In The News

Our articles and perspectives relating to wealth and risk management, financial literacy, and market structure have been featured in a variety of respected publications, including: The Wall Street Journal, CNN Money, Investor IQ - Financial Times, Dow Jones MarketWatch, Reuters, Financial Planning, On Wall Street, Forbes and Barron’s Magazine. The Sedoric Group is also a regular contributor to The New Hampshire Business Review and a proud supporter of New Hampshire Public Radio and numerous charitable organizations.

Love Your Accountant - New Hampshire Business Review, April 2023
It is a mistake to ghost the important work your accountant and tax experts do for your balance sheet for many reasons. Early last year, we talked about the shrinking supply of accounting and tax professionals. If anything, the exit trend in the United States has accelerated due to career changes, fewer students in university accounting programs because these professions are no longer considered “cool,” and many in the field are retiring.
 

The State We're In: Banking on Trust - PBS, March 2023
Two financial experts, Tom Sedoric and Michael Kitch, discuss what’s happening in the banking industry with host Melanie Plenda.
 

How Advisors Can Reassure Clients When Crisis Hits–Even at Their Own Firms - Barron's, March 2023
Tom Sedoric, executive managing director of The Sedoric Group of Steward Partners, "Look at it as an opportunity not just for retention but for growth, both personal growth and growth of the practice. Twenty-two years ago, the dot-com bubble popped and markets were in turmoil. We actually had substantial growth during that period. We had too many assets coming in, because we were over-communicating. Many advisors during times of turmoil will hide, and they won't be communicating with their clients."
 

NH Among States Aiming to Block ESG Investing - New Hampshire Business Review, February 2023
Casey Snyder...said that in the past, “doing the right thing meant taking care of your employees, your client base and your community, and all were equally weighted.” He said that since then this approach to corporate responsibility “morphed into prioritizing shareholder value at the expense of employees and the community.” ESG, Snyder said, “is society’s effort to go back in time and start doing the right thing for employees and communities again.”
 

The Opportunities that Emerge from the Economic Chaos - New Hampshire Business Review, December 2022
Yet, economic downturns are common and we believe the best investors are wise to discern the silver linings in the midst of one. While it is true wealth can be lost, it is equally valid that the turmoil can be seen in hindsight as the very starting point for wealth creation.
 

What Does 'Fiduciary' Actually Mean? - New Hampshire Business Review, November 2022
When Tom began his advising career as a broker and securities salesman in 1984, it didn’t take him long to see the potential for sliding scales of corruption and other such financial malfeasance. The incentives for success as a broker were not always aligned with the long-term needs of clients. Tom was not unique and in fact echoed the thoughts of most of his profession when he proclaimed, “Why wouldn’t we want to act as fiduciaries?” In other words, why shouldn’t we act in our clients’ best interests all the time?
 

A Gut Check for Investors - New Hampshire Business Review, July 2022
Let us dispense with the obvious. No matter how hard one tries, there is no denying that the current behavior of markets is a gut check for investors, the public and the markets themselves. For more than two years, we have been sailing through one storm after another of collective events due to synthetically low interest rates and easy money. 
 

Successions Must 'Look Like Synchronized Swimming' - Financial Advisor IQ, July 2022
Teaming helps with succession planning as well, according to Tom Sedoric, partner and executive managing director at The Sedoric Group of Steward Partners. “I think anytime you're responsible for people's money, and their livelihood, and their well-being, it should never be a one-man or one-woman show — it should always be a team effort,” Sedoric said. And building that team involves a “methodical, thoughtful, long-term” process, according to Casey Snyder, managing director at The Sedoric Group, where building a team is “not for the sake of next year. That's for the sake of four, five, six, seven, eight years from now.”

Investor Expectations are Outrageous - Forbes, June 2022
It’s right in the title. Investor expectations are outrageous. And, no, we’re not singling anybody out in particular. We’re not upset about it. We’re just trying to reset some sights here. The expected return on investment in today’s market is out of control, and it’s time to take a good hard look at what your own expectation really is, or rather, what it ought to be.
 

