How Are Your Investments Doing Lately? Receive A Free, No-Obligation 2nd Opinion On Your Investment Portfolio >
Financial Advisor
Financial NewsExplore the latest financial news and insights locally and around the globe.
Weekly Market Insights: Powell: Fed is Ready for Rate Cut
Stocks notched a solid gain as dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials boosted the market’s recovery from early August lows. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 1.45 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite added 1.40 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average...
Weekly Market Insights: Markets Rise Thanks to Upbeat Indicators
Stocks posted solid gains last week, buoyed by robust economic data and constructive comments from Fed officials. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 3.93 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 5.29 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged a bit,...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Stage Comeback After Heavy Monday
Stocks ended last week with modest losses, masking a volatile five-day trading period that saw investors embrace recession concerns and then dismiss the slow-down talk as speculation as the week progressed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.60 percent, while...
Weekly Market Insights: Fed Goes Dove; Investors Retreat
Stocks fell broadly last week as investors looked past upbeat Fed comments and focused on disappointing corporate reports and weaker-than-expected economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.20 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 2.06...
Weekly Market Insights: Down Corporate Reports Shake Investors
Stocks had a mixed, see-saw week as disappointing corporate reports unsettled investors who appeared to rotate away from some leading groups in favor of other names. The Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 0.75 percent. Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor’s 500...
Weekly Market Insights: Investors Shift, Anticipating Lower Interest Rates
Stocks were under pressure last week as investors appeared to rotate out of mega-cap tech stocks and into areas that may benefit from lower interest rates. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 1.97 percent, while Nasdaq Composite Index declined 3.65 percent. The...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Advance After New Inflation Data
Stocks advanced last week as market leadership shifted amid fresh inflation data and quarterly corporate reports starting to roll in. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.87 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 1.59 percent. The...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Steady in Short Holiday Trading
Stocks steadily advanced over the holiday week thanks to strength in mega-cap tech issues and encouraging jobs data. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 1.95 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index added 3.50 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up a...
Weekly Market Insights: Mixed Message From Fed Chair, Governor
Stocks finished the last week of June and Q2 mixed as investors digested a fresh round of economic data. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 0.08%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average also dipped 0.08 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.24...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Rise Modestly Over Short Trading Week
Stocks edged higher over the four trading days last week, with the three major averages taking turns leading based on various economic and artificial intelligence (AI) news. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.45 percent–its best week since May–while the Standard...
Weekly Market Insights: Market Enjoys Gains, Reacting To Major Reports
Stocks notched a solid gain last week, driven by the Fed’s decision, May's inflation report, and Apple’s AI-related news. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 1.58 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite picked up 3.24 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which...
Weekly Market Insights: Solid Week Despite Mixed Reports
Stocks rose last week despite conflicting stories from economic reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.29 percent while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index powered ahead 1.31 percent. The Nasdaq Composite led, picking up 2.38 percent. The MSCI EAFE...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Sag On Downbeat Economic Indicators
Stocks edged lower in the final week of May as fresh news on economic growth and inflation failed to inspire investors. Stocks Slide Markets shrugged off news that the Q1 Gross Domestic Product was revised lower to 1.3 percent from the initial estimated 1.6 percent....
Questions To Ask A Financial Advisor
The recent volatility in the stock market has again become a wake up call to many investors.
Read more >>
Advised Brokerage Accounts Are Better Diversified, Reports Schwab
The report highlights the benefits of working with an advisor. In general, participants who had professional help were more diversified across all of their holdings
Read more >>
Where is Your Best Place to Retire?
The best place to retire in the United States is in dispute. There’s no formal debate, but a review of reliable publications showed surveys have named different states and cities as the “best” place to retire.
Read more >>
Documenting Your Possessions in Case of Disaster
It’s better to protect yourself now and document your possessions rather than trying to do it after something has happened. A home inventory will give you an accurate recording of your assets for insurance purposes and give you a better idea of how much homeowner’s insurance you need to ensure proper coverage.
Read more >>
Unused Vacation Days Can Be Costly
Would you give up a share of $62 billion? If your answer is no, then you may be a member of the relatively small group of Americans (36 percent) that takes all of the vacation days available to them each year.
Read more >>
Red Flags for Tax Auditors
No one wants to see an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) auditor show up at his or her door. The IRS can’t audit every American’s tax return, so it relies on guidelines to select the ones most deserving of its attention.
Read more >>
Six Steps To Financial Independence For Women
Financial independence: Whether you enjoy it or dream about it, it’s a common term that you’ve probably seen in magazine ads, TV commercials and billboards. But what really does financial independence mean, exactly?
Read more >>
Understanding Credit Reporting
To qualify for the best loans at the lowest rates, borrowers must qualify financially and are scored by lenders using a computerized model for evaluating credit risk, developed by Fair, Isaac, and Company, known as the FICO score. Learn more
Read more >>
Organizing Your Financial Records and Emergency Forms
Would someone be able to find your important papers during a crisis if you became ill, injured, or incapacitated? It’s a good idea to make sure a trusted family member or friend knows where to find your personal documents.
Read more >>
5 Benefits of Working in Retirement
In the past, retirement has been portrayed as an ending, a grand exit from your years in the workplace. But the rules are shifting.
