The Latest on Inflation/Rates and Where We Go from Here
Without question, over the past year, the most common topic we have discussed with clients is inflation and rates. Whether you are in retirement, peak accumulation years, or just starting out, inflation has impacted everyone… from raised costs at the grocery store, to travel, to even attending a sporting event. Fortunately, there are increasing signs […]
Mid-Year Market Update with John, Andy, and Brian
John Boardman (CEO/Founder), Andy Reynolds (COO/Partner), and Brian Burton (Director of Portfolio Strategy) sat down to discuss the current market environment, conversations they’ve been having with clients, and trends they’re seeing.
Year-End Financial Planning & Investments Among Market Volatility
By: Andy Reynolds, CFP®, MBA COO/Partner – Ballast, Inc. With the recent stock market volatility, many investors have, and understandably so, buried their heads in the sand, shredding investment statements without looking and focusing outside of their financial life. While many choose to simply not look, the volatility provides significant opportunities for financial improvement, several of […]
Inflation Concerns: Are Higher Prices Here to Stay?
Higher prices are here – I learned this last month when booking a rental car for our summer vacation, a 6-day rental for which I had typically budgeted $400-$500 was now going to cost over $1,000. Although an unpleasant surprise, the reasoning is quite simple, the travel demand has skyrocketed, in conjunction with a major […]
Toilet Paper… and Pork?
A little over a year ago, in March 2020, life as we then knew it was drastically changed. Many of those who were fortunate enough to remain employed found themselves working at home for the first time. March Madness was canceled, Disney World closed its gates, and toilet paper seemed to rank highly among the […]
The Housing Market is on Fire!
Key Takeaways: Housing inventory has declined by 52% from last year and is 15.6% more expensive. Millennials are finally participating in home purchases in a more prevalent way. Low inventory and increased construction costs have made home purchase decisions difficult for buyers. To put it bluntly, the housing market is on fire! Over the past […]
Thoughts on NFTs
We believe it is our responsibility to give our thoughts on current investment trends, even if it involves an asset that we do not currently invest in for our clients. Of all the “assets” we have detailed in previous commentaries, none are as esoteric as NFTs, or Non-fungible Tokens. I use quotation marks around the […]
Is the Recent Climb in Interest Rates a Real Threat?
If you pay as close attention to mortgage rates as we do, you may have noticed a fairly significant move higher over the last few months. In fact, 30-year mortgage rates have risen in nine of the past eleven weeks, up 41 basis points from a low of 2.93 percent earlier this year, to the […]
Don’t Worry, There’s Still Time for 2020
I know what you are thinking. It is on everyone’s mind. “2020 was so much fun, such a great year, I wish it would stay 2020 forever.” (Disclaimer: as a new father, I am now qualified to make bad jokes). Well, unfortunately, I cannot bring back 2020, but I do have some good news: there’s […]
GameStop and the Rise of Meme Trading
Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook all reported earnings last week and somehow the results were buried behind article after article on a video game retailer involved in two industries on life support, selling discs and mall stores. So why all the hype for a company with revenues down 45% over the last decade and whose profits […]
Takeaways from the Pandemic Relief Bill
Stimulus checks have been delivered based on 2019 tax returns, $600/person Business owners should review their ability to claim an Employee Retention Credit Unemployment adds $300/week extra to Mar 14; eviction moratorium now to Jan 31 The most overused word of 2020 was unprecedented. Congress was anything but when it went down to the wire […]
