Announcer:
It’s time now on KROS for Financial Focus, brought to you by NelsonCorp Wealth Management. The opinions voiced in this show are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Any indices mentioned are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Registered representative securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research Incorporated, a broker-dealer, member of FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisor representative Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Incorporated, a registered investment advisor. Cambridge and NelsonCorp Wealth Management are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax advice. Now, here’s today’s Financial Focus program.
Gary Determan:
And it is the first Wednesday of the month, so the program live expanded to the bottom. We welcome in on this first Wednesday, Nate Kreinbrink. Nate, good morning.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Good to be back in the studio again with you, Gary.
Gary Determan:
Yeah. Of course you always fill in on the other Wednesdays when the program is heard, so you get to go the full half hour today.
Nate Kreinbrink:
I think we will be able to fill it with a bunch of different topics today.
Gary Determan:
No problem. Well, of course, when we have David in, we always generally start with basketball. Of course, you played the game on the college level, and of course right now, as I mentioned, I’m going to hear you because you do the PA for the Northeast boys. They host Central DeWitt, that should be a good matchup.
Nate Kreinbrink:
It should be a challenge for us. I know, seeing some of the scores coming across every weekend from DeWitt, I mean, they’re competing very well with their MAC conference schedule or whatever down there. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a rivalry game, but being so close in proximity out there to where we are to DeWitt, a lot of the kids know each other, have grown up playing against each other in youth leagues, youth tournaments, so very familiar with each other. It’ll be a challenge and hopefully a great game to watch.
Gary Determan:
You know, the last few years it has been the final game of the regular season for Northeast, taking on Central DeWitt, and I’ve had an opportunity to do a few of them. And it is a good rivalry, Nate.
Nate Kreinbrink:
It has been. And you go back four or five years since I’ve been regularly attending and watching, they’ve been some pretty competitive contests, both here and there. Whether a team is favored, it seems like the other one always comes in and gives them a pretty solid contest. And this season, this type of the season going into the end of the year like this, it’s always a good tuneup, I would say, as far as it’s not a conference game, but it’s a good challenge. And then just to put it as a measuring stick to, again, get your team ready to go. Every team wants to start rolling, get hot, get that momentum going into tournament and trying out. So maybe some new tweaks and plays or whatever that you’re going to try to look at going into tournament. So again, hopefully it continues on Saturday.
Gary Determan:
Of course, now you’re members of the River Valley Conference. I had a chance to do your game with Comanche last Friday. I like that River Valley Conference. You had Monticello last night on the schedule. There’s some good teams in that Conference.
Nate Kreinbrink:
I’ll tell you what, year in and year out, there’s always some competitive teams. And again, being a North and a South division, I mean, there’s conference games nearly every night. And you look at some of the teams, I mean even this year, you take Iowa City Regina, you take a Cascade, which are normally regularly up in the Conference, which are down a little bit. But again, you still have Comanche playing well, Monticello playing well, West Branch undefeated, looking at it from that way. So again, it’s tough competition, nine in and nine out, you know what you’re going to get, it’s great basketball. And when you make it through that Conference and if you can say you’re a Conference champion, I mean, you really earned it coming out of that.
Gary Determan:
As I pointed out, Nate, you played collegiately; when you watch these games, when you’re doing the PA, do you look at a kid and see what maybe level he could possibly attain at college?
Nate Kreinbrink:
I think it’d be hard not to, to sit there and do it that way and looking at the kids at the high school level like this. And the game is constantly evolving, I would say, and not that it puts me old or anything, but even from, again, back when I was in high school, transitioning to college, it just seems the style of the game and the way that it’s perceived, I guess. And you can say it’s trickled down from the top, as far as the analytics in the NBA and all this. And I was watching the game the other night and the announcers hit it right on the head. I mean, it was a two on one fast break and they pass it and they settled for a three-pointer. And you look at that as far as the way the game has transitioned. I mean, going back in the day, you got a two and one break, back and forth, back and forth, and you take the easy layup. Well, now with the analytics and the way kids do it and the three point line, and it’s a great aspect of the game.
