Author: Rick Brooks

Rick Brooks, CFA®, CFP® is a partner of Blankinship & Foster LLC and is the firm’s Chief Investment Officer. He is a lead advisor, counseling clients on all aspects of personal financial management. Rick serves on several boards. He is the Chairman of the Board of Girl Scouts San Diego, and also chairs the San Diego Foundation’s Professional Advisor Council. Rick and his family live in Mission Hills. Rick enjoys spending time with his family, theater, cooking, skiing, gaming and reading.

These days, automobiles are more than rolling hunks of steel- many contain networked computers that are connected to the internet. Connected cars, as they are known, are able to share data with devices both inside and outside the car. OnREAD MORE

As if there wasn’t enough to worry about online, another scam has become increasingly common and a growing concern for financial institutions. SEO scams hijack your search results and take you to websites that look like familiar (especially financial institutions)READ MORE

As an investment, residential real estate offers some great benefits: income, tax breaks, long term appreciation, and a hedge against inflation. However, it’s not for everyone, and there are some major downsides to be aware of. Here we’ll discuss theREAD MORE

The Homeowners insurance situation in California has not been good. Following a surge in wildfires (over 1.5 million acres have burned in the past five years, according to CalFire) property insurers have faced mounting losses. Many either stopped renewing policiesREAD MORE

Donor-advised funds are the fastest-growing charitable giving vehicle in the United States. This is because they are one of the easiest and most tax-advantageous ways to give to charity. A Donor Advised Fund (DAF) basically functions like a charitable foundationREAD MORE