Those Who Seek to Undermine Voting in NH Should be Exposed, Embarrassed, Ashamed - SeacoastOnline, February 2022
It was my great honor to serve the town of Rye as an election official on Nov. 6, 2020. The election and our voting machines proceeded flawlessly. Rye town officials performed their duties with fairness and professionally. When a rare ballot was questioned for any reason, the resolution was transparent and resolved with integrity.  I was honored to sign and certify the vote with the other officials present.

New Hampshire 200: The State’s Most Influential Business Leaders: Tom Sedoric - New Hampshire Business Review, December 2021
Unprecedented in scope, the New Hampshire 200 is the product of a year-long research initiative by the editors of New Hampshire Business Review resulting in a personal, engaging look at the state’s most influential business leaders across major industries.The 200 executives are selected according to extensive contacts in regional business circles, hundreds of interviews and months of research, culminating in a highly selective biographical guide to the people who really run New Hampshire.
 

Outrageous ROI Expectations - New Hampshire Business Review, November 2021
Investor expectations are outrageous. And, no, we’re not singling anybody out in particular. We’re not upset about it. We’re just trying to reset some sights here. The expected return on investment in today’s market is out of control, and it’s time to take a hard look at what your own expectation really is — or, rather, what it ought to be.
 

Betraying Public Trust - New Hampshire Business Review, October 2021
The recent budget passed by the New Hampshire legislature contained a $10 million measure to partially reimburse a few hundred clients who lost millions of dollars in the infamous Financial Resources Mortgage Ponzi scheme scandal of more than a decade ago.
 

Life Happens, and Don't Forget It - New Hampshire Business Review, July 2021
When I tell anyone who might care to listen that they’ve just met the only guy to lose money in a residential real estate investment in New Castle, NH, they usually respond with great surprise. After all, in good and bad economic times, it is hard to lose money on a home in New Castle. This quaint New England village connected by causeways has the honor of having amongst the highest-priced homes and the lowest property taxes in New Hampshire (thanks to the Wentworth by the Sea Hotel and Ocean Properties).
 

As the ESG Investment Wave Grows, Consider Taking the Ride - SeacoastOnline, May 2021
ESG investing is not a new topic to fiduciaries, shareholders, investors, nor anyone else involved in the financial marketplace. It’s been around for decades, but, up until this point, was more of a niche trend. That trend—of putting investment dollars towards environmental, social, and governance values—has given way to the classification of a significant movement in the financial landscape over the past couple of years. ESG is positioned as not only fertile grounds for viable investment opportunity but also has the ability to disrupt market structure and valuations as investors ramp up engagement with their portfolios.
 

NH CLS Virtual Event With Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald - New Hampshire Campaign For Legal Services, April 2021
Join the NH Campaign for Legal Services for a panel discussion featuring New Hampshire's new Chief Justice, Gordon MacDonald, about improving access to justice. Additional presentations include an update on legal services in New Hampshire in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, from NH Legal Assistance and the Legal Advice & Referral Center. This event is free thanks in part to underwriting support from The Sedoric Group of Steward Partners.

Tom Sedoric of The Sedoric Group of Steward Partners was named to the 2021 Forbes/SHOOK Best-In-State Top Wealth Advisor List - February 2021
Tom Sedoric responded to this recognition by saying “I am grateful for this recognition for our clients. I’m also thankful to the dedicated team of professionals who support our clients, have helped grow and improve our practice amidst a pandemic, and still know how to have fun”.
 

Op-Ed: Vote - Our Democracy Depends on It - InDepth NH, October 2020
According to legend, at the end of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked by an onlooker what the delegates had created over that long, hot summer in Philadelphia. “A republic, if you can keep it,” Franklin replied. Today, 233 years later amid a presidential election rife with partisan discord and human tragedy, the task for us could not be clearer: will we vote to keep our republic?
 

The Importance of Creating a Durable Financial Plan - New Hampshire Business Review, October 2020
Nobody has a crystal ball for events like this, but taking the time to develop a durable financial plan that prepares for the possibility of volatility means investors don’t need to be overly concerned when markets turn negative. Instead, with a plan, people can be comfortable in the knowledge that their contingency plan has already predetermined steps in place which is laid out to ensure that their financial goals stay on track.
 

