Blog

Planning for the Future: Financial Considerations for Families with a Special Needs Child

By Lance Gunkel, CFP®, CFA, Managing Director



Raising a child with special needs comes with immeasurable love and joy — along with unique challenges. Among those challenges is the important task of planning for your child’s long-term financial security and care. While every family situation is different, there are several key financial and legal tools that can help ensure your child is protected, both now and in the future.

The Tulip Mania: Lessons for Modern Financial Planning

by Damian Beard, CFP®, MBA, Associate Financial Planner

Tulips aren’t just a symbol of spring; they also played a starring role in one of history’s most fascinating financial bubbles: Tulip Mania. I remember my grandfather telling me the story when I was a young boy, always ending with, “History repeats itself — if we’re paying attention.”

In the News

Syverson Strege Named a 2025 Best Financial Advisory Firm by USA TODAY

We are excited to share Syverson Strege has been named a 2025 Best Financial Advisory Firm by USA TODAY! Thank you to our clients and colleagues for choosing to work with us over the past 28 years! You can read the full article and ranking information at https://www.usatoday.com/.../top-financial.../78030977007/.

Disclaimer: This independent ranking was provided by USA TODAY in conjunction with market research firm Statista and is based on the growth of the company’s assets under management (AUM) over the short and long term and the number of recommendations we received from clients and peers. No compensation has been provided by Syverson Strege with obtaining this rating.

David Strege Featured by Iowa Jump$tart Coalition

Syverson Strege co-founder David Strege was selected for Iowa Jump$tart Coalition's May Partner Spotlight due to his unwavering support of financial literacy for children in Iowa for more than 20 years. Read more about his journey in personal finance and his dedication to giving back in this article: https://iowajumpstart.org/.../06/may-2025-partner-spotlight/

Financial Updates

RightCapital Client Notifications

It has come to our attention that some clients who use the RightCapital portal may be receiving regular notifications, specifically reminders about outstanding tasks. 

If you have completed a task, simply mark the task "complete" under Dashboard>Tasks in the portal. That should stop notifications about tasks that have been completed. 

However, we encourage you to adjust the RightCapital notification settings to fit your preference. Unfortunately, we are unable to adjust these notification settings for our clients. Each user must update their own notification preferences under Settings>Notifications.  

If you need assistance navigating these options, feel free to reach out — we're happy to help guide you through the process.

Events

• June 17 & June 24, 2025: Financial Foundations - Education for Lifelong Success: Created by the Syverson Strege team, Financial Foundations is a financial education course to learn more about the purpose of money, spending, investing, savings, income taxes, insurance, estate planning, and charitable giving. This two-part course will be held 5:30-7:30 p.m. on both dates at the Syverson Strege office. Dinner will be provided. Registration is limited to the first 30 individuals or family units. Register for this free, two-part course here. 

• June 19: Wealth & Wellness: Optimizing Cycles @ Syverson Strege Office, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Join us for the next event in our 2025 Power of Connection Women’s Series focused on educating and inspiring women to make the most of their physical and financial well-being. This empowering lunch and learn session will bring together credentialed knowledge in financial planning and holistic health to explore what it truly means to thrive during life cycles and transitions. Lunch will be served. RSVP here. Presenters include Syverson Strege Associate Financial Planner Jennifer Scheck, CFP®, and Nikki Russell, owner of Aptitude Fitness and Pause Studio.

• June 25: Client Bingo Social @ Syverson Strege Office; 1:30-3:00 p.m. Join us for a fun bingo event, catch up with old friends and make new ones, and play for the chance to win prizes! Please RSVP here so we know how many players to plan for.

Out and About

UBN’s Faith Incorporated Summit

Associate Financial Planner Jennifer Scheck and Chief Investment Officer Jason Gunkel recently attended the Unconventional Business Network's Faith Incorporated Summit. There they were able to dive into meaningful conversations on integrating faith in all aspects of work, leadership and purpose.

Dimensional Investor Symposium

Cameron Pietzsch and Damian Beard - both associate financial planners at Syverson Strege - attended the recent Dimensional Investor Symposium in Austin, Texas. Sessions included everything from investment principles to the importance of an advisor's role during the investment journey, and they had the opportunity to network and strengthen their relationships within the industry.

Philanthropy

Central Iowa FCA Annual Banquet

Syverson Strege is proud to support Central Iowa FCA, and this year’s annual banquet did not disappoint! From the comments shared by volunteers, including our own Chief Investment Officer Jason Gunkel, to this year’s keynote delivered by Marcellus Casey, chaplain for the Kansas City Chiefs, we enjoyed attending and hosting some of our clients and friends for the evening.

Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines Celebration Luncheon

We were proud to sponsor last week’s annual Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines Celebration Luncheon. The work that this organization does to facilitate philanthropic giving in the community is awe-inspiring, and we’re excited for all they have planned this year! This year’s event was extra special as our co-founder David Strege and his family were recognized and included in this year’s Annual Report for their commitment to giving back through their donor-advised fund.