Richard Piazza - Wealth Management Advisor

22/10/2026

This $60 sleep test could end up costing you a lot more than $60.

I've been seeing more advertisements offering convenient, at-home medical testing. Sleep studies are just one example. For a relatively small copay, you can speak with a specialist, complete a test at home, and receive a diagnosis.

Sounds great, right? And from a healthcare perspective, it often is. But here's what most people don't realize.

The results of that test become part of your medical history and could affect your ability to qualify for **life insurance or disability insurance**, how much you pay, or what coverage is available. Does that mean you shouldn't get tested? Absolutely not.

Your health comes first. If you have symptoms or your doctor recommends testing, don't avoid necessary medical care.

If you've been thinking about purchasing life or disability insurance, don't wait until a new medical concern forces the conversation. Review your coverage while you're healthy, and understand your options before your medical history changes.

Already have coverage? Make sure it's adequate. A new diagnosis generally doesn't change the premiums or benefits of an existing, properly maintained individual policy.

Let's have a conversation about your protection needs and the underwriting process. A little planning today could make a meaningful difference tomorrow. https://tinyurl.com/RichardPiazzaYourAdvisor

19/10/2026

Living longer is becoming the norm. Are you planning for it?

Living longer is becoming the norm. Are you planning to live well? There’s a disconnect between how people hope to live later in life and how well they are preparing for it today. Only 13% of working Americans feel exactly on track to save enough for the lifestyle they want in retirement, while 45% say they’re off track. Discover more tips to live well, longer from the Mind, Body, and Wallet 2026 report here.

Explore Guardian’s Mind, Body, and Wallet® 2026 report on longevity, health, and financial confidence — and how everyday choices shape a healthier future.

12/10/2026

What is a RILA?

Concerned about market fluctuations as you plan for retirement? Learn about registered index-linked annuities (RILAs) and how they may be able to help you worry less while reaching your retirement goals.

http://www.guardianlife.com/annuities/rila

05/10/2026

How longevity is changing retirement #2

The definition of retirement is changing. 3 in 4 people expect to keep working at least part time in retirement. This may be because 46% of Americans are worried about having a guaranteed source of income in retirement. Yet many don’t know that an annuity can be a potential solution. Are you ready for the new retirement reality? Explore more in the Retirement Redefined report here.

https://www.guardianlife.com/reports/retirement-redefined

28/09/2026

Mind, Body, and Wallet® podcast, Redefining Retirement

Retirement isn’t an ending — it’s a new beginning. In the latest episode of the Mind, Body, and Wallet® podcast, Guardian’s Chief Legal Officer, Kermitt Brooks, discusses how longer lifespans and shifting expectations are transforming retirement. From financial wellness to emotional wellness, Kermitt shares thoughts for thriving in this new chapter.

Listen to the episode here: https://www.guardianlife.com/podcast/mind-body-wallet

01/09/2026

How do you go from a lifetime of saving money to actually feeling comfortable spending it?

We spend 30 or 40 years learning how to climb the mountain and remarkably little time learning how to get back down.

But reaching the summit was never the goal. The goal was to build enough wealth to fund the life on the other side.

Accumulation requires a plan.

Distribution deserves one too.
Let's Meet: https://tinyurl.com/RichardPiazzaYourAdvisor

25/08/2026

HISTORY RHYMES: Cash Is Trash…Until It Isn’t.

At the end of the 1990s, holding cash looked foolish.

Stocks were soaring.
Tech was changing the world.
The Nasdaq gained 86% in 1999 alone.

Why would anyone want money sitting on the sidelines?

Then the Nasdaq fell nearly 80%.

Suddenly, cash wasn’t a drag.

It was optionality.

It gave investors something incredibly valuable when everyone else was selling:

The ability to buy.

Fast forward to today.

After years of strong markets, I hear versions of the same question:

“Why would I keep money somewhere earning less than the stock market?”

