Helping pave the way towards financial freedom
Nothing like year-end government planning! The original SECURE Act was signed into law on December 20th, 2019. Its “sequel,” the SECURE 2.0 Act, was similarly enacted at year-end on December 29th, 2022. Both pieces of legislation seek to reform how Americans prepare for retirement while juggling current spending needs. But a hard truth remains: Employers…
To say the least, there’s been plenty of political, financial, and economic action this year—from rising interest rates, to elevated inflation, to ongoing market turmoil. How will all the excitement translate into annual performance in our investment portfolios? Markets often deliver their best returns just when we’re most discouraged. So, who knows! While we wait…
Contribution limits do not go up every year. But every couple of years, we’ve come to expect gradual increases across the various types of accounts. The Internal Revenue Service has just released new limits for the coming year. For the most part, the amount of increases are linked to inflation. So perhaps it does not…
So many big events competed for our attention this summer … said nearly every investor, almost every summer, ever. We’re not making light of this summer’s uncertainties. Inflation is real, and needs to be managed; we also can’t rule out the possibility we’ll still see stagflation and/or a recession (although neither has happened yet). Heightened…
Even though we know it was just dumb luck, can we get a round of applause for seeming to forecast last month’s surprisingly strong market returns? It’s almost (but not really) as if the market were reading our mind when three broad U.S. stock indexes ended July 2022 with their best returns since 2020—up 9.1%,…
Got kids? This one is for you. The date was September 2017, and a massive Equifax security breach became public knowledge. If there was a silver lining to this infamous event, it likely spurred more consumers to take more measures to protect their identities. Perhaps you’ve frozen your lines of credit, or you’re at least…
I’ve talked to a few people the past couple of weeks who are unsettled with the recent market pullback. They have doubts. They are wondering what they should do with their portfolio. They ask things like “should we seek higher ground until the coast is clear?” But do these stressful times justify market timing? It’s…
Is rising inflation souring your financial plans? We often talk about building wealth with a well-structured investment portfolio, and this should include a few anti-inflation elements. And since we’re seeing and hearing all the hype about INFLATION, why not consider a potentially sweet deal for turning some of inflation’s lemons into lemonade. We’re talking about…
The yield curve is flattening (or growing steeper)! … Yield curve spreads are widening (or narrowing)! … The yield curve has inverted (or normalized)! Headline-grabbing yield curve commentary somehow sounds important, doesn’t it? Specifically, the media has recently talked about an INVERTED yield curve. But what is a yield curve to begin with, and what…
Have you been reading the daily headlines—watching markets stall, recover, and dip once again? If so, you may be wondering whether there’s anything you can do to avoid the motion sickness. If you already have a well-structured, globally diversified portfolio tailored for your goals and risk tolerances, our answer remains the same as ever: Your…