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Qualified retirement plans, such as IRAs and 401(k)s, have many rules, and some of them can be quite complicated. Take the following quiz to see how well you understand some of the…

A provision in the December 2020 stimulus bill allows businesses to deduct the full cost of food and beverages provided by a restaurant in tax years 2021 and 2022. The standard deduction…

In response to a pandemic-induced sell-off in March 2020, the Federal Reserve announced that it would purchase corporate bonds, including riskier junk bonds, as part of its effort to stabilize the financial…

U.S. consumers won’t soon forget the troubling shortages of personal protective equipment during the early days of the pandemic, or when the first stay-at-home orders spurred panic buying and stress-inducing shortages of…

The housing market during the coronavirus pandemic has certainly been notable. Historically low interest rates resulted in record homebuying, even as housing prices escalated.1 Fortunately, the mortgage industry has been able to…

More than 2.3 million Americans currently receive Social Security spousal benefits. The average benefit is almost $800 per month, and some spouses receive significantly more.1 These valuable benefits can make a big…

In 2020, three companies in the S&P 500 index announced plans for stock share splits, down from 102 companies in 1997 and seven in 2016.1 As an investor, you may wonder what…

Investing can seem complicated, which is why many investors place all or a large portion of their assets in a single fund that is intended to offer a balanced portfolio. Although all-in-one…

U.S. assets invested in socially responsible strategies topped $17.1 trillion at the start of 2020, up 42% from two years earlier. Sustainable, responsible, and impact (SRI) investments now account for nearly one-third…

An estimated 145 million Americans own real estate investment trusts (REITs) in their retirement accounts and other investment funds.1 The primary appeal of REITs is the potential for a consistent income stream…

In the November 2020 election, Florida voters approved an initiative to increase the minimum wage incrementally to $15 per hour by 2026. Eight states (plus the District of Columbia) have passed legislation…

If we’ve learned any lesson over the past year, it’s that no matter how carefully we plan and prepare, we’ll likely encounter unexpected hurdles. While a global pandemic has certainly underscored the…

If you are launching a new venture, you may wonder whether it’s necessary to open a dedicated bank account for your business. Even if your company is established and already has separate…

Social Security has some 2,700 rules, and one of the most confusing and misunderstood is the retirement earnings test (RET).1 Some people may think they can’t work : or shouldn’t work :…

Rising Inflation: Where Will It Go from Here? In March 2021, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.6%, the largest one-month increase since August 2012. Over the previous…

High-Frequency Indicators: Where to Look for Signs of Recovery Since the pandemic began, disruptions in business activity have varied greatly from region to region, and often from one week to the next,…

Investor demand for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has increased over the last decade due to some attractive features that set them apart from mutual funds. At the end of 2019, almost $4.4 trillion…

Social Security is much more than a retirement program. Most Americans are protected by the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program : the official name of Social Security : from birth…