Nate Kreinbrink:
But you can just see, I think, when there’s kids that are out on the court, whether it’s the way they’re made up, the way they play the game, their attitude, their effort, I think makes up a big part of being able to transition to the college level. Sometimes the most talented kids aren’t the ones that go on, it’s the kid that continues to work hard and is going to outwork the guy that he’s playing against. And seeing the different kids come through and how they go, I mean, you can see kids that could maybe handle it at the next level, it’s just if they’re wanting to go and continue on with it.
Gary Determan:
Yeah. The game is so much more physical than what it used to be. As I think Gary [Harrity 00:04:57] used to say, football is a collision sport, basketball is a contact sport.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Right, it is. And again, kids are getting bigger, they’re getting stronger, there’s more emphasis put in the off season weight programs and all that. And you can see that in the kids that are out there. I mean, just the way they’re put together, the strength of the kids. And you get some of these kids that are just battling down low for position. I mean, it’s rough down there. Again-
Gary Determan:
It’s like hand to hand combat down there.
Nate Kreinbrink:
I never would want to envy officials, but they’re put it in such a tough spot all the time. I mean, what do they call, what do they let go? And obviously anytime they make a call, they’re probably going to make half the gym mad as far as whatever foul that they do. But again, it is a different game and it’s evolving. But again, you have to play physical in order to control the paint, to control the rebounds, and even out front as far as binding up a ball handler when you’re defending them and things like that.
Nate Kreinbrink:
So it’ll be interesting to see how it continues to evolve, but I think as they continue to go, kids get more used to that. I’ve got three boys, different varying levels, so I’ve seen the youth tournaments and how the game is transitioning with some of the kids that way. So we’ll continue it on and hopefully have some success with it.
Gary Determan:
We are still dealing with the pandemic. Thankfully now there is a vaccine, people are getting the shots and it’s starting to get a little bit better at getting those out. I have noticed that the gyms, of course, everybody’s still taking a lot of precautions, wearing the mask, but they are allowing a few more fans into the gymnasium. Now, of course you were doing a PA at the beginning of the year, and I was doing some ball games, it seemed like such a sterile environment with no fans there for the athletes.
Nate Kreinbrink:
It was kind of eerie for the first couple of games when you’d go into the gyms, and usually it was just two tickets per athlete. And that’s all that was allowed in the gym. So you had those two per athlete, and that’s all that was in the gym. And it was kind of eerie. And you look at a high school basketball game, I mean, Gary, you’ve been around it enough years, I’ve played enough games where that fan interaction is something that sometimes as players, when you’re on the court, you feed off of. And when that’s not there, it’s tough sometimes to bring that own energy on your own as far as in a quiet gym like that. So again, as they’re starting to add a few more people and allow a few more fans into it, just having a little bit of that high school pageantry, I guess you would call it, just the student section cheering a little bit. We had the pep band there last night, which was great to hear as far as warming you up and hearing a little pep band and that music. And all that, I guess, atmosphere that goes along with it that makes high school sports, I think, so great is just all that stuff that goes into it, bringing a community together.
Nate Kreinbrink:
And again, having the fans there, it does get a little bit of momentum. The team goes on a little bit of a run, the fans get behind them, they get a little excited, and it’s good to see. And hopefully it will continue, and again, doing it safely, doing it socially distanced and responsible. But again, if they’re able to do it and have a few more fans in the stands, I think it does add a lot to it as far as the atmosphere and then just the energy for the players on the court.
Gary Determan:
Just want to bring up one more thing and we’ll break for the weather. And then we’ll talk business in the second half of the program. You talk about the interaction with the fans, I was noticing last night one of the River King sophomore players was having kind of a banter with some of the Bettendorf student section. Did you ever do anything like that when you were playing? Did you interact with a fan when you were on the court?
