Important Note: The MyBucketSystem is designed as an aid for helping estimate the retirement income that an investment portfolio may provide.
The returns presented in the 4 Buckets are estimates of potential returns based on long-term historical returns. Past performance is no guarantee of future results
The returns for the 4 Buckets include the reinvestment of dividends and other earnings.
The returns for the 4 Buckets are presented gross of any fees or trade costs.
The impact of advisory fees or any other costs to invest have not been calculated, but the returns will be lower to the extent of advisory fees and other costs.
All portfolio holdings in the 4 Buckets have the possibility of loss.
The following methodology was used to design the returns for MyBucketSystem:
The goal of the MyBucketSystem was to set a target of withdrawing less than 5% from the portfolio on a yearly basis. Certified Financial Planning studies have shown that if a client withdraws less than 5% of the portfolio during retirement they have a high probability of not running out of money. The MyBucketSystem withdrawal rate is 4.8%.
The Buckets are designed to have the following investments:
The rates of returns for each bucket were selected based on the data listed below:
Bucket 1- Over the past 20 years, Short-Term Bonds and Bills have averaged 4.0% or more. We used 1.5% to be conservative. Bucket 2- Over the past 20 years, Mid-Term Bonds have averaged 5.0% or more. We used 3%. Bucket 3- Over the past 20 years, Long-Term Bonds have averaged 5.5% or more, but preferred stocks have averaged 7% or more. Therefore, we took a blended rate to come up with 5%. Bucket 4- Stocks have averaged between 9.5%-10.5% since 1929 depending on the type of stocks(Large, Mid & Small). We wanted to be more conservative, so we used 8.5%. Our 8.5% includes the dividends from the stocks.
mike vickerman, jr
President & Chief Vision Officer
Hello, From Mike
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Mike is the Founder, President and CVO of Vickerman Investment Advisors, Inc. (VIA) where he leads a talented team of professionals to create a unique life experience for each client by matching their life goals with their financial plan. VIA calls this the MyBucketSystem™ experience! Mike uses his CPA background and his 25 years of experience co-founding Vickerman & Driscoll Financial Advisors, Inc. to provide comprehensive and creative planning solutions for the clients of VIA. Mike’s role as Chief Vision Officer (CVO) is setting the vision of the firm and ensuring that it stays on its path.
Mike grew up as the son of a small business owner and got to see the success and failure that comes with taking risks. When the family business failed during his high school years, the financial and emotional wounds that his family experienced forged a passion to help and teach families how to plan and invest in a system that meets their goals.
He applied and received a full ride scholarship to the University of Southern California where he studied and graduated from the nations 3rd ranked School of Accounting. Mike started his career as a CPA for Ernst & Young where he gained valuable experience evaluating how companies create and grow their business models and how they are valued. He also became an expert in tax planning, preparing tax returns during the busy season. This training provided him with the skills he would need to start and grow Vickerman & Driscoll into one of the leading RIA’s in the Pacific Northwest.
In 2021, after Kevin Driscoll retired, Mike refocused his efforts for his next chapter by building the team at VIA. Mike’s passion for helping clients align their life goals with their financial plan is evident when you meet him, and as you watch him create a custom plan centered around the MyBucketSystem™ strategy.
Mike loves the outdoors, and enjoys spending time at the lake with his wife Michele and their five grown kids; Saige, Analese, Peggy, Mirisa & Jillian.
JEREMY HOUY
Senior Investment Advisor
Jeremy is a Senior Investment Advisor at Vickerman Investment Advisors. He has been in the financial services industry for the past 20 years. Jeremy has worked with both individual and institutional clients providing financial advice and retirement planning. He takes pride in developing relationships with his clients and being responsive to their needs.
Jeremy grew up in Denver where his father owned a spa store. Watching his dad run a business instilled a strong work ethic that he carries to this day. He also spent time living on his grandparent’s cattle ranch in Texas and attended high school in South Dakota.
Jeremy graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. He started his professional career in Portland as an advisor for First Investors Corporation. After 5 years, Jeremy moved to Spokane in 2006 to open his own office for the company and served as Branch Manager until joining TIAA in 2012. Jeremy joined Chris Grasmick and assisted with establishing and growing the Spokane office for TIAA. Over the next 9 years, Jeremy worked with individuals and families helping them with all aspects of their investment and retirement planning. He also worked closely with local universities and served as their direct contact to assist their employees with retirement plans, investing and income planning. During this time, Jeremy completed a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Washington State University. After completing his degree, he became a branch manager and supervisor for over 20 independent firms who catered to high-net-worth clients. Having multiple Principal/Supervisor licenses, he was able to help them navigate the complex regulatory environment and establish procedures to ensure compliance with new industry rules. Jeremy also was responsible for the review and approval of all client transactions for each of his firms.
Jeremy decided to join Vickerman Investment Advisors for multiple reasons. Having previously worked with both Chris Grasmick and Brian Kenyon, he felt comfortable joining a team that valued personalized planning for clients while maintaining a high ethical standard. Being a part of a local firm was also an important consideration. Jeremy moved to Spokane to be closer to his family. He is excited to be part of a family run business that has served their local clients for over 25 years. Jeremy’s goal is to help the firm maintain those relationships and continue to grow and help new clients.
Jeremy lives in Spokane Valley with his 2 kids, Lucas and Lila. He is active in their school activities and loves exploring local hiking trails or taking evening walks with his children. Jeremy also loves watching college football and attending Spokane Chiefs and Seattle Mariners games with his kids.
Brian J. Kenyon
Director of Trading and Research & Investment Advisor
Brian J. Kenyon, Director of Trading and Research & Investment Advisor at Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. (VIA), has been working in the financial services industry for 25 years. During this period, he has sought to provide knowledge, guidance and education for all clients, ensuring better outcomes for clients and their families.
