Strategic Wealth Partners was acquired by Kovitz Investment Group Partners, LLC ("Kovitz"), a registered investment adviser with the SEC on May 1, 2024. Strategic Wealth Partners is now a division of Kovitz and its registered investment adviser. Materials created prior to this date were created by Strategic Wealth Partners and are accurate as of the time of publishing.
Protecting Yourself from Cybercrime: The Third of a Three-Part Series. Read Part One Here and Part Two Here
A hacker may gain control of your computer if your password has been compromised. Often, the hacker will send an email demanding money along with a deadline. You can potentially avoid this stressful situation by taking the following precautions:
Create strong, uniquepasswords for each site and do not reuse passwords. Never use your name, birthday, or other easily identifiable information in your password. Passwords should be a minimum of 14 characters and contain at least one upper and lowercase letter, number, and special character. Consider using a passphrase or another language.
Use a password encrypted vault such as Keeper Security or SafePass to store your passwords.
Use two-factor authentication for your email account(s) and financial institution(s). This creates an additional level of security beyond your password. For example, each time you log in to your bank you will receive a unique code via a text message. A hacker would need both your password and the text message to access your account(s).
If you are hacked and receive an email demanding ransom, do not engage with the hacker. Reach out to an IT professional for help (Geek Squad at Best Buy provides 24/7 support). Hackers will often deposit a new virus on your machine after receiving a ransom payment.
Additionally, you should set-up alerts with your financial institution(s). Most institutions offer several options to help you monitor the activity in your account(s). Read the alerts carefully and contact them quickly if you do not recognize a transaction. Again, do not call any telephone number contained in an email or text. It is best to go to the website and find a telephone number. For credit cards, use the telephone number on the card.
It is also important to remember to protect data contained in your home just like you would protect a piece of jewelry. Keep financial statements and other documents that contain sensitive information such as your social security number stored in a secure location. If you have the ability, scan important documents to a secured encrypted file in the cloud. If you maintain paper documents, lock them in a safe deposit box, secured vault, or cabinet. Your data is an attractive target to a burglar or a household professional.
Last, but not least, please inform us if your personal information is compromised. We are here to help!
At Strategic Wealth Partners, we strive to keep your personal information safe in multiple ways. Please see our previous post, Your Privacy is Important to us – And You!, to learn more about what we do.
There’s nothing easy about divorce. It can feel as though your entire life changes overnight, and for ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals, the financial implications can be just as overwhelming as the emotional ones. One of the most overlooked yet critical aspects of this transition is estate planning.
I recently worked with a client, we’ll call her Laura, who had just finalized a divorce after 27 years of marriage. She had always been involved in the family’s finances, but for the first time, she was solely responsible for her own estate. Her first question to me was, “Where do I even begin?”
If we’ve worked together for any length of time, you know I regularly talk and write about investor psychology, especially how tuning out day-to-day market headlines can lead to better long-term results. In a world full of distractions, this mindset is more important than ever.
We live in an era of nonstop financial news. From interest rate speculation and economic forecasts to geopolitical tensions and trade policy shifts, headlines are constantly vying for our attention and our reaction.
Recently, headlines about new tariffs and another downgrade of U.S. government debt have added fresh layers of uncertainty. And naturally, these stories raise questions:
Should I adjust my portfolio? Go to cash? Do something, anything, right now?
Our team regularly reads articles from industry peers and trusted resources to stay up to date on financial markets. We enjoy reading about topics related to economics, investments, current events, and financial planning.
In addition to circulating some of the best pieces internally, we thought our clients, partners, and friends might enjoy reading some of the same articles as us.
Here are recent pieces that our team members have read, along with some commentary on why we found the respective articles interesting.
