Articles That Inspire and Inform Readers Today

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Managing Inflation in Reserve Studies: A Practical, Long-Term Approach

Periods of elevated inﬂation often prompt community associations to ask a reasonable question: Should the inﬂation rate in the reserve study be increased signiﬁcantly to reﬂect today’s economic conditions? While understandable,…

The Benefits of a Reserve Study

With the arrival of spring, managers and board members fancifully dream of budgets, reserve studies, and disclosures. Oh, I wish. As a Reserve Specialist (RS) who works year-round on reserve…

To Reserve or Not to Reserve

That is the question. Although I share a name with a literary genius, it ends there. I am certainly no Shakespeare! But this line from the famous soliloquy, adapted for…

Five Tips For Comparing Reserve Study Bids

The Browning Reserve Group (BRG) understands that there are many options when selecting a reserve study firm. Lots of choices can make it difficult to discern the differences between various…

What is a Reserve Study

A Reserve Study is a budget planning tool that identifies the current status of the reserve fund and a stable, equitable funding plan to offset anticipated future major common area…

BRG Acquired by Reserve Advisors

Milwaukee, Wis., December 19, 2024 – Reserve Advisors, a leading provider of capital planning consulting services for community associations, announced the acquisition of Browning Reserve Group (BRG). Founded in 1999…

What is Fully Funded Balance

Fully Funded Balance (FFB) is a mathematically derived balance that provides one answer to the question of how much should be in the reserve fund at a given point in…

The Presentation Paradox

Identical work depicted by differing component presentations produces substantial Fully Funded Balance differences. Competing component presentations are commonplace and occur without intent. And to be crystal clear, we’re not talking…

What is Percent Funded

Percent Funded is an analytic tool used to gauge reserve fund strength by comparing the reserve fund balance against the Fully Funded Balance (FFB), which is a mathematically idealized reserve…

Percent Funded Status Versus Timing

Percent Funded status is commonly measured as Poor (below 30%), Fair (between 30% and 70%), or Strong (above 70%). However, there is a quirk in this gauge, making these statuses…

What is Reserve Fund Interest and How is It Calculated

Most reserve fund accounts earn investment interest that is reinvested into the reserve fund, so reserve fund interest earnings are an integral element of the reserve funding plan. Estimated reserve…

Percent Funded Considerations

The following discussion looks at the stability and usability of the Percent Funded analytic tool. At first blush, Fully Funded Balance and its derivative Percent Funded appear remarkably simple and…

Reserve Funding Explanations

These pages discuss reserve study funding topics including Percent Funded and reserve fund interest calculations. If you are unfamiliar with Percent Funded (PF) and how it is calculated, first read…