A Combustible Mix - HumbleDollar, September 2020
There's no subject that gets me more worked up than market volatility—and especially the danger posed by high-frequency trading (HFT). Volatility has become part of the “new normal,” thanks to fundamental changes in how the market operates.
 

Steward Partners' Casey Snyder Named to InvestmentNews' 2020 40 Under 40 List - PRNewswire, July 2020
"It is an honor to be recognized and included among so many talented advisors and investment professionals," added Casey Snyder. "I love working with my clients and I'm fortunate to have such a talented team behind me, as things like this wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for their ongoing support."

Managing Your Investments in Times of Crisis - New Hampshire Business Review, April 2020
Join NH Business Review and our panel of professionals (including D. Casey Snyder) as they discuss what investors need to understand in dealing with the instability and risks presented at a time of historic volatility across all major markets. 
 

Measure Seeks to Beef Up Financial Literacy In NH - New Hampshire Business Review, March 2020
“There is a difference between making money and managing money,” said Casey Snyder, a certified financial planner with The Sedoric Group of Portsmouth, “and those who are good at making money are not necessarily good at managing money.”
 

The Multiple Dimensions of Risk and Tolerance - New Hampshire Business Review, March 2020
Our golden rule is simple: If you can’t acknowledge and handle the realities of markets, then financial planning may become a turn of the roulette wheel with our emotions and our finances spinning around to outcomes sometimes favorable, sometimes not.
 

Sedoric: Remembering Paul Volcker - New Hampshire Business Review, December 2019
Paul Volcker, who died Dec. 8 at 92, was the exemplar of public service surpassing all others with his notable legacy, matched by his towering presence and stature. I first met the 6-foot 7-inch Paul Volcker in 2011 on the veranda of the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, where financiers, economists and public officials were gathered for a conference hosted by the Institute for New Economic Thinking. I looked skyward up at this Goliath, introducing myself and promptly thanking him for his many years of public service.

New Hampshire Business Review 200 - New Hampshire Business Review, October 2019
Unprecedented in scope, the New Hampshire 200 is the product of a year-long research initiative by the editors of New Hampshire Business Review resulting in a personal, engaging look at the state’s most influential business leaders across major industries. The 200 executives are selected according to extensive contacts in regional business circles, hundreds of interviews and months of research, culminating in a highly selective biographical guide to the people who really run New Hampshire. 
 

Check Your Recency Bias - New Hampshire Business Review, October 2019
Little is more detrimental to a portfolio’s long-term health than the belief that the status quo is here to stay.
 

Forbes Best In State Next-Gen Wealth Advisors - Forbes, September 2019
Casey Snyder, CFP®, is a Senior Vice President and Wealth Manager at Steward Partners in Portsmouth, NH with over 17 years of experience as an advisor. Prior to joining Steward Partners in 2018, he previously worked as a vice president at Wells Fargo. Since entering the industry, he's created several popular initiatives to help clients better understand their financial plans, including a client recognition program to help support and acknowledge prudent financial habits. He also sits on the technology advisory council at Raymond James, where he and 21 other members influence how and where to invest in technology that impacts nearly 8,000 advisors at Raymond James and Steward Partners.
 

The 401(k) Boondoggle - New Hampshire Business Review, September 2019
By any sane measure, the 401(k) boondoggle has enriched insurance companies and investment firms while making actual saving harder, and by making our citizens poorer and less prepared.
 

The Next Recession? Hold That Thought - New Hampshire Business Review, July 2019
We believe the traditional question of when a recession might hit may be antiquated. Economic cycles are historically fickle. There are many fundamentals that go into an expansion: a growing gross domestic product, low interest rates, low unemployment and consumer spending. Shifts among those same fundamentals can send an economy into contraction.
 

