Creating a comprehensive financial plan for clients is just part of what differentiates us. Investable assets are not just numbers on a page. They represent hopes and dreams. The best financial advice is that which is tailored for the individual, advice that creates a better life for you and those you love. So when we meet with you we take into account all of these issues all the while looking at the big picture and the tax consequences of your decisions. This is what custom comprehensive planning is all about. And we will be here when you need us. There will be no automated response to any of your questions or calls. We are here to serve you. Call or stop by our office to set up an appointment or to learn more about how we can help.
Team Intro
Creating a comprehensive financial plan for clients is just part of what differentiates us. Investable assets are not just numbers on a page. They represent hopes and dreams. The best financial advice is that which is tailored for the individual, advice that creates a better life for you and those you love. So when we meet with you we take into account all of these issues all the while looking at the big picture and the tax consequences of your decisions. This is what custom comprehensive planning is all about. And we will be here when you need us. There will be no automated response to any of your questions or calls. We are here to serve you. Call or stop by our office to set up an appointment or to learn more about how we can help.
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About Thrivent
A different kind of financial company
Thrivent is a member-owned financial services organization offering advice, investments, insurance, banking and generosity programs to help clients make an impact on the people, causes and communities they love.
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When you join Thrivent, you become part of something bigger. You share in the collective ownership of our company and you’re part of a community of people looking out for others. In addition to Thrivent’s financial expertise and solutions, membership provides eligible clients with tools and resources to make it easy to give of yourself and live a more meaningful life.
Events
2026-10-26T13:00:00
Thanksgiving Basket Donation Drive for Alicia's House Food Pantry
Help us fill over 600 Thanksgiving baskets to benefit local families in need. Maar Financial Group will be hosting a donation drive for Alicia's House Food Pantry. Details on donations needed to be announced at a later date.
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We are proud to be part of Thrivent, a company with a long heritage of financial strength and fiscal stability. For more than 120 years, Thrivent has helped people build their financial futures and live more generous lives. Today, Thrivent is a Fortune 500 company, offering a full range of expert financial solutions, serving more than 2.4 million clients, as well as the communities in which they live and work.
News and insights
Commentary September 2026
Fall, my favorite season of the year, is here…at least I think it is. When the season actually begins is hard to say. In the Northern Hemisphere astronomical autumn begins September 22nd at 8:04pm. Really? So, at 8:02pm it is summer, but at 8:04pm it is autumn? Maybe that is true in astronomy but not here on the ground in Indiana. Meteorological autumn began on midnight September 1st, but I don’t think any of us woke up that morning and said, “Hey, fall is here!”
Maybe what is significant is when does it feel like autumn to YOU? Maybe you need to feel a chill in the night air, accompanied by the scent that leaves have when they begin changing color and falling from trees. There might be the sound of rustling in the trees caused by the wind hitting brittle leaves. Maybe you need the smell of woodsmoke in the air from someone using their fireplace for the first time in the season. Maybe a football game on TV or a cozy mystery to read accompanied by a mug of hot cocoa. Any or all these things can make us feel that autumn has arrived. I think this year it will be especially welcome.
This past summer our region experienced a great deal of severe weather. On June 11th an EF-3 tornado touched down causing widespread damage. Exactly two months later, August 11th, we experienced multiple EF-1 tornadoes, a derecho (a word many of us didn’t know until August 11), flooding, and multiple and extended power outages. The August storm caught most of us off guard because the tornadoes and the derecho that tore through our region were not predicted. As part of a dynamic system, they are impossible to predict. The most meteorologists can do is inform us that the conditions are in place for such things to form. They may form or may not. That is why the warnings come so close to the actual event. Until a tornado forms, there is no tornado.
A weather system never exactly repeats itself. There are always differences. This autumn will be unlike all other autumns. This Halloween could be rainy, snowy, or sunny. A few days from Halloween meteorologists are close enough to make a guess. It may be an educated guess, but it will be a guess, nonetheless.
