I speak with very few people who relish market volatility, and lately we’ve had more than our fair share. Of course, volatility, in general, may really not be what people hate – but rather the downside volatility. I rarely hear complaints about sharp upward movements in the market. The fact is, however, that volatility – […]
Market Review The world’s economies and stock markets have been rocked by the spread of COVID-19. Investors’ fears prompted a major sell-off in February and March, plunging stocks well below their 2019 closing marks. Nevertheless, 2020 started off in a positive way. Following a strong 2019, stocks were slow to move forward as investors cashed […]
Last week, Congress passed, and the President signed the most sweeping fiscal stimulus bill in history, The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act), aimed at cushioning the economic impact that has come from the virtual shutdown of the majority of the country. To call this Act massive is to understate it. […]
We aren’t different from the vast majority of financial advisors when we recommend avoiding knee-jerk reactions to market movements. History has plenty of market meltdowns, a number of which we’ve been through. Up to the current market disruption caused by dual factors of COVID 19 and a price war in oil, we’ve put up a […]
I was on a finance committee meeting the other day with a non-profit board I sit on, when one of the other committee members looked at the investment portfolio and declared: “Why are they invested 25% in international stocks?” My retort was: “Is there a reason they shouldn’t be?” His response was quite interesting: “Well, […]
IRAs and Roth IRAs are similar in a lot of ways. First, there are limits to how much you can contribute to each (for 2020, that limit is the greater of earned income or $6,000 – or $7,000 if you’re over 50.). There is no taxation on growth or income within the accounts, and there […]
You’ve hired a professional to provide services for you. Hopefully, you have some idea of what these services will cost. Most contractors, it’s said, will finish their work in twice the time and at twice the cost that’s quoted. But, hey, if you factor that in at the start, you won’t be disappointed! What’s opaquer […]
Any firm that works as extensively with a higher education clientele as we do needs to become familiar with one of the most interesting life insurance and annuity companies out there, the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, or TIAA. THE HISTORY TIAA traces its roots back to 1918, when Andrew Carnegie, concerned about the low […]
If you ask this question online, you’re going to receive a litany of web articles, many from banks and insurance companies, some from the IRS. I noted recently that they all basically say the same thing, so I’ll certainly pass along the following: Keep tax records for 3 years (the IRS reserves the right to […]
