Tag Archives: Donald the Brain

Donald “The Brain” gets asked to be “Brain Date Ambassador” (Cannot make the name up) at upcoming conference … Well done and Congrats

Newbies may not be in the know, so we will happily give a little brag to our resident “Brain”… Donald the Brain that is…

When first announced many years ago … new access to some extremely sophisticated portfolio software tools became available, after tons of due diligence … Donald was ready to take it under his wing and we were off to the races…

Word sneaked out of his use and knowledge by the developers and later he became a Beta user, The Brain was instrumental in trial runs of updates and changes in programming as well as new design directions and applications….

Total control of positions, taxes, possible tax scenarios, specific level basis control to mention a few were the platform features … in non- “Wall Street Gibberish” controlling risk in our investment portfolios and paying as few taxes as possible… is the main function of this software…

The Brain First Surprise

Here is an post from an event in 2018 — to give you a bit more granularity

The Brain Does At Again

Several years ago at an industry gathering of over 3000 folks in a western coast town, the key note speaker begins with a review of all the neat things that had happened during the year and those that were instrumental in developing these items…

32 minutes into the three day event, up pops … Guess who?

20170202_163108888_ios

A fellow professional tapped my shoulder, “Isn’t that your partner on the big screen?” “No he is at home this trip!” No, he was on the big screen talking of the use and adjustments of new portfolio tools…

The Brain as Brain Ambassador – Requested Yesterday

The inbox of Donald showed a request yesterday of being a coincidentally named “Brain Ambassador” have not gotten to the bottom of the request name yet but running with it for now….

Apparently someone still knows his knowledge of the platform!

“Would you be willing to have advisors have a Brain date at the conference and answer specific questions about the software?”

Honor and a pleasure…. yes of course he will…

Well done “Donald the Brain” autographs please….

Have a good day and Friday and enjoy your weekend…. Travels next week .. but will still be chirping here!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

November 2021 Financial Planning and Capital Market Review – By John Kvale

Hello and Welcome to our November 2021 Financial Planning and Capital Market Update!

If you are too busy to read, feel free to listen as we describe our post and thoughts in friendly podcast audio format as well as Video!

Newbies –

We like to articulate our thoughts and review on a Monthly basis our Financial Planning Tips, Capital Markets thoughts and current events!

Hope you enjoy!

Break In: The Brain is at it again….

Some very nice publicity for Donald, aka “The Brain” here in this post along with a neat link to the industry article.

November 2021 Video

YouTube

Financial Planning Tip(s)

New Retirement Limits

In this post titled “401k Plans Year 2022 Limits ($20,500 + $6,500 Catch Up), IRA Stay Same ($6,000 + $1,000 Catch Up) … Hmmm?” We go over the new limits and discuss why the catch up provisions are staying the same… the Hmmm part!

We go over not only the 401k and similar limits, but also the IRA and Roth limits and catch up provisions as well.

All of this from a handy IRS announcement found here at this link.

Capital Market Comments

TSA Throughput Update

One of our favorite monitoring of information is the individual TSA numbers that check passengers at the point of entrance.


Here in this post we discuss the latest updates and take note of the TSA’s new easier to graph for us, formatting… NICE!

Have a Great Day, Talk to You at the End of December!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

Donald Capone aka “The Brain” Interviewed Again for his Expertise … Well Done “DC” !

Those of you that have ever been on a call with “The Brain” (aka Donald) ….and have heard him clicking the keyboard doing scenario analysis, such as exact tax implications post a move as well as detailed allocations and historical analysis, may wonder how he has all of this information at a moments notice….

The technical name is IRebal, a super powerful portfolio and investment tool! Donald has mastered the program, helped update the views and also given valuable input on the most important future direction of the tool…..

Donald “The Brain” Gets Flattering Publicity

This is directly from a major industry publication Wealth Management

“The landing page [of the dashboard] tells you all the info you need right off the bat … and allows you to make that quick decision on a visual level and ask yourself ‘do I need to dig into something deeper?’ That ‘yes’ or ‘no’ just did not exist in the old view,” said Donald Capone, the main portfolio manager in the two-advisor shop of J.K. Financial, Inc. based in Dallas. In the older version, getting to that step required him to run a seperate query. 

He said that the firm used the right term when calling the re-design of the interface a “modernization.”