Uncertainty is frustrating, which I understand all too well. In my work, I live with it every day. I can look at company XYZ and say that the conditions are right for the stock to increase in value. Will it? I can no more be absolutely certain of that than the weatherperson staring at the radar. The financial markets are classic examples of dynamic systems, which has never stopped people from trying to come up with predictions. This was the Holy Grail.
In the mid-2000s certain hedge funds embraced “quants,” genius-level mathematicians who designed computer programs that were supposed to contain every bit of financial data. These programs knew the price of every stock in the world at any given millisecond. They knew interest rates from every part of the globe. They knew money supply, foreign exchange rates, and every commodity price. With all of this data, and sophisticated formulas based on quantum mechanics, these programs were expected to predict market behavior. For a brief while it looked promising. Until August 2007 when the programs failed and caused what became known as “the quant meltdown.” The firms that relied on these methods failed and lots of people suffered severe financial loss. They tried to account for everything but something was always missing. The problem is there are an infinite number of variables that can affect the market.
We see this in consumer sentiment data. A person looking for a new car decides to hold off because prices seem too high. Then another person reaches the same conclusion. Eventually markets will be affected. Every month economists predict unemployment numbers and are always surprised when they are wrong.
These are the difficulties I encounter in my line of work every hour of every day. Yet, people still want to know what we think markets are going to do. While we can’t predict what markets will do on any given day, we are still able to make informed decisions. Because of the decades of experience, we have behind us at the Maar Financial Group, we have a good sense of probability. That enables us to focus on the bigger picture, which is what you, as long-term investors, care about.
Just as you don’t know for sure when you will feel it is finally autumn, as October rolls around you know it is coming. That is the bigger picture. You have a lifetime of September and October experiences to guide you. So too for us at the Maar Financial Group when it comes to markets. Because of our decades of experience we can construct a custom plan, with you and for you, that will be balanced between risk and reward and will reflect our awareness of just how changeable the markets and the seasons of life can be. It will not be focused on what will happen today, just as it is not significant how many leaves have changed color today. We prepare for what the market will bring, just as you will prepare for fall.
Because of this planning, you can relax on a chilly October night, the smell of autumn leaves and wood smoke in the air, and say to yourself, “Yes, autumn has finally arrived.” Indeed, it has. Remember what dynamic systems teach us; this particular autumn will not come again.
Enjoy all the pleasures that this glorious season has to offer.
Thrivent is a diversified financial services organization that helps people achieve financial clarity, enabling lives full of meaning and gratitude. Thrivent and its subsidiary and affiliate companies serve more than 2.3 million clients, offering advice, insurance, investments, banking and generosity products and programs over the phone, online as well as through financial professionals and independent agents nationwide.
Thrivent is the marketing name for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Insurance products issued by Thrivent. Not available in all states. Securities and investment advisory services offered through Thrivent Investment Management Inc., a registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC, and a subsidiary of Thrivent. Licensed agent/producer of Thrivent. Registered representative of Thrivent Investment Management, Inc. Advisory services available through investment adviser representatives only. Thrivent.com/disclosures.
The concepts presented are intended for educational purposes only. This information should not be considered investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy, or product.
Commentary June 2026
As the song reminds us, it’s summertime “and the livin is easy.” Ever since our early days as schoolchildren, summer has been synonymous with time away from lessons and work. As adults we now know summer brings its own responsibilities. Lawnmowing, weeding, and countless outdoor chores also become part of the season. And here at Maar Financial Group, our work continues as well.
I want to begin by discussing what we seem to spend most of our time talking about in meetings with clients: money. Except we rarely talk about money as the dictionary defines it— “something generally accepted as a medium of exchange or as a means of payment.” That definition does not capture the nature of what we do. When we meet with our clients, we’re usually looking at data points or numbers on a spreadsheet, on a financial statement, or on some sort of financial projection. These are not merely numbers on a screen or page; rather, money is a symbol that represents something far more significant. Ultimately, what it represents to us is a means to enhance our clients’ sense of well-being and help them achieve what matters most in their lives.