Yet Another Scheme Cooked Up to Grow Our Nest Eggs - The Boston Globe, June 2019
Your recent op-ed by James T. Brett and Richard E. Neal was right to point out the inequities in retirement planning for much of our society. Financial literacy has been in decline for four decades, and I strongly doubt another incentivized savings plan out of Congress will do much to improve the current debacle. How have past incentives worked out so far?

When the Unexpected is 'Normal' - New Hampshire Business Review, May 2019
An ever-critical part of our mission is to understand the combined behavioral aspects of investing and human emotions and use our critical-thinking skills to steadily guide our clients through choppy waters. It is newsworthy that December 2018 was a brutal month for stocks (the worst month since 1931). And 2018 was, in total, the worst year in more than a decade. Yet, we are not in a Great Depression (1931) nor in a virtual collapse of the financial markets (2008). Bear markets happen, and so do bull markets.
 

Great Bay Community College 2019 Commencement Video - GBCC, May 2019
Video of the 2019 Great Bay Community College Commencement Ceremony.
 

'Yes, You Can': Great Bay Honors 2019 Graduates - SeacoastOnline, May 2019
Casey Snyder gave the commencement address. Snyder, of the Sedoric Group of Steward Partners Global Advisory in Portsmouth, told his audience how he overcame rejections and failures...before reaching success. “The transition from surviving to flourishing did not happen overnight,” he said.
 

Great Bay Community College Graduates 252 Students - Union Leader, May 2019
“When someone decides to invest in you, work like hell to accommodate their decision,” Casey Snyder said. “After a series of setbacks, I knew I would make it. I no longer feared failure, but more importantly I did not want to disappoint those who believed in me when others did not.” Snyder is a partner, senior vice president and wealth manager at The Sedoric Group of Steward Partners in Portsmouth. Snyder also advised the graduates to find meaning and purpose in their failures as they navigate through life. “Failure is how resolve is forged,” Snyder said.
 

What Wells Fargo's Advisors Need Now - Barron's, April 2019
What Wells advisors need above all else is reestablished trust in the brand, Tom Sedoric, a Wells Fargo and A.G. Edwards veteran who went independent last May, tells Barron’s Advisor. “You don’t rebuild trust in a matter of weeks or days by naming a new CEO,” he says. “You rebuild trust by putting your money where your mouth is, and this may be an opportunity to do that.”
 

How to Keep Your Wits When Volatility Occurs - NHBR, March 2019
After nine years of an historical bull market, when there’s a headline-driving market drop like we’ve enjoyed last fall, it’s important to have a battalion of sober minds to counter the anxiety that the next Black Monday is just around the corner. A couple of tweets from October come to mind. Ben Carlson at Ritholtz Wealth Management offered this fundamental perspective on markets: “Why do stocks fall by a lot sometimes? Because sometimes they rose too much. Why do stocks rise a lot sometimes? Because sometimes they fell too much. Repeat as necessary.”
 

Is Investment Industry Transparency Just a Buzzword? - NHBR, January 2019
While there has been some transparent reporting in various trade publications in 2018, after the firms Morgan Stanley and UBS announced they were abandoning the protocol, the public is largely unaware and uneducated of the implications of that decision. Both firms, in their polite way, have actually locked their advisors and their clients in place. 
 

Do Investors Actually Know What the Protocol Means? - Financial Times, November 2018
While we live in most uncertain times, one would like to be assured that “financial advisors” would act as fiduciaries for their clients – placing client needs before their own as well as their firm’s needs. Sadly, for too many investors that has been -- and is now -- a costly assumption to make.
 

Why Saudi Scandal Hasn't Yet Transformed Investor Preferences - Financial Times, October 2018
Tom Sedoric, of The Sedoric Group of Steward Partners in Portsmouth, N.H., which has $10 billion in assets under management and who previously worked at Wells Fargo and A.G. Edwards, does not view those outflows as any sign of noteworthy investor flight.
 

WNHN Financial Literacy Radio Interview with Tom Sedoric and Casey Snyder - The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen, September 2018
NH financial advisors Tom Sedoric and Casey Snyder from the Sedoric Group, join us to talk about how planning for the future has changed since your dad did his planning, what the future looks like now, and the need to change our thinking. (The segment with Tom and Casey begins at 28:00.)
 

