The Long Game
We all know that life can throw the unexpected at us…just look at the past few years for example…who could have predicted? You’ve reviewed your plan dozens of times and see nothing wrong. Then you read an article which stokes your concerns…one that states that 70% of people over age 65 will have some sort of disabling event that will require assistance of 2 months or longer.
We are good for now…
As we head into 2022, it is hard to believe that we have been living with Covid for over two years. I hope we are starting a new chapter in the Covid story. Inflation still does not seem to be the hot conversation topic for investment news. We believe that we have started to hit the peak cycle in the rate of change with respect to inflation. The rate of change of inflation will start to decline but the absolute numbers will be high.
Understanding Inflation
With the rise in prices, we thought a brief primer on inflation was warranted. The simple definition of inflation is the sustained upward movement in the overall price level of goods and services in an economy. The result of inflation is it takes more money to buy the same amount of goods and services than it did in the past.
The Annuity Comeback
On October 6, 2021, BlackRock announced that it would be introducing annuities as a built-in option within BlackRock’s 401(k) plans. I believe that this latest product introduction in defined contribution retirement savings plans is a huge shift in the retirement planning industry and a bellwether for the state of personal retirement savings plans for most Americans.
Do You Believe in Inflation?
Week over week, the number of Covid infections from the Delta variant continues to drop, implying that there is a reasonable basis for supply chain and labor to restart the path to normalization. Current estimates anticipate that the global supply chain will normalize after March 2022. Yet, there are multiple problems that exist, including a backlog of ships offshore as well as port, trucking and warehouse capacity.
Wash Sale Rules
The following is a summary of a conversation with Amar Shah, CFA, CFP®, Founder & CIO, Client First Capital, and Kyle Lynch, CPA, Founder of Clover Hill CPA, about wash sales—what they are, and the rules that impact securities, crypto, and more.
Roth Conversions: When and How to Use Them
Many of you know that I view Roth IRAs as simply the best type of retirement account. However, there are instances where it does not make sense to overfund a Roth IRA. In this post, I want to share the top three reasons I see for clients in retirement to limit the funding of a Roth IRA.
How to Trade Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrency
In March, we published a couple of articles that covered a lot of ground on cryptocurrency in general and the challenges and opportunities that exist for those hoping to earn, store, and spend their bitcoin or similar cryptoassets. Now with all of the previous knowledge from the past two articles, you may or may not be interested in using cryptocurrency as a means of exchange. But what about trading in it, directly or in fund form?
5 Risk Management Strategies for Protecting (and Growing) your Wealth
This article dives into five ways you can be on the offensive side of managing risk and protecting and growing your wealth in the years to come.
How to Spend Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrency
At the beginning of March, we published an article about cryptocurrency, now let’s explore the challenges and opportunities that exist for those hoping to earn, store, and spend their bitcoin or similar cryptoassets.
What's the Difference between Active Investing and Passive Investing
Active investing and passive investing are strategies that investors and wealth managers use on their portfolios. In this video, we run through the basics of each strategy.
Cryptocurrency: What’s It All About?
Attractive Bitcoin prices have many investors considering cryptocurrency for the first time. Before you start loading up on bitcoin or any other form of cryptocurrency, let’s take a closer look at what you may be getting yourself into.
Video FAQ: Liquidity 101
Liquidity refers to an asset that has a ready and waiting market on both sides of the buy-sell equation. If you are selling and there is liquidity, then you most likely will find a buyer willing to pay a fair price. This means you won’t be stuck holding the investment at a time when you need cash.
A 2021 look at The Fourth Turning
In 1997, Neil Howe and William Strauss published “The Fourth Turning” which goes into detail on how history moves in 80-year cycles and each one is divided into periods, defined by each generation (i.e., Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials) as they come into adulthood. Each of these phases hold one generation at a time, and each phase is associated with a specific societal role.
Video FAQ: What is a Net Unrealized Appreciation Strategy & Is It Right for Me?
We've been getting a lot of questions regarding Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) strategies. This video reviews the basics of NUA as well as some practical examples.
Video FAQ: Should I Own Bitcoin in My Retirement Accounts
This video FAQ discusses the potential reasons that you may want to include Bitcoin in yourretirement accounts, and why you may not.
Video FAQ: How Do You Measure Risk Tolerance for Investments?
In this video FAQ, we discuss two approaches for evaluating and managing risk tolerance.
How are Investments Taxed (and How Can I Minimize Them)?
While many people tend to focus on how much money their investments will produce for them, it can be equally as important to understand how the IRS will tax this income. In this post, we’ll explore the tax treatments on interest, capital gains, and dividends, and then discuss how you can use this knowledge to your advantage.