Money represents different things to each of us, and that reality lies at the heart of the work we do at Maar Financial Group. We know that (as we’ve all been told, probably since childhood) that money cannot buy happiness and we readily agree. Yet many of us recognize the truth behind the common refrain, “Well, it might not buy happiness, but it certainly is nice to have.” But it is never the money that is nice to have. It is what the money represents. For some of us it represents security, a freedom from want. For some it represents opportunity, to buy a house, start a business, or run a farm. And others see it as a means to do good for others, be it family or causes in which one believes.
I have written in our Facebook posts about how one cannot pursue happiness, as if it were an object waiting to be discovered and captured. That is not how happiness works. Instead, I believe the more important pursuit is contentment. To me, that means living a life that aligns with our values, our priorities, and our understanding of what truly matters. If that alignment is not in place, I have seen how it interferes with contentment. That is one of the reasons we spend time getting to know how comfortable our clients are with risk. If someone is risk-adverse, then certain investments will always carry with them elements that cause anxiety and one cannot experience contentment when there is anxiety. On the other hand, if one is comfortable with a degree of risk then the safest investments in the world will produce anxiety but for completely distinct reasons.
In our last commentary I wrote, “Our goal is to help our clients align money with purpose. This often involves identifying their core values and aligning them with their goals. Then when they direct their saving or spending towards these goals, they find themselves moving towards that which provides them with a feeling of fulfillment.” That is why we spend time with clients talking about things that may not seem as if they have much to do with finance. We want to know their life story, what dreams they hold, and all the events that brought them to where they are at this moment in their lives. Whether we consider it as fulfillment or contentment, the important thing is that we understand what matters most in their lives. We know, from experience, it will not be enough to just accumulate “more,” whether it be money or the stuff that money can buy. The desire to accumulate more is to get on a treadmill that never ends. Someone once said, “The number of good things in your life depends on your ability to notice them.” By that standard we have been blessed indeed. Perhaps there was a time in your life when you could only dream of what you now have. It is all too easy to take such things for granted. Sometimes looking at our lives with the help of others can help in the alignment process. That too is part of our client reviews. Not everyone does this, but we take pride in our differences from the rest.
So here we are in what is known as high summer. Nature is at its most lush and verdant. Autumn is still waiting in the wings, but not just yet. We have many sunny and glorious days ahead. Summer is an excellent time for all of us to pause and take time to assess how we are doing in terms of our values and contentment. Summer has always been associated with warm lazy afternoons that slide into soft evenings. Days that perhaps we spend with family and friends in the back yard. There may be the smell of freshly mown grass or the scents from a flower garden. There will certainly be birds singing in the dappled light. Take the time to look around and realize this moment will not come again. This is your life. It is happening right now, and we all have much for which to be grateful. I hope what you feel is contentment and even happiness. If your goals and values are aligned the chances are good that you will experience those positive feelings. But if something does not feel as if it is properly aligned—well, we are just a phone call away. We are here to help. We do it every day.
Thrivent is a diversified financial services organization that helps people achieve financial clarity, enabling lives full of meaning and gratitude. Thrivent and its subsidiary and affiliate companies serve more than 2.3 million clients, offering advice, insurance, investments, banking and generosity products and programs over the phone, online as well as through financial professionals and independent agents nationwide.
Thrivent is the marketing name for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Insurance products issued by Thrivent. Not available in all states. Securities and investment advisory services offered through Thrivent Investment Management Inc., a registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC, and a subsidiary of Thrivent. Licensed agent/producer of Thrivent. Registered representative of Thrivent Investment Management, Inc. Advisory services available through investment adviser representatives only. Thrivent.com/disclosures.
The concepts presented are intended for educational purposes only. This information should not be considered investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy, or product.
