Market Recap Week ending 3/6/2020 March certainly came in like a lion for the global financial markets.  Volatile trade continued as concerns regarding the spread of the coronavirus and its effect on the global economies dominated the headlines.  Growth concerns prompted central banks to cut rates and inject liquidity into... Read More

 Market Recap Week ending 2/28/2020Global financial markets fell last week as fear of the coronavirus, and its effect on humanity and the global economy pushed investors out of risk assets and into their safe-haven counterparts.  The S&P 500 lost 11.49% during the week, the Dow shed 12.36%, the NASDAQ fell... Read More

 Market Recap Week ending 2/21/2020The holiday-shortened week provided a roller coaster ride for investors.  The week brought a new set of all-time highs for equities while at the same time established an all-time high for the 30-year bond with a yield of just 1.89%.  The spread of the Coronavirus continued... Read More

 Market Recap Week ending 2/14/2020Markets cruised to another set of all-time highs as large-cap tech continued to have strength, and fears of the coronavirus subsided.  The S&P 500 gained 1.58% for the week while the NASDAQ popped 2.21%, the Dow increased 1.02% and the Russell 2000 tacked on 1.86%.  The... Read More

 Market Recap Week ending 2/7/2020Markets rebounded nicely last week as robust economic data bolstered investors’ appetite for risk assets, an injection of liquidity into the Chinese markets by the Chinese central bank, positive developments on the trade front, constructive news on progress for a coronavirus vaccine- which in turn helped... Read More

 Market Recap Week ending 1/31/2020Markets continued to struggle last week from fears surrounding the spread of the novel strain of Coronavirus and its effects on the global economy.  The energy sector fell 5.7% last week on the notion that China’s consumption of oil and other energy products may have been... Read More

 Market Recap Week ending 1/24/2020Markets came off a new set of all-time highs set last week after investors became more concerned regarding the containment of Coronavirus and its potential implications on global economies.  The S&P 500 lost 1.03% on the week while the Dow shed 1.22%, the NASDAQ gave back... Read More

 Market Recap Week ending 1/17/2020Positive developments on the trade front, better than expected global economic data, and a positive start to Q4 earning seasons all helped to send US equity markets to another set of all-time highs.  The S&P 500 gained 1.97% while the Dow added 1.82%, the NASDAQ increased... Read More

 Market Recap Week ending 1/10/2020Tensions between the US and Iran continued to be top of mind for investors through much of the week. However, a non-lethal, retaliatory attack by Iran coupled with de-escalation rhetoric from both sides, took some pressure off the situation and allowed US indices to move higher... Read More

 Market Recap week ending 1/3/2020Happy New Year!  The Holiday-shortened week turned out to be quite eventful.  A US lead attack targeting an Iranian military leader was the most prominent event of the week and hit markets on Friday.  Earlier in the week, it was announced that Phase One of the... Read More

 Market Recap week ending 12/20/2019Major US equity indices continued their ascent last week with the S&P 500 inking its 4th straight weekly gain and posting yet another all-time high. For the week, the S&P 500 gained 1.65%, the Dow was up 1.14%, the NASDAQ led gains with an increase of... Read More

 Market Recap Week ending 12/13/2019The S&P 500 and NASDAQ forged new all-time highs in what was a hectic week for investors.  Trade continued to be top of mind as the December 15th deadline for an additional tranche of tariffs loomed.  On Thursday, President Trump tweeted that the US and China... Read More

 Market Recap Week ending 12/06/2019It was a mixed bag of results for the major US indices in what was an extremely volatile week for investors.  After what was a great showing in November for the markets, investors took profits early in the week as US manufacturing data disappointed and comments... Read More

 Market Recap Week ending 11/29/2019The Thanksgiving holiday-shortened week provided a new set of all-time highs for the S&P 500, Dow, and NASDAQ.  Constructive rhetoric related to China’s greater enforcement of intellectual property rights bolstered trade negotiation sentiment.  The S&P 500 gained just under 1% on the week.  The Dow was... Read More

