people/gretchen-muller] * Financial Perspectives [https://www.fostergrp.com/financial-perspectives/] * Foster Group [https://www.fostergrp.com/] * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FosterGrp] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/foster-group] * X [https://x.com/foster_group] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvjzIN7CWlR7c-uvQbrEUDA]