“It definitely looks like you would expect it to now—it’s doing the exact same thing we’ve been doing with it from the beginning but now it matches with what expectations are of what software should look like these days,” said Capone. That should make it easier for new users to adopt the tool, he said. 

“It looks more inviting, less daunting,” he said of the new grid interface, which allows advisors to drill down more deeply right from the screen without losing their place and having to navigate back. There are also improved filtering features and simpler navigation, he said.

Well done Donald, just great!

Have a Great “The Brain Does It Again” Day!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

Holiday Party RSVP Reminder … Slower Processing Near Year End … Time Change … Donald “The Brain” Shines Preview … Friday

Our 25th Annual Holiday Party is shaping up to be great fun…. We have a neat surprise at the event, VR (Virtual Reality) for those that have not seen the possible future of meetings, gaming and communication… Thanks to the 14 year old for setting this up!

RSVP Deadline is Monday November 8, but we have a little wiggle room if you have reason for a late decision!

Slower Processing Time Warning

A while ago here, we mentioned the commencement of RMD’s (Required Minimum Distributions), next week these will occur in full force as we are detecting early softness in processing times, very similar to year end last year…

Do not wait till the last minute for any year end processing similar to the RMD i.e. Donations, contributions, time sensitive matters of any sort… there are still tons of remote workers in all parts of our transaction food chains….

Last minute processing will most certainly lead to added stress…. who needs that, so jump now and avoid the stress! We are heeding our own words!

Fall Back – Time Change

While not our favorite time of the year, being glass half full, with the Sunday November 7th time change, those morning outdoor workouts will be a bit brighter, of course as the expense of earlier sunsets….

Don’t forget to go to bed a bit earlier on Saturday night as your Sunday morning will come Fast Fast… heck, hardly any clocks need changing as most do it automatically,…. well Microwave and Car don’t but the trusted Cell and many other do!

Donald “DC” The Brain Shines Preview

Some of you call him the Wonder Kid, that fits too and he doesn’t mind at all….

You guys hear of my triumphs all the time, so certainly want to give “The Brain” his well earned cover as well…even though he probably would not have it if it was up to him…luckily I have the keyboard…haha (Maybe too much coffee this am .. sorry)

Next week, will include some national media “The Brain” has garnered from his continued expertise with some very technical portfolio tools that he has not only mastered, but been an important voice in the updates, changes and look of for future improvements…

Well Done and congratulations on the Recognition!

TGIF

With some travels under the belt, today, Friday feels nice…. looking forward to a recharging weekend….

Get ready though, back at it strong next week…

Enjoy your Friday and weekend!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

The Brain to the Beach … Newsletter Hits the Presses … Friday

As mentioned earlier … neatly this year we were able all have flex schedules and each of us were on R&R at different times.

While technology allows us complete connection, a little looser tether is always welcome when possible.

Donald the Brian hits the beach for a few next week….

Enjoy – Much Deserved, we have your back!

Newsletter at the Presses in NY

The final touches of the Newsletter have been completed and the NY pressers are in motion. Look for the paper copy in your mailbox soon….

We coined this Newsletter “The Reminder” given much of the content is a timely reminder for to do’s and laws that were passed but likely forgotten given the unique 2020!

We of course will also do a Video explaining in greater detail our thoughts and how we came up with the articles as well as greater insights than the coverage may allowed….

Ahhhh…. but today is a Friday heading into a much welcomed beautiful weekend in our neck of the woods…

Enjoy your Friday and your weekend …. talk next week!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.

A Dallas Texas based fee only

Financial Planning Total Wealth

Management firm.

jkfinancialinc

street-cents

DOJ Approves Merger, Great News for The Brain …. Sports is starting (Big Weekend) …. Shark Week begins too … Travels … Friday

As mentioned here, TDAmeritrade and Charles Schwab agreed to merge early on in the year, (wow that seems like a long time ago- digressing) and due to government regulations, the DOJ (Department of Justice) needed to bless the deal – antitrust thoughts – too big, monopoly questions … it was on hold!

DOJ Approves – Brain in the Driver’s seatDonald Capone

Good News …. the deal was approved, and even better news for The Brain, as noted here and here, is an expert with a very special portfolio management and trading technology, which the combined companies announced this week would be a part of the new joint effort.

