To Inform:  A major disappointment for markets this year has been the absence of one of the key engines of global growth: China. Regardless of whether one is invested in Chinese stocks, the impact China has on global markets is profound. We’ve seen this play out in a variety of ways over the last three […]

To Inspire: In this beautiful season of hope, I (Matt) thought I would share a story from Les Mis that most of us will remember. I take it from a book I’m reading by bestselling author Matthew Kelly entitled, Holy Moments: A Handbook for the Rest of Your Life. “Holy moments are possible. If that […]

To Inspire: It’s suddenly December and the holiday season is in full swing. Do you feel the stress already? Whew, I do. It’s no secret that while this time is supposed to be festive and merry, it can be overwhelming and stressful for many. Studies show that nearly half of people feel more stressed during […]

To Inform: As we enter the end of the year, many people who are Social Security and Medicare age are receiving their notices about the changes for next year. The good news is that Social Security benefits are going up by 8.7% next year, which is one of the largest increases on record! The bad […]

To Inform: Last night we hosted a Portfolios at Your Place event to a capacity crowd of Joseph Group clients and friends. We talked about a multitude of topics, but I want to share a few key highlights. Post Mid-Term Elections Regardless of how an investor may feel about the mid-term elections politically, historically, the […]

To Inspire: Why does it seem like gratitude and appreciation require so much intentionality but grumbling, questioning, and complaining come so naturally? We complain when things don’t go as we want, when others don’t think or act the way we think they should, and about all the problems we encounter or perceive in the world. […]

To Inform:  The onset of Autumn is a reminder for many things, cooler days and brisk nights, football, the forthcoming holiday season, and Required Minimum Distributions. Ha! What is a Required Minimum Distribution? A Required Minimum Distribution, often abbreviated as RMD, is the minimum annual amount you must take from retirement accounts to satisfy federal […]

To Inspire: A recent T. Rowe Price study concluded that while many people do at least some level of financial planning for retirement, relatively few take into account the emotional element of planning. They have not taken time to truly visualize what retirement will look like and how they want to live those years. The […]

To Inform: With the turn of the calendar to November this week there was a headline I saw multiple places across the financial media – here is an example:   The popular Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) of 30 stocks was up +14% for the month of October, for the best month in over 46 […]

To Inspire: As fall turns to winter, there’s nothing like a great bowl of soup on a cold day. Soup of Success soup mixes can help speed up the homemade soup process and help marginalized women – a win win! Soup of Success began in 1997 when Church Community Services started trying to help their […]