What's in store for you:

1. Photo From My Life
2. Financial Thought: Am I Talking About Insurance Again?
3. Life Thought: Sales
4. Good Sh*t: The Most Important Thing You'll Read This Week

Photo From My Life:

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Working Together

As I build my boutique wealth management firm, I'm looking to partner with the right people and families. If you've ever wondered whether it might be a fit, or you just want a second opinion on your current setup, feel free to reach out. Always happy to talk.

Just reply to this email.

Financial Thought:

Am I Talking About Insurance Again?: One of the benefits of what I do is that I don’t make money recommending insurance products. If you decide to buy a policy or not, my compensation doesn’t change. This is an important caveat because insurance is often "oversold."

That’s why I’d encourage everyone to be thoughtful when meeting with insurance brokers. They often focus on permanent life insurance, whole life, indexed universal life, or another complex product before they understand your broader financial picture.

Ironically, despite my skepticism of insurance being used as an investment, I regularly encourage families to consider insurance where it solves a real risk. If your spouse or children depend on your income, term life insurance is often one of the highest-value financial products you can buy.

One type of coverage I don’t think I’ve talked about before is an umbrella policy. An umbrella policy sits on top of your existing auto and homeowners insurance and provides additional liability protection if you’re responsible for a major claim. Imagine causing a serious car accident or having someone suffer a significant injury while swimming in your pool.

The reason I find umbrella policies interesting is that they often provide a surprisingly large amount of coverage for pretty cheap. While pricing varies, it’s common to see the first $1 million of coverage cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $200-$500 per year, with additional coverage becoming progressively cheaper.

Does everyone need an umbrella policy? Probably not. The decision depends on your assets, income, potential liability exposure, and overall financial plan. But if you’ve accumulated meaningful wealth or have circumstances that could create larger liability risks, it’s at least a conversation worth having.

Life Thought:

Sales: One of the unexpected parts of starting my own wealth management firm is realizing just how much of the job is sales. And, as I've shared in prior newsletters, sales doesn’t come naturally to me.

I have a pretty simple philosophy when it comes to potential clients and my firm. I want to build a firm that’s approachable, thoughtful, and genuinely helpful. I don’t want high-pressure tactics or rehearsed pitches.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had a handful of prospect meetings where I walked away thinking, that wasn’t my best work. I'm literally so eager to help that I skip over the most important part of the call. I don't spend enough time understanding why they reached out in the first place. Potential clients should be leaving the call feeling like they were heard first and advised second.

The frustrating part is that I intellectually understand this. But, putting it into practice has been harder than I expected.

So, as with everything, I'm putting my head down and practicing. One interesting thing I'm doing is uploading my call transcripts to AI to understand how I could have handled the call better. Some pretty thoughtful ideas.

Good Sh*t:

The Most Important Thing You'll Read This Week: I don’t say this often, but this may actually be the most important thing you’ll read this month.

Take five minutes and click through Ordinary Abundance.

It walks you through an ordinary apartment and reminds you that nearly every object surrounding you was once viewed with the same awe we’d reserve for science fiction today. Each item is paired with historical quotes from people experiencing these breakthroughs for the first time.

The goal of the piece is to give you perspective. It works.

Disclaimer: VDB Wealth is a registered investment adviser. Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.

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