Social Security Benefit Update for 2021
Social Security benefits represent a salient component of most retirees’ retirement income strategy. For most American retirees today the two most important sources of retirement income are withdrawals from their own retirement savings and their monthly Social Security benefit. As such, it is imperative to be aware of new developments
Presidential Elections and Market Returns
“Has it been four years already?” That questions is a popular refrain heard frequently as our nation readies itself for our next Presidential election on November 3rd. As expected, the looming election has garnered the attention of news and media outlets for the past few months with an ever-increasing focus
Avoiding Mistakes in an Economic Downturn
The economic downturn that began earlier in 2020 resulting from the Coronavirus outbreak has led to a period of economic contraction that some economists are calling a recession. The fallout of the pandemic has been disjointed, leaving some Americans struggling to pay their bills, while other Americans are largely unaffected
Second Quarter 2020 Market Review
If you are having a hard time making sense of what is going on in the economy and financial markets right now, you are not alone. The past four months have taken investors on a dizzying rollercoaster ride, making it difficult to make heads or tails of economic data and
Does a Recession Mean Negative Returns?
As many industries and economic sectors shut down earlier this spring in concerted efforts to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, many economists opined that the U.S. economy faced a certain recession. Recessions are generally defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth in U.S. production. But other criteria may
Social Security: Another COVID-19 Victim?
As the number of confirmed Coronavirus cases nears 2.4 million in the United States, the virus has extracted a heavy toll in terms of deaths, hospitalizations, job loss and economic malaise. As devastating as Covid-19 has been the past four months in terms of loss of human life and economic
Understanding the CARES Act
The widespread economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has taken a crippling toll on national and local economies alike. As businesses and employers around the country wrestle with the fallout of closures, layoffs and furloughs the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, better known as the CARES
What Now?
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
Market Volatility and the Coronavirus
For many investors, the greatest impediment to financial success is their failure to control two powerful emotions: fear and greed. Fear and greed can distort investors’ perceptions of current economic conditions and financial markets, while diverting their attention from longer term financial goals. Of the two emotions, fear is probably
Why Value Investing Still Matters
One of my favorite activities in my career as a financial planner is meeting with clients for review sessions. These review meetings give us an opportunity to catch-up on their lives, review their progress towards their financial goals, and to answer financial and investment-related questions that clients may have. One
How Does the SECURE Act Impact Your Financial Plan?
Amidst the excitement of the holiday season and the seemingly endless coverage of impeachment proceedings in Washington D.C., you have may have missed news of sweeping changes to retirement savings that could have a significant impact to your financial plans. On December 20th, 2019 President Trump signed the Setting Every
2019: The Year in Review
Despite a gloomy outlook at the onset of the year, 2019 proved to be a stellar year for investments and a strong year for the economy of the United States. Following a frightful fourth quarter in 2018 that saw the S&P 500 drop 13.53% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average