Brian was born in Missoula, MT and spent most of his childhood in Spokane. He started in the business world, delivering the Spokane Chronicle at age 10, keeping the route for over 5 years. He went on to graduate from Washington State University, with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature.
Brian’s desire to get into the financial industry prompted a move to the Seattle area upon graduation. He began his career working for Bank of America in a Seattle area branch. Upon completing his 1 year bank obligation, he moved to Morgan Stanley, where he began his career in the securities industry. During this step in his career, he began a personal education where he discovered the benefits of long term investing. The next step in his career, culminated in an 18 year career at Scottrade, where he managed a nationally recognized branch in Spokane, WA. While managing the Spokane branch, he helped clients through some of the most traumatic market conditions since the Great Depression. These included 9/11 and the Great Recession of 2008. Prior to joining VIA, Brian served as a Wealth Management Advisor with TIAA from 2017 to late 2020. His role at TIAA, had him advising high net worth clients throughout Eastern Washington and Idaho.
Brian had many career options upon leaving TIAA but viewed the opportunity at Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. as fulfilling a lifelong dream and an opportunity he could not pass up. His desire to become more involved in trading and research and the opportunity to become part of a unique, respected Spokane RIA firm with a shared investment philosophy and client service focus became a reality. His responsibilities at Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. as Director of Trading & Research will include research and analysis of individual holdings in the firm’s client portfolios, ensuring individual securities are performing relative to firm expectations, in addition to daily review of client portfolios to ensure appropriate asset allocation.
Throughout the years, Brian has continued to build personal relationships with his clients and has helped them achieve financial success. He has performed these duties by ensuring a high level of client education, identifying known & unknown risks and then developing a personalized action plan to address investment gaps that have been identified.
Brian and his wife Deb, live in Spokane with their 3 four legged kids Clarkie, Reagan & Dublin. He spends most of his free time reading, working on his house or planning the next big travel vacation. He is also an avid MLB fan, who tries to attend as many Mariner games as possible.
Christopher Grasmick
Managing Director & Senior Investment Advisor
Christopher (Chris) Grasmick, Managing Director and Senior Investment Advisor at Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. has been providing financial advice and retirement planning for 19 years, ensuring his clients and families a piece of mind when thinking of their finances.
Chris grew up on the plains of Southeast Colorado and comes from a family of farmers. He grew up knowing what a challenging day and night of work looks like while learning the value of a hard earned dollar. He went on to graduate from Colorado State University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance and a minor in Economics and History. Upon graduation, Chris worked as a Financial Advisor for Colorado East Bank & Trust then on to Norlarco Credit Union. In 2007, he took a job at TIAA in their Denver, CO location. While working at TIAA he received his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation in June of 2010.
Chris moved to Spokane in 2011 to assist in opening the Spokane office for TIAA to serve clients in Eastern Washington, Idaho, and Montana as a Wealth Management Advisor. Over the last 13 years at TIAA, Chris advised key employees at many of the region’s largest employers and consistently cultivated deep personal connections based on trust and service. His passion is developing personal relationships and walking shoulder to shoulder with his clients to identify short- and long-term financial goals and assist in developing an action plan to achieve these goals.
Chris’ decision to join Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc., was based on how Mike and Amy Jo see their clients as family. As well as, the mission of the company that puts the clients’ interest first and provides face to face personalized planning and investment portfolios. His responsibilities at Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc., as Managing Director, will include partnering with our internal team to execute efficient and effective operations on a day-to-day basis in our cash management, trading, new account opening, and any client service requests.
Chris and his wife, Sammi, live in Spokane with their 3 boys Liam, Logan, and Knox and dog, Coco. He spends most of his free time with Sammi and the boys and loves being heavily involved in the kids' various activities while also finding a little time for the golf course or to watch a sporting event.
Michele Vickerman
Marketing & Community Liaison
Michele joined the VIA team in 2021, excited to bring her marketing and communications experience to a new industry. Michele spent 23 years as a Clinical Registered Dietitian Nutritionist before transitioning to sales and management in 2013. Michele led a regional sales team in private industry, then took on a leadership role with Providence Health Services in 2016.
Michele loves collaborating with people and businesses, believing that by working together we can achieve anything. She is passionate about creating connections and positive change in our businesses and our communities.
Michele grew up in the small town of Afton, Wyoming. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree at Utah State University. Michele fell in love with the northwest and moved to Spokane in 2002. She loves nature, cycling, amateur photography and playing at the lake.
Michele and her husband Mike are the proud parents of five adult kids.
Allison Hart
Director of First Impressions & Client Service Specialist
Allison Hart, Director of First Impressions at Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc., is excited to have joined the VIA team and looks forward to assisting our clients and families with their financial needs.
Although Allison’s hometown is Kirkland, Washington, she is familiar with the greater Spokane area having attended Eastern Washington University where she graduated in 2013 with a degree in Finance and Management with a minor in Economics. Since graduation, Allison has worked for seven years at Kemper Development Company in Bellevue, Washington as Executive Assistant to the President and as a Leasing Administrator. During this time, she has gained a passion for helping people achieve personal goals and business success.
Allison and her husband, Geoffrey, moved to Spokane in July 2021 with their two kids, Jazmin and Brave and their dog Chuckie. In her return to the Spokane area, Allison looks forward to spending much of her free time with family and friends exploring the sights, scenery, and local adventures of the Inland Empire.
MyBucketSystemTM calculator
How much can you spend each month?
The number one question clients ask is, “How much money can I withdraw from my portfolio each month and never run out?” The MyBucketSystem™ provides the answer.
How much monthly income can your portfolio provide you in retirement? Adjust the scroll bar to the value of your investment portfolio and watch the MyBucketSystemTM calculate your retirement income.
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