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. […]
Behavioral Finance and Asset Allocation
Summary Points: An emotional investor is very likely to make poor decisions over his or her financial life. Various experts (DALBAR, American College, etc.) have done in-depth studies to measure exactly how investor returns have lagged overall market performance. Measuring this behavior over an extended period for an “average investor” has proven difficult. The exact […]
End of Year Financial Planning
As we officially enter the month of November, it is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is just three weeks away. Hopefully, this year brings back the celebration of holiday traditions and family gatherings. However, before the sugarplums start dancing, we need to stay diligent and focus on year-end planning to ensure we are making sound […]
The Complicated Calculations of College Costs
Parents of college-bound students are dealing with a chicken-or-egg dilemma. When it comes to student aid calculations, it just about requires a Ph.D. to understand how to fund a Ph.D. Different schools use different methods to evaluate different families, and when they get the results, they interpret them differently! Let’s wade into the wishy-washy world […]
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 […]
College Savings Vehicles
So often in life and in financial planning, perfect can be the enemy of good. This is certainly the case when it comes to saving for college. There are many ways to go about it, but the most important choice is the choice to begin saving. Nonetheless, we often meet parents of five- and ten-year-old […]
Social Security: Whether to Wait to Start Taking Retirement Benefits
Key Takeaways: There is a debate over when a person should begin to take their Social Security retirement income benefits. On one side, proponents might argue that you should take your Social Security benefits as early as you can, while the other side argues that you should wait until age 70. An important phrase to […]
The Economy’s Return to Normal
Key Takeaways: Economic data indicates a return to pre-pandemic levels of activity A tight labor market has contributed to some wage inflation Inflation, wages/jobs, supply chain issues will continue to be areas of interest As kids return to school, summer trips come to an end, and everyone starts to eye the holidays, investors and […]
Retirement Saving Myths and Misconceptions
We are fortunate to have a very educated and knowledgeable client base, but we are consistently surprised by the myths and misconceptions clients and prospects bring to the conversation. Below I have listed my Top 7 Myths and Misconceptions About Retirement Savings; it is by no means a complete list but highlights the most common […]
Robinhood and a New Generation of Investors
Warren Buffett is one of the most famously successful investors of all time and his firm, Berkshire Hathaway, trades today near its all-time high, closing Friday at $433,124/share. Mr. Buffett has stated that he does not intend to split these original A shares as they attract like-minded, long-term investors. However, Berkshire did issue B shares […]