Nate Kreinbrink:
Never. Never. I think there is a little bit of that goes on too, and hopefully it’s all in good fun. And like I said, these kids, they know the teams that they’re playing against, whether it’s the sport that they’re in, another sport that they’re playing against them, whether it’s summer tournaments, summer camps, all this type of stuff. So getting out and you develop relationships a little bit with kids from other schools. And again, when you’re playing against it and there’s a fan maybe that you know in there or whatever, and if you’re having a good game, of course you maybe want to give them a little wink and let them know that you’re there. And of course, they’re going to return that, again, if you’re struggling a little bit. But again, as long as it’s in good fun, I think it’s great for the game and the interaction between the schools.
Gary Determan:
No doubt. Again, Nate Kreinbrink, our guest today on Financial Focus. Our weather, brought to you by Petersen Hagge Furniture.
Eric Sorensen:
There is a lot of weather coming our way over the next few days. Let’s start with this morning. We’ve got freezing fog again, so please watch out, especially bridges and overpasses could be icy and you wouldn’t know it. 31, our forecast high temperature today, partly cloudy. We’ve got winter storm watches in effect for tonight and tomorrow. There will be a winter mix that begins Thursday morning, changes over to snow, several inches possible. But the big story, Thursday afternoon and evening, is going to be the wind. We could have whiteout conditions with temperatures in the low thirties, then very cold temperatures. In fact, we may stay below 10 degrees starting Saturday and lasting through much of next week. Our weather in a very odd looking eight day forecast certainly at wqad.com. I’m [inaudible 00:10:02] meteorologist, Eric Sorensen.
Gary Determan:
Temperature up to 14 degrees, light East wind, still a little reduced visibility out there. Our update brought to you by Petersen Hagge Furniture.
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Gary Determan:
We continue to the bottom of the hour. Again, Nate Kreinbrink in on today’s program. Well, Men’s Day just passed on Friday and we had Andy Fergurson in from NelsonCorp Tax Solutions. And I was asking him about the interplay between the investment side and the tax side, because both of you can kind of help each other out.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Absolutely. And I think, any more, if you’re not doing that, you’re not doing your job. And looking at the tax situation and investments and retirement planning, they go hand in hand, and so many of the decisions that you make impact the other part of it. It’s not uncommon for people to come see us looking to retire, and the bulk of their assets that they have to fund their retirement are in a 401k that they have saved up over the course of their working career. The money that they put into it, and then any matching, potentially, contribution that their employer did put into it. Well, the reason that it becomes a problem is that those assets are tax deferred. Meaning that when you take those out, they’re going to be taxable to you. So again, you add that taxable income too on top of your social security income on top of any pension income that you may have. Now, all of a sudden, we start putting this in there and they don’t realize that it’s bumping them up into higher tax brackets than what they maybe thought they were going to be in.
Nate Kreinbrink:
And then also looking at that your Medicare premium is based off of your income. So if you make above a certain amount, you’re going to pay more for your Medicare part B premium, and any drug plan that you have. It’s called the IRMAA surcharge. You don’t get any more coverage, it’s just because your income is above certain thresholds, you’re going to pay more. So again, what we want to do in retirement is we don’t want to have any surprises. We don’t want to be all of a sudden surprised and be forced up into higher tax brackets at a time when our income is pretty much set. Now, how are we going to settle up this tax planning?
Nate Kreinbrink:
So what we like to do, again, is work very closely with Andy, with Mike, TJ, who we recently hired to help out this year, and looking at individual situations and say, “Okay, if we do this, this decision that we’re going to do, how is it going to impact our taxes?” And a lot of the clients that we work with that are both joint, as far as working with us on the investment side and the planning side, and then the tax planning side, when they go in and do their tax return this time of the year, there’s no surprises, because any decision that we’ve made throughout the course of last year, we sat down and ran the numbers through their actual tax system and actually know what it is they’re going to be impacted for, either positively or negatively, on their tax return. So again, when they go in and meet with either Andy or Mike and sit down and file their actual return for 2020, there’s no surprises. They know what’s coming before they even get in there. And I think, again, if you’re not looking at that type of planning, you’re doing a disservice to the clients that you’re working with, and again, I don’t think you’re fully doing your job.