Not only that, but The Brain is already a part of a new Beta group, which had gone silent… (likely to start up again) to integrate even more features which The Brain will be a major advisor….

Well Done Donald!

Sports Starts = A Full Weekend! Golf, Basketball, Baseball, Football

Long time followers know, that while the family is a total Tennis nuts and crazy family, your’s truly was a collegiate golfer, helping pay for three years of college via scholarships.

This weekend, a Major Championship on the favorite West Coast time makes for the perfect late evening … Sunday night viewing of the final nine of the Tournament.

Basketball (NBA) continues it’s fast tracking season with only a few more games until the abbreviated playoffs.

But don’t stop there …. Baseball (MLB) after a few scares, missed games due to infections and paused events, seems to be back on track….

NFL  …. professional football start more workouts in full force too !

Shark Week Starts – A Family FavoriteShark Week Logo

Sunday night, hopefully just after a fantastic final Golf Championship concludes,  a family favorite begins…

Break in, coincidence or not? – After a few years of moving to earlier calendar (family dislike) it is now back to early August – Ok … digressing again…

SHARK WEEK 

Discovery Channels Shark Week commences at 8 PM Central Sunday Night and airs until the following Sunday….

In a hitting home on some programs … Jen at the office mentioned an unusual occurrence in her home town of Long Island, that we both think are a part of the special…

Friday Travels

If you are still with me (THANKS)  … long post for a Friday – much appreciate your time, you may recall a few special events for the Mrs. – will be out next week but tethered electronically …. and already have some very interesting Economic and Market News to speak of – tease tease – nerd nerd too!

Ahhhh….. but it is a Friday, enjoy your day, your weekend, your friends and family and chat with you next week from afar!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.
A Dallas Texas based fee only
Financial Planning Total Wealth
Management firm.
jkfinancialinc
street-cents

West Coast Conference Update – Donald “The Brain” Shines – JK Almost ends up on CNBC – Friday

The conference kicked off Wednesday afternoon in full force.

Donald “The Brain” Wife, and Youngest FINALLY arrived after the first leg of their flight was cancelled…. New connection through Phoenix –  no that will not work, connecting flight already departed … Connection, and layover in Vegas works – Finally arrived…

Opening Ceremonies

Early yesterday the conference officially began…

tda-san-diego-opening.jpg

Opening ceremonies are always cool!

TDA San Diego Opening 2

Donald “The Brain” Shines

Later in the day, a full room of folks looking to gain knowledge of the systems “The Brain” knows well…

20190207_211702135_iOS.jpg

A question from the audience near the middle of his TWO HOUR event!

Almost on CNBC

Meanwhile, yours truly, while searching for the Video shoot area … stumbled confidently into a live, on-sight CNBC interview –

“Hey, do you have a 10:30 am slot scheduled?”  “Yes we do, get ready!”

Just as the make up person was about to hit my face and the camera crew were adding a mic, a discovery was made that I WAS NOT the next guest, but merely in the wrong place… go figure…

Thought that host looked familiar…

20190207_185113493_iOS

Glad to announce, lots of great items to bring back from the trip….

Today …. late, we end up back home – Glad to be away …  Glad to be back…

Have a Great Friday – We will try to stay off accidental live TV today!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.
A Dallas Texas based fee only
Financial Planning Total Wealth
Management firm.
jkfinancialinc
street-cents

Preview: Donald “The Brain” On Deck Speaker – History of Our Software – Annual Conference of Thousands – Travels

Mid-week, we (DC and I) travel to the West Coast for an annual gathering of thousands of our peers, along with consultants, asset firms, and as many technology firms that you could shake a stick at…. with a new cell phone (and more importantly camera and battery), twitter followers ( @johnkvale ) can check some pictures that will be posted – and of course we will have items here as well… hopefully later this week….

A History of Planning Technology

Technology allows great things as most everyone knows. Over the last several decades, the Financial Planning and Portfolio Management process has adopted technology… as has our firm.

Originally the seemingly unstoppable power of Excel continued to improve speed, make for greater accuracy, and ever detailed specifications.

As a firm, we gravitated from the powers of Excel (Once upon a time this was done with pencil and paper – we know some that still do it this way today!) on to a heavy server burdening system, then on to a slightly lighter in house/on-line system, finally to the web based/full on-line systems (each time with much heartache and heartburn.)