Read more >>
The Drawback Of Target Date Mutual Funds
If the majority of fund management won’t even invest in their own target-date retirement funds….why should you?
Reads more >>
Just How Safe Is An Insurance Company, Really?
When you think about the car you drive, the house you live in, the health plan you use and the life insurance policy you have, it’s not a stretch to say insurance is an intrinsic part of our daily lives.
Read more >>
Credit Freeze - You should consider it!
It’s been over a year since Equifax, one of the three largest credit reporting agencies in the U.S., revealed they’d been hacked.
What did you do to protect your data?.
Read more >>
Should Parents Pay for College Tuition?
It’s a pricey question.
College Board estimated the average cost for full-time, in-state students who live on campus at four-year public colleges or universities during the 2017-18 school year is $25,290.
Read more >>
Just Say NO to Pie Charts!!
Pie charts look nice coming out of a color printer, but they can’t help manage investment risk
Read more >>
An Investment Advisor’s Blueprint To Making Solid Financial Decisions
A common mistake people make is to give up what they want most for what they only want right now. Pick which goals in your life are most important to you, and make achieving those goals your utmost priority. Then…
Reasd more >>
Enjoy Life. Hire Someone To Watch Your 401K
Have you ever thought you’d be happier if you could just pay someone else to do watch your company 401K retirement plan account?
Read more >>
The 7 Rules of Investing
From 1977 through 1990, Lynch ran one of the most successful mutual funds ever, posting an average annual return of 29%.
Read more >>
Considering A 401K Rollover?
What to do with an old 401K?
One great thing about a 401K retirement savings plan is that your assets are often portable when you leave a job.
Read more >>
Have You Checked Out Our Retirement Planning Library?
While retirement planning can seem intimidating, it’s never too early or too late to start preparing for the future.
Read more >>
Common Financial Terms
We have compiled a list of important financial terms. If you don’t speak personal finance, don’t worry—we’re here to help.
Read more >>
Special Message
Look! Have You Noticed? Listen to any politician or any news commentator these days, and they always begin a discussion or answer a question like this: Look, when I served in the Senate …. Look, as I wrote in my last column …. Look, if the Republicans won’t …. Look,...
Special Market Update
Inflation is proving to be far more tenacious than financial markets had hoped.The idea that inflation peaked in March was put to rest last week when the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed that inflation accelerated in May. Overall, prices were up 8.6...
Special Message
Bonds CAN’T Fall Any Lower… Or Can They?What once was considered a “safe” investment has taken a drubbing in 2022. As of yesterday (June 06, 2022) the AGG (US Aggregate Bond Index) has fallen 10.42% 1. Just for the record, a 10% drop is recognized as an...
Memorial Day
Friends,Memorial Day is a time for Americans to honor and remember those who lost their lives while serving in the armed forces. Veterans will think back on the men and women who served alongside them who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country and...
Signs on the Horizon
A Strange World All around us we see the same thing: weirdness. According to a client of mine, a McDonald’s on Interstate 81 posted a sign in the window: Apply Inside … Work Today! So anyone with a pulse can walk in off the street and get a job at...
Important Market Update
Dear friends and clients,You’ve heard about it on the news, you’ve felt it at the grocery store and at the gas pump, you’re having to deal with it every day. It is inflation.We didn’t hear much about it in the news or feel its impact until very recently....
Q1 2022 Update
Ehhh, What's up Doc?Just two years ago, media had zero coverage of inflation as a topic of interest. Now, multiple stories appear every day about how inflation is affecting the global economy, consumers, and business.In many ways, the economy is like a...
SPECIAL EDITION MARKET UPDATE
April 12, 2022Our Mission Is To Create And Preserve Client Wealth Some Scary Grains of Truth The Pain … Perhaps we need to brace ourselves. A slew of reputable sources are painting bleak pictures. Not just of the U.S. economy. But of the global economy....
Special Update
All,You undoubtedly have heard reports that the world’s supply of wheat and corn are in jeopardy due to Ukraine and Russia both missing this season’s planting window for obvious reasons (click the link above to read more details). Did you know that Russia...
Happy Holidays from Research Financial Strategies
Traditional Holiday FaresWhether you celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, or Kwanzaa this December, the festivities wouldn’t be complete without the scrumptious foods that make up our personal traditions. Before you reach for another helping of mashed potatoes...
Special Edition – oil and gas prices going UP!
$200 Oil TrifectaCold - Supply - ChangeThree ForcesThe weather, Mideast supply, climate change—these three forces could combine to give us oil costing $200 per barrel in the not-so-distant future. And the first two—weather and supply—could very well give...
Special important safety notice
Dear Friends, Recently, I have been reading about a sharp increase in auto break-ins in my neighborhood and in several around me. As the COVID-19 variant surges back to levels last seen in March 2020, you can expect to see a rise in crime. Car thieves now...
The Legacy of Labor Day
Athlete and CEO Tyrone Ross Jr. often says, “Legacy is greater than résumé.”1Ross frequently shares pictures of his nieces and nephews with this saying, noting the work he does and the success he has is all to lay a path for the next generation to do...