Gary Determan:
I asked Andy and he was pretty diplomatic in his answer. I go, “You probably get more questions from them as opposed to you asking them questions.”
Nate Kreinbrink:
I think it started out that way, but I think it’s starting to switch a little bit, just with Andy becoming more familiar as far as what questions to ask to people when he’s looking at. When they bring questions to him, he knows how to follow it up because he’s been there before now. And you’re looking at the different types of retirement accounts out there, you’re looking at people asking him, “Hey, I’ve got a little extra, what should I be doing with it?” He has enough now where he can give them a little direction, but knows to a point where, “Hey, this is beyond me. You need to go meet with one of these guys.” But again, just being able to walk down the hall and knock on their door and then say, “Hey, I’ve got a quick question for you,” and having that resource right there is invaluable.
Nate Kreinbrink:
And again, they tie in so closely anymore that having that in our back pocket, us being in their back pocket as far as being able to answer any questions, is really great for the individuals that we work with. And again, they always seem to joke about it, but it’s kind of a one-stop shop where they can come in and then they can get their taxes done and do their investment review or any question that they have, and be done with it and know that they’re working together, they’re hand in hand, and they’re making the right decisions for both of them.
Gary Determan:
Again, visiting with Nate Kreinbrink from NelsonCorp Wealth Management. How long have you been down there now, Nate?
Nate Kreinbrink:
I think officially I passed Series 65 test in January of 2013. So a little over eight years or whatever that’s going into it. And-
Gary Determan:
And of course, you coming on board was part of their increase in staff and the products and things that they’re able to do. In those eight years that you’ve been there, what kind of growth have you seen now?
Nate Kreinbrink:
It’s been tremendous as far as the capabilities that we’re able to do. And adding new heads, I mean, I came on roughly about the same time as the twins did, James and John, and then having that crossover though, between David, between Brad, Amy, Ken, Jean, the guys that were there, being able to pick their brains a little bit, and then also how we’re going to transition to the next phase. Some of the technology that we have and having the bodies to be able to do that with our financial planning software, our money management models that Jake and Austin in our back office, and that’s what they’re solely doing on. And just all the technical stuff that’s going into it that we can provide for the clients that we work with.
Nate Kreinbrink:
I mean, the financial planning, and we talk about this a lot of times, I cover many different topics on this on my weekly show on Wednesday mornings, but people transitioning into retirement have only done it probably for the first time. So they don’t necessarily know what to look for, what questions to ask, what maybe landmines are out there that they’re not really knowing about. So again, putting stuff into a program, being able to show that to them on the computer, walk them through some of the steps that we’re going to look at, some of maybe the hardships that we’ve seen from other people, and what they can do to try to avoid those, it’s been phenomenal.
Nate Kreinbrink:
And this industry is constantly changing. We will constantly continue to evolve and change as far as the way we do things. You mentioned the pandemic this year, that’s forced us to do it a little bit differently as far as having more Zoom meetings and conference calls and all that type of stuff, which again, some of the clients we work with, they prefer it that way and they’re comfortable with doing it that way. So now we were forced to push our hand a little bit to get more familiar with that from a regulation standpoint, but then just to a comfort level of how we can do that.
Nate Kreinbrink:
So again, as with anything constantly evolving, and it will constantly evolve, but having the bodies in place, the great structure that was set up and continues to be formed, adding the facility down in Davenport, when we’re able to move on down there and what that’s going to allow us to do, it’s a great time for NelsonCorp and we’ll continue to be moving forward.
Gary Determan:
Yeah, I’m always amazed when David talks about where some of your clients are. I mean, you’re pretty much worldwide almost. Not worldwide, but certainly in the United States.
