Currently, one of the nation’s biggest banks, Wells Fargo, is in the middle of a serious scandal. The company fraudulently opened extra customer accounts without their consent or knowledge in order to boost revenue. (Click here to read story) Prior to the latest news, Wells Fargo was considered to be one of the darlings of Wall Street. Warren Buffett, a major stakeholder, loved to talk about the bank. However, since the…
We get questions from clients all the time asking about life insurance. What type should I get? How much coverage should I purchase? Where should I get a good policy? There are two types of life insurance: term and permanent life insurance. Permanent life insurance can be broken down into several other categories: whole, universal, variable or variable-universal. Permanent life insurance is just that, permanent, as long as you continue to…
The global investment community has been focused on the recent vote by the UK to leave the European Union, broadly referred to as the “Brexit.” This historic event will have economic impacts on the UK and the European Union, as well as their trading partners. Unsurprisingly, equity markets experienced sharp declines in the days following Brexit and have since seen a significant rebound. If you haven’t already, please read…
The global investment community has been focused on the recent vote by the UK to leave the European Union, broadly referred to as the “Brexit.” This historic event will have economic impacts on the UK and the European Union, as well as their trading partners. Unsurprisingly, equity markets experienced sharp declines in the days following Brexit and have since seen a significant rebound. If you haven’t already, please read our…
Yesterday, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. While a close vote was highly anticipated, the markets had discounted the possibility of a “Brexit” the last several days by pushing the markets upward. After the final results came out last night, the markets had to reverse course. The “Leave” group had voted 51.9% in favor of leaving the union. Unsurprisingly, the result was a big sell-off today across…
As we navigate tax season, it is important to remind ourselves that tax strategies should not be employed once a year but rather year-round. Here are some tips to consider from our friends at Accountability Services: Top 10 Tax Tips 1. MAXIMIZE YOUR RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS There are many flavors of retirement accounts and there is one that best fits you and your family’s needs. You can fund an account for…
If you have children nearing high school, you may feel anxious as you prepare to help pay for college expenses. Some mitigate this feeling by starting the planning process early by opening and funding college savings accounts (529 savings plans). Those who get a jump start, carve out a piece of their monthly cash flow, put it aside and allow it grow as their child gets closer and closer to leaving the house….
How do you solve a problem like commodities? Sound of Music, anyone? Well, if you are not a fan of musicals, that is okay. Chances are at this point in the market cycle, you are probably not a fan of commodities, either. Commodity prices are clearly a hot-topic right now and not in a good way. As anyone who owns commodities knows, returns for the asset class have been more than frustrating the…
Halloween is almost upon us and it seems the market is doing its part to spook investors. As a result, many people may experience higher levels of anxiety regarding their investments. We prepared the following commentary as part of our most recent quarterly update to our clients. We think it provides useful perspective. Market Volatility The global equity markets the past two quarters can be summed up in one word: volatile. As…
(This post has been updated with additional information from our friends at Accountability Services.) When we sit down with clients to review their long-term objectives, often we discuss the basics such as retirement and college savings. These topics are heavily covered and the savings vehicles available to help meet these needs are well known. However, another top planning priority tends to be long-term health care. Most of the people…
