Are Americans Facing a Retirement Crisis?
Are Americans facing a retirement savings crisis? The answer to that question depends on who you ask, and perhaps that individual’s prospects for retirement. The Wall Street Journal recently asked two prominent economists if Americans were facing a retirement savings crisis. Alicia Munnell, director of Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research
What Lessons Can Investors Learn from Farmers?
Spring is my favorite season of the year. I suspect many of you feel the same way based on the amount of outdoor activity I have observed in recent days. For me, spring means the start of the Major League Baseball season, hours of therapeutic and relaxing lawn care and
Warren Buffett Declares Himself the Winner of the “Million-Dollar Bet”
They do not call him the “Oracle of Omaha” for nothing; Warren Buffett knows a good bet when he sees one. Nine years into a ten-year wager, now referred to as the “Million Dollar Bet,” Buffett has declared himself the winner. What exactly is the “Million-Dollar Bet?” In 2007, Buffett
Department of Labor Fiduciary Rule Likely Delayed
The Trump administration has hit the ground running since taking office in late January, moving at a tempo more reminiscent of a nimble business rather than the plodding pace of past administrations. One of the results of this swift action is that the Department of Labor Fiduciary Rule will likely
Dow 20,000: What’s in a Number?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) reached a major milestone earlier this year when it finally surpassed the 20,000 hurdle. The event was widely ballyhooed by investors and media outlets alike. Almost immediately, articles and news stories questioning how much higher the index could go began to appear. Our local
Will the Stretch IRA be Extinct Soon?
A popular estate planning strategy utilized by affluent investors may soon be disappearing. This past September, the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act of 2016 passed in the Senate Finance Committee. If signed into law in the future, this bill would kill the popular stretch IRA strategy that allows investors to
How Did the Average Investor Do in 2016?
Openfolio, a company dedicated to providing information and transparency to investors, recently released some data about how investors performed in 2016. Openfolio aggregates the performance data from over 70,000 subscribers who voluntarily and anonymously share their investment portfolio information with Openfolio. The idea is that sharing data among its users
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