Commentary April 2026
Looking out my open window while I write, I hear the birds chirping as a warm breeze moves across my desk. All looks serene right now, but within a couple hours, severe storms are predicted to travel across the area bringing hail and high winds followed by a thirty degree drop in temperature from yesterday’s high. Welcome to spring in the Midwest.
When I sat down to draft this commentary, I knew the theme was going to be about spring. As I contemplated what spring meant to me, I researched what others had to say about the topic. I found it all came down to one word: “rebirth”. It seems such an obvious answer that it was a bit anticlimactic. It almost goes without saying; of course, spring is the season of Easter and plants emerging from their winter soil while trees bud and leaf-out in all their glory. We are surrounded by reminders and images of rebirth throughout this wonderful season that owes its success in part to these sometimes-challenging spring storms and rains.
When we think about the idea of “rebirth,” it may seem as if it doesn’t apply to the work we do at the Maar Financial Group. The plans we create with our clients are designed to be long-term; they certainly aren’t altered with the seasons. It is true we must handle financial storms as they arise. Often the storms are temporary, caused by events such as a company posting lower than expected earnings or a jobless report that is higher than expected. Sometimes the turbulence is more challenging. Many of us remember the spring and summer of 2008 when credit markets were overwhelmed by the collapse of first Bear Stearns and then Lehman Brothers. This set off a widespread financial panic, but we always make sure our clients are prepared for volatile markets, and this was ultimately another storm we saw our way through. We adjusted to new conditions, but even that didn’t seem to constitute anything like a “rebirth.”
But as I thought about our clients, especially those who have been with us for decades, I came to realize I actually had witnessed rebirth on a regular basis. What I have seen over time is a rebirth of purpose. Often when we begin working with clients, their primary purpose is to save and invest for retirement security which is a significant goal. Meeting it can take years but after clients accomplish this goal, the question of “what to do now” emerges.
The answer to this question can give rise to much greater complexity than that of planning for retirement. Then the focus was on one thing: saving. This new question requires two different processes which might appear to be at cross-purposes.
On the one hand, the retirement account must continue to remain strong, it is the fortress that offers protection from the shifting winds of circumstances beyond our control. But on the other hand, it is also a time of life when people want to “do” things they have put off when they were busy raising families and building careers. For some this involves travel, moving to a new place to live, and/or establishing a legacy of charitable giving. Any of these plans will require an expenditure of precious resources and part of our challenge at the Maar Financial Group is finding a way to balance these two very different processes so that our clients can both fulfill their dreams and maintain their financial strength.
I have come to think of this rebirth of process as really a process of alignment. Our goal is to help our clients align money with purpose. This often involves identifying their core values and aligning them with their goals. Then when they direct their saving or spending towards these goals, they find themselves moving towards that which provides them with a feeling of fulfillment.
Money represents different things to us, depending very much on the stage of life in which you find yourself. It is usually when you have achieved the basic, and important, goals of financial security that you are now free to think about money in a new way. It can become a tool for helping you toward a more meaningful life.
And that is truly a rebirth. Thrivent is a diversified financial services organization that helps people achieve financial clarity, enabling lives full of meaning and gratitude. Thrivent and its subsidiary and affiliate companies serve more than 2.3 million clients, offering advice, insurance, investments, banking and generosity products and programs over the phone, online as well as through financial professionals and independent agents nationwide.
Thrivent is the marketing name for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Insurance products issued by Thrivent. Not available in all states. Securities and investment advisory services offered through Thrivent Investment Management Inc., a registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC, and a subsidiary of Thrivent. Licensed agent/producer of Thrivent. Registered representative of Thrivent Investment Management, Inc. Advisory services available through investment adviser representatives only. Thrivent.com/disclosures.
The concepts presented are intended for educational purposes only. This information should not be considered investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy, or product.
Office information
Address:
331W 806 NValparaiso, IN 46385
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Phone:
708-672-0571Operating Hours:
M-Th 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; F 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Phone:
219-763-2244Operating Hours:
By appointment