Enter Donald “The Brain

Donald “The Brain” On Deck this WeekDonald Capone

With an almost from scratch to modern day software background as mentioned above  – Excel to server/web/cloud systems, Donald, who has always been in charge of this, immediately understood the challenges, necessary views, and possibilities when an all-new, completely cloud based on-line system became available.

As a Beta tester, and later almost a technology consultant (offered up enhancements that were eagerly accepted) Donald has been a go-to person for our modern day software and the firm that created it!

In the spirit of helping as many as possible, Donald will be on panels during the annual conference this week helping fellow advisors understand the power, simplicity, accuracy and productivity enhancements that we utilize, much to our software providers pleasure.

It is a great honor to be asked to do this before thousands of your peers- Well Done DC!

Spirit of the Conferencemeetings-1149198__480

We know what your thinking … big party that you get to write off the expenses? Once upon a time many years ago – maybe! NOT TODAY – showing our age I guess…haha

Today, we have a working list of items to review with various providers (all of the team has been gathering wish lists and needed understanding items for the last month from each perspective), multiple meetings as soon as we hit the ground, specific questions from you guys/clients in the field on certain subject matters, as well as a full schedule of planned viewing of panels of others, that we are not specialists in!

Several years ago, while solo and a morning of too much coffee, multiple new items were agreed upon and contracts signed ( i.e. New Web site provider, other tech services). Upon return, the gang was NOT happy (sorry guys) as we tried to digest everything over the next several months… we have learned to keep things bite size, but we will certainly stay informed!

Look for an informative post on Wednesday as we travel, then likely a brief post of Friday as we make our way back home, with frequent twitter posts and likely a deluge of posts here once we get our feet back on the ground …. stay tuned – Can you tell we are excited and ready to go?

Have a Great “Inform and get informed” Day/Week!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.
A Dallas Texas based fee only
Financial Planning Total Wealth
Management firm.
jkfinancialinc
street-cents

Happy 15 Year* Anniversary, Congrats to Donald “The Brain” – Technology Update – Friday

Note the * asterisk by the 15 years… it’s really 19 YEARS ! …. Including part time school work.

Congratulations to Donald “The Brain” on his 15 year anniversary.

From an early start while working during the summers driving 30 miles each way, to trudging through the well documented EXTREMELY difficult CFA exam, to helping everyone through the the Great Recession of 07-09 ….

Well done and congrats. Hopefully the next 15 will go a little slower! Doubtful !!

Technology Update

The Monday technology upgrade turned into a Wednesday upgrade and with a turn-around trip Thursday in the calendar, nails were bitten short Wednesday afternoon. We are happy to announce the upgrade has been completed with very few hitches. There are a few follow up items to do when the server is resting from regular use (during the 4th of July holiday), but we are 95% complete.

Each year we take on technology improvements during the summer, this year:

  • More New Vault Features
  • New Web Page
  • Improved internal email systems and management

We will wipe our brow and set in to learn the new features …. thankfully all went well!

Next Week

Donald “The Brain” has much deserved travels on the calendar to a cool climate north East, with a tail end of the week showing travels for myself as well… good time for us to test all this new fancy technology.

Today is a WONDERFUL Friday, enjoy your day, your weekend, be thankful, and talk to you next week !

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.
A Dallas Texas based fee only
Financial Planning Total Wealth
Management firm.
www.jkfinancialinc.com
www.street-cents.com

 

Exciting Week Out West

Each year we are inundated with options for seminars, vendor conferences, gatherings and study groups.

With careful consideration, most of this week is allocated to going west out of state for a jammed packed schedule conference.

Conference from our Institutional Vendor

  • Visiting with at least 8-10 fellow professionals
  • Multiple technology vendor meetings
  • Capital Market and Economic update
  • Collaborative insights
  • Latest Trends and future developments

Are just a few things on the schedule.

For those with great memories.. you may recall, Donald “The Brain” was a major speaker a few years back at this event… All good stuff !Donald Capone Roundtable

My intention is to bring you updates, live from the ground out west…….. If time does not permit… catch up articles will certainly find their way to our posts !

Have a Great Monday!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.
A Dallas Texas based fee only
Financial Planning Total Wealth
Management firm.
www.jkfinancialinc.com
www.street-cents.com