Because sometimes we focus too much on what money **earns** and not enough on what money **allows us to do.**

That could mean Treasury bills.

A high-yield money market.

Or, for the right person, cash value inside a properly designed Whole Life policy.

Those aren't interchangeable investments.

But they can serve a similar strategic purpose:

Liquidity that isn't dependent on selling stocks at exactly the wrong time.

That's especially important in retirement.

Imagine the market falls 30%.

You need $100,000 to live.

Investor A has to sell stocks.

Investor B has another bucket available and can leave the stocks alone.

Same market.

Very different problem.

We spent much of the last 15 years in a world where cash felt expensive to own.

Maybe history's lesson isn't that we should hold enormous amounts of cash.

It's that liquidity has value that doesn't always show up in the rate of return.

Sometimes the best asset in your portfolio isn't the one making you the most money.

It's the one that prevents you from selling another asset at the worst possible time.

19/08/2026

What does the bond market know that stocks may be ignoring?

June 2007:

The 30-Year Treasury climbed to roughly 5.35%, its highest level in years.

Stocks? Still partying.

The S&P 500 wouldn't peak until four months later, in October.

Then:

Recession.
Credit crisis.
Financial crisis.
57% decline in the S&P 500.

Fast forward to today.

The 30-Year Treasury is again around 5.3%, levels we haven't seen since 2007.

Meanwhile, stocks are sitting near record highs and valuations remain historically elevated.

Coincidence?

Maybe.

And to be clear, 2026 is not 2007. The next crisis, if there is one, won't necessarily come from housing, subprime mortgages or banks.

But I think we're asking the wrong question.

The question isn't:

“Is another 2008 coming?”

It's:

“What breaks when an economy and financial system built around cheap money has to digest 5%+ long-term rates?”

In 2007, the bond market was sending a warning while the stock market kept climbing.

Today, the bond market may be saying something again.

History rarely repeats itself.

But sometimes it rhymes loudly enough that you should probably listen.

Am I connecting dots that aren't there… or is the bond market trying to tell us something?

10/08/2026

“I’ve never had anyone explain it to us like that before.”

I was recently told that by a client. And honestly, that’s the whole game.

Most people don’t need another product pitch or pie chart.

They don’t need another person telling them they’re “on track” without really explaining what that means.

What they need is someone who can look at the full picture and say:

Here’s what’s working.
Here’s what’s duplicated.
Here’s what’s inefficient.
Here’s what’s exposed.
And here’s what we can do about it.

That’s where real planning happens.

In seeing things others missed.

In organizing complexity.

In connecting investments, taxes, income, estate planning, insurance, business planning, and family goals into one coordinated strategy.

Because sometimes the biggest opportunity isn’t finding something new.

It’s finally understanding what’s been sitting in front of you the whole time.

That’s my process.

And if you haven’t had your financial life reviewed that way, there may be more there than you realize.

10/08/2026

**The part of a financial plan most people hope they never need may be the part that holds everything together.**

Insurance is strange.

When it works, nothing dramatic happens.

No headline.

No celebration.

No visible “return.”

But that’s exactly the point.

A good investment can grow your wealth.

A good business can create income.

A good property can appreciate.

But life insurance and disability income protection answer a different question:

**What happens if the income, person, or plan everything depends on suddenly changes?**

That is where protection becomes planning.

Life insurance is not just a death benefit.

It can protect a family, preserve a business, fund a transition, equalize an estate, or give survivors options when life does not go according to plan.

Disability income insurance may be even more overlooked.

Because for many people, their ability to earn is their largest financial asset.

Not their 401(k).

Not their house.

Their income.

A sound financial plan should not just ask:

“How much can we grow?”

It should also ask:

“What could interrupt this?”

“What needs to be protected?”

“And who gets hurt if the plan does not work?”

Insurance does not create certainty.

Nothing does.

But when designed properly, it creates something almost as valuable:

**The confidence to move forward.**