Nate Kreinbrink:
It is. And I think in today’s world, I think that will only continue to increase. And just with people moving more, word of mouth more, being able to have that constant contact with people. Whereas before you could talk to somebody that lives across the country, and they could say, “Oh, I’m working with NelsonCorp here in Clinton, Iowa,” and they’re like, “Well, I can’t really contact them,” so they’re going to go with somebody more local that they’re more comfortable with. Well, now we can bridge that gap with technology, being able to find that comfort level, and people are more apt, I think, to work with people outside of their maybe geographical area.
Nate Kreinbrink:
But yeah, I mean, you see all the people from the different states that call in and we try to continue to make contacts with and stay connected with, and it’s phenomenal. And again, I think that will continue to increase as years continue on.
Gary Determan:
Again, visiting with Nate Kreinbrink. Now you came to our community because of a position in baseball.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Right.
Gary Determan:
What was this past summer like? I mean, we’re not going to have Minor League Baseball anymore, it is going to be the prospect league. Of course, NelsonCorp took on the naming rights for the field down there, so you have somewhat of a connection there with the ball club.
Nate Kreinbrink:
There is a connection. I mean, I spent 10, almost 11 summers down there for-
Gary Determan:
Was it that long? Oh my goodness.
Nate Kreinbrink:
It was that long as far as when I was down there, so definitely made a connection, and it’s a big part of my life and who I was and the connections that I’ve made here in Clinton throughout those years. But you looked at what was coming down the pipeline from Major League Baseball to Minor League Baseball, and the writing was kind of on the wall in years leading up to this as far as Major League wanting to have a little bit more control over Minor League, how that was going to happen. Minor Leagues in general were going very well, obviously Major League Baseball wanted to have their hand in that then, a little bit of some of it. So you looked at some of the things that were coming, and then when they came out with that first initial cut list, I don’t think anyone really anticipated it was going to be as extreme as what it was. And then obviously seeing Clinton’s name and some more local teams on that list was definitely eyeopening.
Nate Kreinbrink:
And I think the worst part about it is that the Lumber Kings in general as a Minor League franchise, and the storied history of it, did not have the proper, I guess, swan song or farewell just that last year to say, “Okay,” to kind of close the door. And again, they tried petitions and writing people and trying to do anything that we could do to save it, but as it continued to progress, I don’t think the pandemic really helped anything any more as far as them actually looking at saving some of these clubs. But again, to not have that and to see that, okay, September of 2019, when the last game was played, that was going to be the last actually affiliated Minor League Baseball team that ever played in Clinton. I think it is hard to swallow. And again, for the history and for the diehard fans and everybody to not have that was tough.
Nate Kreinbrink:
It’s great that they have a team coming in there. I think there’s a lot of excitement about the college kids coming in to play. I know I’ve spent a lot of very cold early April nights at the ballpark, so to not have those may be a little bit of a blessing from an attendance standpoint. But again, being able to utilize that facility down there, I think it’s still going to be tremendous. Hopefully we can get some good teams coming in, some college kids, some notable ones. I’ve seen they hired a manager. So again, just encourage people to go support them and to take advantage of what we actually have here in our own backyard.
Gary Determan:
And of course, the great support of NelsonCorp for not only this, but for what all you folks do in the community. That’s great.
Nate Kreinbrink:
I appreciate it, and trying to help out whenever we can.
Gary Determan:
All right. Hey Nate, thanks so much for coming in-
Nate Kreinbrink:
That was quick.
Gary Determan:
And we will see you Saturday afternoon, okay?
Nate Kreinbrink:
Sounds good.
Gary Determan:
All right, thank you.
Nate Kreinbrink:
See you, Gary.
Announcer:
Financial Focus is a production of NelsonCorp Wealth Management in Clinton and Davenport. The opinions voiced in this show are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Any indices mentioned are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Registered representatives securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research Incorporated, a broker dealer, member of FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisor representative Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Incorporated, a registered investment advisor. Cambridge and NelsonCorp Wealth Management are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax advice. For more information, visit our website at www.nelsoncorp.com.