By Tim Egart, CFP®, AIF® A week ago, our nation passed the 20-year anniversary of the September 11th attacks – a day in our history that stands still. Many, if not all of us, can remember the first moment we witnessed the awful scene unfolding across our country. Every year since that awful day, we… Read More

Death is an unpleasant topic to consider, but when it comes to your estate, it’s not something spouses can afford to avoid. We explain why in this article. Read More

By Todd Brand, AIF® “Be careful who you call your friends. I’d rather have four quarters than 100 pennies.” -Alphonse “Al” Capone I’m just the kind of guy to begin an announcement regarding our firm’s Vice President, Phil Daniels, with a quote from Al Capone. But there, now that I’ve broken the ice, I can speak… Read More

Written by Anna Davey, FPQP™ When we reflect on the concept of wealth, we don’t just think about the monetary value of the assets or resources that have been accumulated — we also consider the opportunities it can provide and the feelings it can provoke. Accumulating wealth allows us to dream about the future, about… Read More

Transitioning to life after college can be difficult, particularly when it comes to your finances. Many recent college graduates are financially independent for the first time, and studies have shown that their expectations are often not aligned with reality: 43% of recent graduates expected to receive a higher salary than they currently earn.  The first… Read More

The second quarter saw the continuation of a powerful economic recovery due to fading of the pandemic and massive fiscal and monetary stimulus. US vaccinations have increased significantly with 46% of US adults now fully vaccinated, 54% with at least one dose, and 86% of the population over age 65 having received at least one… Read More

It’s fair to say a lot happened in the first quarter of 2021. We began the quarter with a contested election, and then the inauguration of a new administration. The investing lexicon expanded as we experienced our first (but likely not the last) “meme stock craze”. By the end of the quarter, 97.6 million people… Read More

For most of the last decade, the US stock market had been trending generally higher year after year. That was until the fourth quarter of 2018 gave us a scare. Back then we remarked how it was the first drop of greater than 15% in seven years and how unusual that was (because on average it happens once every three years – see the chart below, a version of which we also shared in our 2018 year-end market commentary). Read More

Following the best quarterly performance for US stocks in 23 years, the S&P 500 continued to move higher throughout most of the third quarter. At one point in early September, the S&P 500 was +15.9% for the quarter and posting new all-time highs. Read More

Following the worst quarter for US stocks since the end of 2008, we have managed to tally the best quarter in 23 years, with the S&P 500 up 20.5% in the second quarter (including dividends). Since 1949, this was the fourth-best quarter – which followed the fifth-worst quarter. 2020 Q2 also featured impressive performance from… Read More