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The road to retirement is not as straightforward as it used to be. There was a time when simple metaphors, like the three-legged stool of retirement, captured how you could achieve retirement security with ease. This concept illustrated how securing a good pension, obtaining a solid return on your savings, and relying on social security might have paved the way for financial comfort in your golden years.  Relying on just one leg could lead to failed retirement goals, while relying…

Savers are increasingly looking to gold as a way to address rising inflation and for a good reason. The Federal Reserve’s policies in 2020 have massively expanded the supply of money. And more money could lead to higher prices down the road. In anticipation of this concern, some investors are considering gold investments to hedge, or protect against, higher inflation. But a key question for many investors is whether gold is an appropriate way to protect against rising prices. Our…

Eliminating student loan debt can put you on the fast-track to achieving your essential life goals. If you’re one of the millions of Americans struggling with this vital issue, you know first-hand the challenges of student loan debt. As student loan balances continue to balloon from one year to the next, what can you do to conquer this overwhelming debt load? Well, many people are waiting for an act of congress to make their student loans disappear.   Yet, chances are…

Many investors know that managing volatility is central to achieving essential financial goals. But how much should you worry about volatility, and what can you do to prepare for it? Volatility represents the ups and downs of asset prices over time. And quite often it’s not the volatility that you should be worried about as it is periods of heightened market volatility.  What’s more, human expectations about the future tend to influence asset price movements. And it’s during periods of…

Investing is simple, but it’s not easy. No matter where you are in your savings journey, you probably know that a lack of diligence and poor investment decisions can lead to a major financial setback. That’s why having a disciplined process is crucial to growing your savings quickly and increases your chances of achieving investing success. What can you do if you don’t have the time or inclination to follow an investment management process, or are just looking for a…

U.S. stocks had a blockbuster second-quarter. Indeed, both the Dow and S&P 500 have posted their best returns in decades. How long can this outperformance last?  With market sentiment still generally positive, some investors are asking whether supportive central bank policies and hope for a rapid economic recovery may be the set up for a third-quarter market surge.  We believe that the dominant narrative that had supported the second-quarter rally is increasingly coming under pressure. Stretched asset valuations and a…

You’ve been diligent with your money. You’ve amassed sizable savings. Then life knocks on your door – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity falls through, work moves you to another state, a family emergency calls, or your primary source of income evaporates. Years of diligent financial progress comes undone in an instant, and now you feel stuck. Or maybe you’re in a position where you’ve struggled for years to get a handle on your finances, but one disruption after the next keeps you…

Many of us know that having a financial plan is a sensible place to start when it comes to achieving essential life goals. But what exactly is a financial plan, and more importantly, what makes for a solid plan? A financial plan is a strategy that lays out a set of actions that you need to take today to achieve your future life goals.     To be sure, a plan identifies a path that aligns available financial resources with your intended…

Did you know that not all financial advisors get paid the same way? And while compensation does not make the financial advisor, how they’re paid can influence the advice you receive and potentially the outcomes of your financial goals. What’s more, if you don’t understand what your own financial goals are, you may end up paying for products or services that you don’t necessarily need. Knowing where your hard-earned money goes should be your top priority when it comes to…

Having a firm grasp of your finances is a critical part of reaching your financial goals. With money being a very personal matter for each of us, knowing when you might need help can be a real struggle.  Even so, changing circumstances and life events could be an early indication that you may benefit from a financial professional’s assistance.  Indeed, here are ten signs that now may be an opportune time to speak with a trusted financial advisor: 1. You’ve…

So why should you care whether the US economy is in a recession? By many estimates, growth in the second quarter is likely to come in at an even more disappointing rate. With unemployment spiking and various leading indicators still in decline, there’s little doubt that a recession has arrived. An important question today is how deep this recession will be and how long it will last.     Now, beyond being an intriguing subject for economists and pundits in the…

What’s the best way to protect your hard-earned wealth? That’s the million-dollar question that’s on a lot of people’s minds right now. The fact is that the coronavirus has demonstrated in absolute terms how an unexpected event can quickly take away your earnings ability and deplete your life savings.    Events surrounding the coronavirus have also demonstrated how life’s surprises can come at you from all directions. And when they do, your ability to build enduring wealth can evaporate in…

Growing financial wealth in today’s environment has been a struggle. Whether it’s the wide swings in asset prices that make it hard to decide whether to stay in or get out the markets to the dour economic conditions that have negatively affected business earnings. Finding the right strategy to grow your wealth in a world locked down truly has been a challenge. So, what can households and investors do to make the right decisions to grow wealth given today’s challenges?…

What can individuals do during this downturn to thrive financially and build, or in many cases, rebuild wealth that has been lost in the past few weeks? By many measures, U.S. economic activity continues to grind to a halt on account of the COVID-19 containment efforts. This is evidenced in various data releases published this week. And it’s also a key reason why some Governors are eager to reopen their state economies. But the reality is that returning to normal…

Various earnings reports, data releases and the IMF’s World Economic Outlook have served investors notice not to get ahead of themselves.  Truly, global risk assets have moved lower this week in response to historically disappointing corporate earnings and economic reports.  It’s certain that the stay-at-home orders in 42 states have essentially shut down the national economy.   And so, markets shouldn’t be surprised by the weak data, right?  In other words, this week’s bad news should have been taken in…

By the time the U.S. economy reopens weeks from now, tens of millions of people will have lost their jobs and thousands of small businesses will remain shuttered on account of the COVID-19 outbreak.  Estimates of the economic impact differ widely and it’s very likely that the ultimate financial cost of the coronavirus will take months if not years to fully understand.  As we pointed out in our report last week, Congress has stepped up to support ailing households and…

In the blink of an eye the coronavirus has fundamentally changed our world in more ways than we can imagine.  While it seems like an eternity ago, it only has been a matter of days since Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf issued his first stay-at-home order for a few counties in the state.  This week, the Governor expanded his order to all counties throughout the Commonwealth and for a period of at least 30 days.  In recent weeks, many states have…

Global risk assets continued to move lower on Monday, pushing the current selloff well into bear market territory and on pace with a level of volatility not seen since the market crash of 1987.  To be sure, the S&P 500 index shed over 12% in another unpredictable day of trading and follows the surprise FOMC meeting on Sunday that slashed the fed funds rate by 100 basis points and saw the restart of its asset purchase programs.  What has become…

It would be an understatement to say that financial markets have experienced a bit of volatility this week.  In fact, the VIX surged to its highest level since the height of the Global Financial Crisis more than a decade ago.  To be sure, we believe that a host of issues ranging from the unmitigated spread of the coronavirus in the U.S. and around the world, a seeming concerted effort by the Saudis and Russians to flood the oil markets and…

If the coronavirus, recession angst or elections are keeping you up at night or have generally increased your level of anxiety, you can take comfort in knowing that what you’re feeling is natural.  In fact, our brains are primed for an anxiety response during times of heightened uncertainty.  At least that’s according to one research paper published in the journal Nature.  And as the researchers point out, higher levels of uncertainty disrupt our ability to assign clear probabilities of success…