Category: Newsletters

After an unusually calm year in 2017, the stock market turned unusually volatile in 2018. How volatile was it? Consider this: In 2017, the S&P 500 had only eight days when the…

Market Commentary – 10.27.14 Losing Hurts More Than Winning Can Offset Quietly, the S&P 500 posted its best weekly gain in nearly two years. Although the news headlines for the week looked…

U.S.–China Trade War: Who Pays the Price? On May 13, 2019, escalating trade tensions between the United States and China sparked a worldwide stock sell-off that wiped out more than $1 trillion…

Market Commentary – 10.27.14 All Eyes on the Federal Reserve This Week The Federal Reserve takes center stage as its Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) meets Tuesday and Wednesday with a policy…

Most homeowners make their regular mortgage payments every month for the duration of the loan term, and never think of doing otherwise. But prepaying your mortgage or making biweekly payments can reduce…

Many variable annuity contracts offer “living benefit” guarantees. For an additional cost, the contract holder may be able to purchase guarantees regardless of the account value.

On August 14, 2019, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 800 points, losing 3% of its value in its biggest drop of the year. The Nasdaq Composite also lost 3%, while the…

Maintaining an appropriate balance of stocks and bonds is one of the most fundamental concepts in constructing an investment portfolio. Stocks provide greater growth potential with higher risk and relatively low income;…

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has made the tax code more favorable for small businesses. Still, owners will want to take full advantage of every legal tax break they can find.…

Conflict in the Persian Gulf has spurred modest oil price volatility in recent weeks, but prices didn’t spike to high levels seen during some past conflicts. That’s partly because rising U.S. oil…

The yield curve is a graph with the rates of U.S. Treasury bonds plotted by maturity. The slope of the curve is the difference between short-dated bonds and long-dated bonds. Normally, it…

About 43% of small employers (with fewer than 500 employees) applied for credit in 2018, up from 40% in 2017. Fortunately, nearly half of applicants received the full amount requested : 47%…

An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) is a type of retirement plan that enables employees to have an ownership interest in the company. An ESOP may be a particularly good option for…

Just like individuals, the government, corporations, and banks often need to borrow money for a short time to make ends meet. Unlike most individuals, however, the scale of this borrowing is phenomenal.

Used to measure a business’s condition and performance, financial ratios can help you quantify your organization’s financial health and level of success. They are also used by those evaluating your business for…

Monthly Market Monitor – May 2015 Recap Market Indices1 May Year-to-Date S&P 500 1.29% 3.23% Russell 3000 1.38% 3.68% MSCI EAFE -0.51% 8.60% MSCI Emerging Markets -4.00% 5.69% Barclays US Aggregate Bond…

Understanding the threat of estate taxes on your life insurance proceeds is the first step in protecting these funds from unnecessary taxation. The next steps are determining the appropriate ownership of your…

Roth IRAs were primarily intended as a tax-advantaged way to save for retirement, but for some parents (and students with earned income), a Roth IRA can double as a college savings tool.…

If you want to leave your home to your children or other heirs and keep the property out of the costly and time-consuming probate process, you could place your home in a…

Annuities are insurance-based financial vehicles that can provide many benefits sought by retirement-minded investors. There are a number of reasons why people buy annuities.