Tax Law Changes Loom at the End of 2025
We are only a few weeks from the Presidential election and, as of today, there is no clear leader across the various polls. In addition, control of the House and Senate is also not yet clear. The result of all these races will have a massive impact on how tax law is handled, particularly as […]
How Will the Fed’s Interest Rate Cuts Affect You?
Last week, the Federal Reserve announced its first interest rate cut since the early days of the Pandemic. The highly anticipated rate cut resulted in a 50-basis point (half of one percent) reduction in the Federal Funds Rate, an important overnight borrowing rate set by the Federal Reserve. Outside of Covid, the last time the […]
Doing the Math on Sports Gambling
Want updates and articles like this sent straight to your inbox? Sign up for our newsletter here. Labor Day is in the rearview mirror and for my family that means it is football and tailgating season. When I feel that fall nip in the air, I feel the urge to light the BBQ smoker and […]
Latest Data on Inflation and Labor Markets Paving the Way for Fed Rate Cuts
Following the weak jobs report that left many on Wall Street questioning the prospects of a “soft landing,” we’ve seen a bit of unrest in markets over the last few weeks. Remember, a soft landing includes cooling inflation back to the Fed’s 2% target while maintaining a healthy labor market. With a slight crack showing […]
What Happened in the Markets Last Week?
If you have turned on the news or had a conversation around the water cooler over the past week, you have certainly heard that volatility has returned to the stock market. Headlines like “Dow sinks more than 1,000 points in global market sell-off” and “Wall Street Hammered Amid Plunging Global Markets” led on all media […]
Who Wants to Talk Politics?
Thanks for taking the bait. Positive stock market performance for 2024 has been celebrated by most investors, but the rationale behind the rally is where we tend to see a spectrum of opinions. I have personally heard clients laud their candidate of choice as the primary tailwind… from both sides of the aisle. It does […]
John V. Boardman Honored for Years of Service by The Teachers Retirement System of Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 18, 2024) – The Teachers Retirement System of the State of Kentucky recently recognized John V. Boardman, Founder/CEO of Ballast, for his significant contributions and seven years of dedicated service to the Board of Trustees. Originally appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2017 by Gov. Bevin and reappointed in 2021 […]
Five Attributes of Life-Changing Summer Jobs
Take a Pop Quiz! Suppose you have $100 in a savings account and the interest rate is 2% per year. After five years, will you have more than $102, exactly $102, or less than $102? That’s one of three questions used worldwide to test financial literacy. In the United States, only 30% of adults can […]
Directed Corporate Trustees – An Option for Trust Beneficiaries
As pensions have largely been eliminated within the private sector, generational wealth accumulation continues to be a phenomenon impacting more and more families. Whether it be an accumulation of retirement assets, a business sale, or family generational wealth, a large amount of assets has been passed from one generation to the next. Over the next […]
Who Plans to Retire Early?
We often joke that our job was created because of increasing life expectancies and pensions seldom being offered. Obviously, finance and investing have become more complicated over time and there is an ever-increasing number of investment vehicles and planning strategies to help our clients choose between. We also understand there is great value placed in […]
529 College Savings Plans and the New FAFSA
If you are planning to save for college expenses for your child or grandchild, a 529 college savings plan can be one of the best ways to do it. You put the money into the plan, it grows tax-free, and then if you use the funds for qualified education expenses, it comes out tax-free as […]
Two Ways to Combat Household Inflation
Inflation is not a one-size-fits-all all phenomenon Inflation is the increase in prices over time Increasing prices means decreasing purchasing power How we choose to spend our money dictates how we experience inflation Inflation has been top of mind for every participant in our economy for three years straight: households, businesses, and policymakers. Inflation […]