Financial Considerations for a Trump Presidency
Donald Trump’s improbable victory in early November’s presidential election caught many people by surprise. A Hillary Clinton victory looked almost certain if you believed most election polls and media outlets in the days leading up to the election, but as Tuesday night progressed a different story emerged. As a Donald
Social Security Benefits Update
It is the classic case of “I have some good news and I have some bad news. Which would you like to receive first?” The good news for Social Security recipients is that there will be a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for the first time since 2015. The bad news is
Why You Should Care About Real Rates of Return
Nominal interest rates are currently below zero in many countries, including Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, and Japan. These levels have shattered the belief that zero is the lowest that interest rates can go. While negative nominal rates are a relatively new phenomenon, historically speaking periods of widespread negative real returns
How Long Are You Planning To Work Before Retirement?
While the 2016 Presidential election has captured most of our nation’s attention this year, you may have missed the end of an era in professional baseball. At the end of the 2016 Major League Baseball season, Vin Scully quietly and gracefully stepped away from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ broadcast booth,
Will You Run Out of Money During Retirement?
In recent years, a lot of attention has focused on the state of retirement, more specifically the risk that retirees will outlive their money. Furthermore, in most surveys circulating about retirement today, running out of money during retirement continually tops retirees’ lists of fears and concerns. Retirees’ fears about retirement
The Importance of Updating Retirement Account Beneficiaries
We all know the importance of saving for retirement, whether we are decades from retirement or currently enjoying the rewards of a lifetime of diligently putting money aside for retirement. For many of us we focus most of our attention on ensuring that we have the right asset allocation for
Common Questions About Retirement
As I have shared before with many readers during our office visits and in other blog articles, one of my favorite activities in the financial planning profession is visiting with so many fun, interesting and intelligent people during client reviews and new client meetings. I really enjoy “peeling back the
De-Risking or Re-Risking?
It doesn’t happen with our clients too frequently, but during periods of market volatility (like we just experienced this past fall and winter) I am often approached by acquaintances or friends who ask me my thoughts on selling out of stocks during the market turbulence in an effort to avoid
Taming the High Cost of Health Care During Retirement
I recently met with a client to review their investment accounts and financial plan. During the course of our meeting the topic of aging came up. As we talked about getting older and the challenges that aging presents, I remembered something an old client had told me at the very
Active Managers Trounced Again in First Quarter of 2016
Volatile markets are generally viewed as a prime opportunity for active managers to shine and demonstrate their stock-picking and market-timing skills and prowess. Equity markets don’t get much more volatile than they were in the first quarter of 2016, but the investment results for active managers were disappointing. How volatile
Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule Shakes Up Industry
In early April a major milestone was reached in the investment advice industry. On April 6th, 2016 the Department of Labor revealed its new fiduciary duty rule that requires financial advisors to act in their clients’ best interest when making investment recommendations on retirement accounts. The new fiduciary duty rule
March Madness!
One of the greatest spectacles in American sports is the NCAA basketball tournament that commences in March and crowns a champion in early April. The tournament has grown greatly in popularity over the last two decades leading to a huge increase in participation in office betting pools and online bracket