To Inform: The last couple of weeks have been a rude wakeup call for market participants. After touching an all-time high on February 19th, the S&P 500 through this past Thursday’s close was 6.6% off the recent high. Before getting to the why and what we’re thinking about it, let’s examine the selloff in the […]

To Inspire: Ok, we took a couple of weeks break from the book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by Christian pastor and author John Mark Comer. We’re working through four practices for unhurrying our lives. The first one we addressed was embracing silence and solitude. Today I’d like to share some of his thoughts on […]

To Inform: Like many people who are either approaching retirement or have recently retired, you have likely spent years diligently saving and investing to secure your financial future. However, once you reach a point of financial stability, it’s essential to transition from a mindset of saving to one of spending—enjoying the fruits of your labor […]

To Inform: Warren Buffett, the famed value investor from Omaha, began writing about “economic moats” back in the 1980s. Similar to a castle, the idea of an economic moat is something that protects the company from threats. Put another way, a moat is the source(s) of a company’s competitive edge, that will allow it to […]

To Inspire: Psychiatrist Dr. Dixon Chibanda understands the challenges of providing mental health services to underserved communities. His idea of tapping into community resources – in the form of “grandmas” and other older people – is helping his home country of Zimbabwe and is spreading around the world. Chibanda remembers losing a young patient to […]

In the 401(k) world we, as specialists in the space, spend a substantial amount of time consulting with plan sponsors on a handful of big decisions when starting or operating an effective retirement plan. Most of these revolve around some of the main fiduciary aspects like managing a prudent lineup, making sure that plan design […]

To Inform: Many Star Wars fans, me included, think “The Last Jedi” (Episode 8) was a bad movie. At the end of “The Force Awakens” (Episode 7), Luke Skywalker came on the screen creating the anticipation that in the next movie, Jedi warrior Luke would be swinging his green lightsaber, saving the galaxy, and fulfilling […]

To Inspire: I (Matt) am going to take a break from John Mark Comer’s book, “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry,” to focus on Valentine’s Day. Today millions of Americans will give candy, flowers and cards to that special someone as an expression of love. Although it seems like a holiday fabricated in the last century […]

To Inform:  If you’ve picked up a newspaper or tuned into financial media lately, it’s not a secret that the stock market is trading at high valuations relative to history. Some of this is no doubt a result of the success many American companies have had over the last several years across a range of […]

To Inspire: People around the world came up with creative ways to pass the time during the COVID-19 lockdown. Silver Springs, Maryland retiree Manuel Vera turned his attention to bicycles, and today he provides free bikes for people in his community. Vera was just looking for something to fill his time, and thought offering to […]