Merrill Lynch's Commission Ban Reversal: Here's How Advisors See it Playing Out - Financial Times, September 2018
Starting Oct. 1, Merrill Lynch will again let advisors charge commissions on trades made in client retirement accounts. The wirehouse is ditching its former ban, instituted two years ago in the wake of the Department of Labor's proposed fiduciary rule for advisors on tax-deferred retirement accounts. Since the rule was vacated earlier this year, Merrill Lynch re-evaluated its commissions policy.
 

Financial Advice's Shifting Landscape - New Hampshire Business Review, August 2018
Sedoric acknowledged “it has become increasingly difficult to act as a fiduciary in a large bank.” He said that the business of banks is to “extract rather than create value” and, with margins squeezed by low interest rates, banks have sought to increase returns by entering unfamiliar lines of business. At the same time, he said, the largest banks, which own the major wirehouses, “are too big to manage and too big to regulate. Bigger is definitely not better.” 
 

When Asked For Free Advice, Smart Planners Opt To Build Rapport - Investor's Business Daily, August 2018
"In times of market volatility, we can be the center of attention at a party," said Tom Sedoric, an advisor in Portsmouth, N.H. "I may mention a few themes like tax efficiency and living in a global economy. But because we're planners first and investments complement the planning process, we can't extract as much from them in a social setting."
 

Paying Back in Ways Beyond Imagination: Tom and Barb Sedoric - CASA NH, July 2018
Tom and Barb Sedoric have been dear friends to CASA for decades. Their commitment to sharing CASA’s mission with others while providing thoughtful and generous financial support to CASA is truly a gift. Often referring to CASA volunteer advocates as “angels on earth,” Tom and Barb fully understand the importance of CASA’s impact on those children who are the innocent victims of substance abuse, poverty, homelessness and mental illness.
 

The Price of Financial Illiteracy - New Hampshire Business Review, May 2018
A significant 2016 study by the Economic Policy Institute revealed that nearly half of American families had no retirement savings whatsoever. The numbers are sobering no matter the sources. Furthermore, “that makes median (50th percentile) values low for all age groups, ranging from $480 for families in their mid-30s to $17,000 for families approaching retirement in 2016. For most age groups, median account balances in 2013 were less than half their pre-recession peak and lower than at the start of the new millennium.”
 

It's Time to Break Up the Big Banks - New Hampshire Business Review, April 2018
In recent days we have learned that the three biggest banks now control more capital than before the financial crisis over a decade ago. We’ve also learned that Congress is actively working to repeal some of the protections put in place by Dodd-Frank after the financial disaster of 2007-09.

Tom Sedoric with The Sedoric Group is Recognized by Forbes Magazine as Best in State Wealth Advisor - February 2018
Forbes Magazine and Shook Research recently named Tom Sedoric with The Sedoric Group as “Best in State Wealth Advisor”. Forbes is known for its independent financial journalism and through their partnership with Shook Research created the list of “Best in State Wealth Advisors”. R. J. Shook is a frequent contributor to Forbes on matters relating to financial advice and philanthropy.
 

Clients and the Protocol - New Hampshire Business Review, March 2018
The protocol sets standards as to how much client information an advisor can take with them when they transition, with the idea that it paves the way for less litigation between firms. The protocol was meant to balance the interests of firms, advisors and, in our view most important of all, the investors who have entrusted their hard-earned money to their advisors and the firms they represent.
 

Just What is the Protocol Now? - Financial Times, January 2018
We intend for this primer to help explain some of the changes happening in our profession and how they may impact clients of financial services firms. To use the sports analogy again, this could appear to be “inside baseball,” but it’s important to share our view of the situation at hand.
 

Will the Can Kick Back? - New Hampshire Business Review, September 2017
We all know the saying, “kicking the can down the road,” about delaying vital personal or political decisions set aside for another day or, perhaps, even another decade or century. We could list hundreds of deferred decisions that impact individuals personally, economically and socially: low retirement savings; misdirected spending; a lack of political discipline regarding infrastructure and the inflated cost of education; or real pension and entitlement reform.
 