 Market Recap week ending 11/22/2019Markets took a small step back last week as the US / China trade continued to be top of mind for investors.  Various headlines throughout the week suggested the two sides were still far apart on a deal.  The US Senate’s passing of the Hong Kong... Read More

 Market Recap Week ending 11/15/2019US equity markets continued their ascent last week with new record highs being set once again for the S&P 500, Dow, and NASDAQ.   The S&P 500 and Dow broke above the 3,100 and 28,000 marks, respectively, for the first time too.  For the week the S&P... Read More

 Market Recap Week ending 11/1/2019The S&P 500 and NASDAQ inked new all-time highs last week on the back of the Federal Reserve, cutting the Fed Funds rate, constructive tones on the completion of Phase 1 in trade negotiations between the US and China, on a healthy employment number, and continued... Read More

For the past four years, we have been teaching a class about social security.  You might be asking yourself why it is so important to learn about your social security benefits prior to filing.  Let’s try to put the importance into context.  ... Read More

 Market Recap week ending 10/25/2019Major US market indices rallied again last week as earnings continued to come in with a positive bias. The S&P fell just short of closing at all-time highs by increasing 1.2% for the week. The Dow gained 0.7%, the NASDAQ led the other indices with an... Read More

 Market Recap Week ending 10/18/19Third-quarter corporate earnings season kicked off last week, and on the margin, the announced results were better than expected.  Financials, Transportation issues, and Healthcare companies outperformed.  Constructive tones on an agreement between the UK and the EU to avoid a hard Brexit also continued to help market sentiment.  The... Read More

​If you are at or near retirement, the recent trend of stock market volatility could be a bit unnerving.  We all remember the financial crisis of 2008, and the devastating effect it had on workers who were approaching retirement. Have you thought about how you are going to protect your assets in... Read More

Taxes, Taxes Taxes.  None of us like to hear that word, especially in retirement, but it’s something we all accept.  Did you know it’s possible to enjoy a tax-free retirement?  Yes, you could spend 20-30 years of your retirement in a tax-free world, with no withholdings needed and no tax bill... Read More

Did you see what happened to the stock market this week?  Was it up or was it down?  More importantly, what effect did it have on your retirement savings? If you are like most people, you probably do not know because you don’t care to watch. Sometimes it can be a little... Read More

Mutual Funds with Marc Montini. Few people are aware that this may not be the best approach to asset management.  Here are a few problems with mutual funds that we have identified. No flexibility for the mutual fund manager.If you purchase a large cap value mutual fund, the fund manager is... Read More

Couple Sitting on Bench Baby Boomers is the nickname for the generation of people born between 1943 (or 1946) and 1960 (or 1964).[1] That means this year, in 2019, the very youngest of the Baby Boomers will turn 55 years old.Back when they entered the workforce, they probably imagined they’d be retiring... Read More

If you’re saving for your retirement in a 401(k), 403(b) or an IRA, you’ve probably seen that you can choose Traditional or Roth for your account. What does that mean, and which is better for you? Very simply, a retirement account described as “Roth” is one where you pay taxes... Read More

Grandmother, mother, and baby in the family do green saving People take a variety of different approaches to investing for their retirement.Some may invest in fits and starts. Whenever they “come into some extra money,” they invest some in something that seems good to them at the time. That’s a... Read More

Drawn graph indicating volatility in the stock market Over the past few months, we’ve seen a large increase in the volatility of the stock markets.In a basic sense, volatility for an investment refers to the expected range of values it might be worth over a given period of time.[1] A large range... Read More

(from http://retirement.theamericancollege.edu/sites/retirement/files/TAC17-Revised-Literacy-Quiz-2-v5.pdf) How’s your “financial literacy?” Do you need to know more about finances, especially concerning your retirement years?Most people do, but there is a striking gender gap which shows a greater need for women, especially, to have a better understanding of retirement finances. In 2017, a survey[1] was conducted to... Read More

One of the common concerns people have regarding their retirement is a fear of running out of money. We all want our retirement income to last as long as we do, and many of us also want to be able to leave something beyond that to our heirs. Those are... Read More