Recently, two regional banks, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank have been caught up, to some degree, in the making of their own demise. Both were seized by regulators last quarter, as their depositors realized the banks were struggling to keep up with withdrawals and were being forced to sell securities at a loss, to keep up. Ultimately, regulators intervened, citing a lack of confidence in their respective management…
Recently, I had a chance to preview a personal finance book by a best-selling author that focused on how to build and manage your wealth. During the process of reading an early draft of the book, it struck me that it is easy for many to think of wealth building and wealth management as the same thing. However, they are distinctly different and should be considered separately. Building wealth is…
In today’s world, where information about the stock market is readily available at our fingertips, it can be easy to overlook the importance of developing good savings habits. While investment returns are a critical part of any financial plan, developing consistent savings habits is a tried-and-true way to build financial security over the long run. The investment landscape is always going to be ever changing and as investors, to a…
LOOKING BACK It’s difficult to know what the future will hold without understanding the past. 2022 was a difficult year in the market. An unprecedented, rapid increase in interest rates by the Federal Reserve, created significant market volatility and negative returns for the year: Consequently, the S&P 500 finished down -19.44% and investors experienced the risk side of the “risk/reward” relationship. What was different about 2022 was that the negative…
If you were to ask someone “What are the best benefits an employer could offer?”, most would respond with perks like health insurance, time off, remote work, and if it’s been a long day… a company sponsored happy hour might be a popular choice. They’d also be remiss if they didn’t mention the valuable 401(k) match, which is a benefit that’s often used synonymously with the phrase “free money”, and…
Thank you to Haley Sanford of New York Life for the status update regarding WA LTC Tax: Earlier this year Governor Inslee signed a bill that postponed the tax by 18 months. WA State did this to try and address a few bipartisan issues such as options for those who are close to retirement and will not pay in for ten years, live in neighboring state but work in WA…
During most years, the stock market tends to go up in value, 73% of the time since 1928, to be precise.1 Using historical returns as an indicator, in any given year, you’re usually better off investing in ‘the market’ than not investing at all. Unfortunately, the S&P 500 (often referred to as the ‘the market’), is having one of its worst starts to the year ever and at the time…
Inflation is an economic indicator we discuss heavily with clients during our planning sessions to project future income needs. For years, inflation has been benign, to say the least. Over the last decade, policy makers have been attempting to increase inflation, to ensure it stays close to their preferred target of 2%. Anything lower than their 2% target, risks stagnation in an economy, or worse deflation, which is difficult to…
Given the growing popularity of equity compensation plans amongst the country’s largest corporations, offering stock to employees has become a crucial employee benefit. One of the most common forms of equity compensation are known as Restricted Stock Units, or RSUs for short. According to a 2020 survey from Charles Schwab, 5 in 10 millennials said that equity compensation was one of the main reasons why they took their job. Clearly,…
During times of high market valuations and following long-periods of strong market returns, we are often asked where we think the market is “going from here”. The real question behind this inquiry is “is it time to sell?” When markets go up, it’s natural to be excited about the gains, while feeling nervous about giving back those same gains in the next market downturn. The crux of the question is…
