The Federal Reserve FINALLY Raises Rates
Key Takeaways: Last week, the Federal Reserve raised the Federal Funds Rate by 0.25%. The Federal Reserve is projecting several more rate increases in 2022. The Federal Reserve is confident in a strong US economy and the ability for the economy to withstand higher interest rates. Last week the Federal Reserve raised interest […]
Top 10 Personal Finance Best Practices
As more investors seek out and embrace personalized asset management and individualized financial advice, industry tycoons Vanguard and Russell Investments researched the value created by professional advice. Both companies measured the impact on investor returns when partnering with an advisor who provides skilled management and guidance. Russell Investments identified up to an additional annualized […]
Managing a Household Allocation
One of our mantras in planning is to “Know What You Own.” Peter Lynch popularized this term during his management of a Fidelity mutual fund in the 1980’s, and we think it applies to more than just investments. Your home, your health insurance, your business, and yes, your investments each have features, risks, and opportunities […]
Managing a Household Allocation
One of our mantras in planning is to “Know What You Own.” Peter Lynch popularized this term during his management of a Fidelity mutual fund in the 1980’s, and we think it applies to more than just investments. Your home, your health insurance, your business, and yes, your investments each have features, risks, and opportunities […]
The Ballast Roth Manifesto: Why We Believe Roth is for the 99% AND the 1%
Join us for a live discussion about Roth savings on January 27th, 2022 at 4 PM on ballastplan.com/live. Our advisors will be discussing this article and answering any questions. One of the biggest mistakes a retirement investor can make is to believe the common wisdom that Roth savings are only for low income-earners. Yes, […]
Optimizing Required Minimum Distributions
Key Takeaways The IRS made a retiree-friendly tweak to its RMD schedule for 2022 When to best take retirement distributions can be opposite for two similar investors Engage Us: We do our best work when we know your updated situation We’re only a week into 2022 and I have already spent a few […]
The Importance of Asset Allocation and Diversification
Not only has recent market volatility resulted in renewed anxiety for many investors, it has also been a stern reminder of the value of having a proper mix of assets in your portfolio. The concepts of asset allocation and diversification can be traced all the way back to a 4th century text, the Babylonian Talmud, which […]
The Importance of Asset Allocation and Diversification
Not only has recent market volatility resulted in renewed anxiety for many investors, it has also been a stern reminder of the value of having a proper mix of assets in your portfolio. The concepts of asset allocation and diversification can be traced all the way back to a 4th century text, the Babylonian Talmud, […]
Getting Creative with College Funding
In our previous discussions about college planning, we’ve discussed where and how much to save while acknowledging that these questions require several assumptions. Is it sensible to make saving for college a major financial goal when there’s no guarantee the child will attend? That’s a tough question for families and for this reason, we favor educating […]
Stock Market Bubbles are Inevitable – Are You Prepared for the Next Burst?
In addition to this commentary, we would like to extend an invitation for you to join us on a live video feed where we will discuss the attached article and answer any questions in real-time. Watch the video discussion about this article here. It was our second week of remote work, COVID-19 had just […]
Counteract Inflation with Your Financial Assets
Key Takeaways Inflation in October 2021 was 6.2%, the highest in nearly 30-years. From 1914 to 2021, average inflation in the U.S. has been around 3.2% and the average return of the market (i.e., S&P 500) has been around 10-11%. While not without risks, investing in equities is a tested long-term hedge against inflation. […]
Tax Management in Bull Markets
How do we manage accounts when everything is up? With cooperative markets, many investors have accumulated substantial capital gains in their investment accounts. We analyze the trade-off between ideal allocation & paying tax to achieve it. In general, we advocate paying tax along the way to avoid over-concentration. When I was growing up, my granddad […]
