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 […]
The End of an Era – What We are Watching For in ‘24
For many years until the last, investors had been living under the same mantra of “There Is No Alternative” (TINA) to owning equities, helping prop up stock prices as yields on fixed income were too paltry to bother with. Times have changed; TINA ushered out and TARA welcomed in. Positive real rates are achievable, meaning […]
US Markets and Elections – It may matter less than you think.
With the primary season among us, attention is being increasingly paid to the 2024 Presidential election. Like most historical Presidential elections, emotions and fears of potential political outcomes tend to run high and increase as we approach November. Political views aside, it is our job to understand the political environment, both historic and current, and […]
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The Importance of Asset Allocation and Diversification
As we flip the calendar and enter 2024, many people create New Year’s Resolutions, largely designed to improve an aspect of their lives. Many of these goals are exercise, diet, or financial based. One area we always encourage people to review at the start of each year is their investment portfolio, the risk associated with […]
Is Bad News in the Economy Actually Good News for Markets?
The notion of a slowing economy equating to rising stock prices qualifies as counterintuitive, but that is exactly what we’ve seen over the last few months. Typically, positive stock market performance is aligned with strong economic growth, as seen in the chart below. This makes sense as GDP growth means individual companies are producing more, […]
The Markets & Economy – A Diverging Narrative
With the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both entering “Correction Territory,” the media has once again focused its attention on markets and everyone’s best prediction on when or if a looming recession may be coming. For the majority scratching their heads right now, a “correction” is simply defined as an index decline of 10% or more […]
Is it Time to Cash in I-Bonds?
The golden deal of I Bonds has subsided. Watch Cameron here: https://youtube.com/shorts/HbPnqumYc9Q?feature=share As I make my way about town this week and enjoy the wonderful palette displayed by sycamores, maples, poplars, and oaks in Lexington, I’m reminded of Robert Frost’s poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” which was originally published in October 1923 in the […]
