2020 began with the promise of continued strong economic and financial performance and a hint of uncertainty surrounding the November Presidential election. The nation’s unemployment rate was near sixty-year lows, and labor force participation rates were near sixty-year highs. The longest bull market in U.S. history was still running, despite concerns by some investors and analysts that it was getting…
A recent Wall Street Journal article “Time Bomb Looms for Aging America” highlights a growing crisis for older Americans nearing and entering the early stages of retirement. What the article’s authors uncovered in their research is that the generation reaching retirement age is in worse financial shape than the previous generation. This will be the first time this has occurred…
While we continue to wait for Congress to act on tax reform, two pieces of next year’s financial planning puzzle have recently been revealed for retirees. In October, the Social Security Administration announced that 61 million Americans will receive a 2.0% increase in their monthly Social Security benefits beginning in January of 2018. The 2 percent increase in monthly income…
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 Trump presidency became more likely, a brief overnight market panic…
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 reflects efforts that were first proposed six years ago. It…
In early February President Obama submitted his annual budget request to Congress. Congress will then consider the President’s requests when developing its own budget resolution. As he has done in years past, the President has included some provisions in his budget proposal that could significantly change some retirement strategies and financial plans. It is always important to know what is…
The turmoil in Greece has been dominating the news for much of the past two weeks, and we are aware that some clients are concerned about the impact of that situation on their investment portfolios. So we want to explain the situation in Greece and alleviate some fear and concern that you may be experiencing. If you have been following…
On May 20th, David Letterman ended his legendary run as a late night talk show host logging 6,028 episodes of Late Night with David Letterman and the Late Show with David Letterman in his thirty-three year career. With an interviewing style described by some critics as “acerbic” and “hard-nosed” and memorable segments like his nightly Top Ten List, Stupid Human…
