Jan 22 The markets are starting to feel like Groundhog Day. Almost every month, it’s a cadence of employment numbers, CPI, Fed — market reacts. With inflation starting to trend down, even if only slightly, optimism has been making a comeback. That means moving our analogy to another charming rodent. It seems like the Fed [...]
Jan 01 The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 makes it easier to accumulate retirement savings at every stage of the financial journey. But the Act also took steps to potentially enhance retirement savings for those close to or in retirement. Required minimum distributions (RMDs) can be burdensome from both an income and a tax planning [...]
While the equity markets, as measured by the S&P 500 index, was up in the third quarter, December was a disappointment from the gains seen in October and November. There’s no understating the volatility seen in the market this year. For context, Dow Jones Market Data indicates that the S&P saw more market moves of [...]
The combination of high inflation, the Federal Reserve’s aggressive program of rate increases, and economic and geopolitical uncertainty has meant volatile markets and the vanishing of traditional sources of portfolio diversification. Progress has been made, but as the new year unfolds, it will bring additional challenges, including a potential recession. How will that affect financial [...]
November Recap and December Outlook We’re on the home stretch of a year in which “unprecedented” doesn’t even begin to capture it. Nothing went according to plan, for anyone, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the Fed’s domestic attempts to combat inflation. Along the way, we saw spiking gas prices, tanking equity and bond markets, [...]
There's one question we hear most often from those nearing retirement, is some variation on this: “How do I get my money out of my retirement plan and into my checking account?” The question is not as simple as it appears – that's why people ask it. They’re not asking about the mechanics of a [...]
Inflation has been hitting everyone’s wallets all year long. With the cost of everything from fuel to pasta going up, a 40-year high in the cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) for social security sounds like a good thing. But is that all there is to it? The answer is complicated. For those already retired or considering retiring in [...]
Inflation has been making every area of our lives more expensive as the costs of the goods and services we use every day have skyrocketed. The Federal Reserve is attempting to lower inflation by using the bluntest tool in its arsenal – raising the key short-term interest rate. This has meant that as prices have [...]
September Recap and October Outlook The Fed raised the key short-term interest rate by another 75 basis points at the September FOMC meeting, but the big news wasn’t the well-anticipated rate increase. It was Chairman Powell’s remarks at the press conference. He went well beyond any previous statements about the central bank’s level of commitment [...]
Trusts used to be seen as an estate planning tool for only the very wealthy, who have complicated family situations to sort out, and high-value assets to protect. Times have changed. Modern lives are complicated, asset values are high, and good estate planning is for everyone. Let’s look at typical couple: Jean and Tim and [...]
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