How to Plan for a Future That's Decades Away - Barron's Next, July 2017
The challenge is that we can do a lot of little things right, but one big purchase can offset all that good work,” says Casey Snyder, a Wells Fargo financial advisor with the Sedoric Group. 
 

The Value of Critical Thinking - New Hampshire Business Review, June 2017
As planners, we are not in the business of prognostication. We don’t pretend to know where the markets are headed, nor how the political landscape will shape new regulations. What we do recognize, however, is that there has never been a more vital time to think critically to better serve the growing list of families we represent.
 

Inspiring Financial Prudence - New Hampshire Business Review, May 2017
People deserve recognition for the execution of their plan: for doing the trivial things they have control over that have a profound impact on the bigger picture; perhaps for delaying gratification; for living within their means; for executing their estate plan; for being patient during times of distress; even for checking their credit. If only effort and hard work were glorified via social media or in social settings rather than imprudence.

Is Your House an Asset or Not? - New Hampshire Business Review, March 2017
Just as we have questioned the true value and cost of higher education in an era of increasing student loan debt (and stagnating wages), how we handle the questions of where to live and how much to spend on housing should also come under scrutiny. 
 

Civics 101: A Podcast - New Hampshire Public Radio, January-April 2017
Ever wonder what a White House Chief of Staff actually does? How about a Press Secretary? And is gerrymandering still a thing in this country? The first 100 days of the Trump administration is the perfect time to bone up on civics you should have learned in school…but probably didn’t. Civics 101 is your podcast guide to what you need to know, when it matters most.
 

Solving the Education Dilemma - New Hampshire Business Review, December 2016
Never has the need for education been so great, yet never have the majority of options consumed such a high percentage of gross income, nor left students with such burdening sums of student loan debt.No state represents this conundrum better than New Hampshire, which was recently ranked first for the highest average debt per student ($36,101) upon graduation. 
 

Investors: Don't Panic - Barron's Next, November 2016
The future may look uncertain after Donald Trump’s unexpected win of the U.S. presidential election, but the future of your investments? That’s an entirely different matter. Today, make it your mantra to stick with a long-term plan and not let your emotions take charge. 
 

How Clients Communicate - Financial Times, November 2016; and the New Hampshire Business Review, January 2017
Today, everyone has their own unique style of communication, and these various modes can be both a blessing and a curse for the engaged relationship. However, it is a real dilemma when a client chooses to sporadically siphon information using various media and neglects to openly and consistently communicate with those they’ve installed as partners in their financial security.
 

Where to Start when Coaching Millennials - Financial Times, September 2016
As we age, it is not uncommon to reflect on our successes and failures throughout our life – those involving our family, our careers, and even our financial decisions. Have we met our goals, or fallen short? Of course, nobody wakes up in the morning and declares ‘Today is the day I’m going to ruin my retirement,’ yet we see it more often than we should. Why does this happen? As many find out too late, the decisions that we make while we’re young have lasting implications and often mean the difference between financial distress and financial well-being in our later years.
 

Sequencing Matters More than you Realize - Financial Times, July 2016
Of all the tools at the disposal of investors, few people recognize the financial significance of sequencing. Sequencing has the potential to add great value but when ignored can be a devastating mistake for those seeking financial security and independence.
 

Are you Ready for Higher Taxes? - Financial Times, May 2016; and the New Hampshire Business Review, June 2016
With another tax season in the rear-view mirror, the last thing most people want to think about is tax planning. But here’s the honest truth: wise tax planning is a lifelong activity and pays untold and tangible benefits when properly attended to.
 

Providing Equal Justice for All - The Portsmouth Herald, April 2016
At the 75th anniversary of the New York legal Aid Society in 1951, the legendary Federal Judge Billings Learned Hand spoke about the importance of legal representation for all. “It is the daily; it is the small; it is the cumulative injuries of little people that we are here to protect,” said Hand, a Harvard graduate and one of the most quoted and cited judges in American history. “If we are able to keep our democracy, there must be one commandment: Thou shalt not ration justice.”