Getting ahead

June 4, 2020

Three Things to Know About Paying a Financial Advisor

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…

May 28, 2020

Ten Signs it’s Time to Find a Financial Advisor

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…

May 15, 2020

What Are the Chances of a V-Shaped Recovery?

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 media,…

May 8, 2020

What’s the Best Way to Protect Your Hard-Earned Wealth?

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…

May 1, 2020

Keep Your Money Growing with Two Simple Steps

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?…

April 24, 2020

The First Step to Thriving Financially: Creating Wealth Today

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…

April 17, 2020

Are Markets Getting the COVID-19 Recovery Wrong?

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…

April 10, 2020

The CARES Act and Thriving During a Downturn

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…

March 12, 2020

Is now the right time to get into the markets?

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…

March 5, 2020

Three quick steps to help manage financial anxieties during uncertain times

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…