To Inform: Several months back when the health and economic impacts of COVID-19 were being digested by financial markets, I remember reading a report talking about how the combination of Federal Reserve stimulus and recovering earnings could lead the S&P 500 to hit a level of 3,400, a new all-time high, before the end of […]

To Inspire:   A lot of celebrations have been missed or changed due to the coronavirus and that can definitely be disappointing. But a northern Ohio couple recently decided to use the downsizing of their wedding as an opportunity to help others. Tyler and Melanie Tapajna of Parma, Ohio decided they couldn’t safely host the […]

To Inform: I recently had a client ask me about the best way to save for college for their grandchildren. Immediately the 529 plan comes to mind but it’s not just that simple. Let’s start with the basics of a 529. Investment earnings and withdrawals are tax-free as long as they are used for qualified […]

To Inspire:   “Memories of my childhood live/between the rings of sand around my ankles/and the desert heat in my lungs. I still believe that nothing washes/worry from tired skin better than the Nile/and my grandma’s hands. That’s an excerpt from “People Like Us,” a poem by 26-year-old Emtithal “Emi” Mahmoud, an internationally regarded poet […]

To Inform: Last week’s Portfolios at Your Place Event covered Capital Market Assumptions (CMA) – a fancy term for forecasts of future asset returns over the next 5-10 years based on fundamental data like dividends, interest rates, and valuations. Many large investment banks and asset management firms put out annual forecasts of Capital Market Assumptions […]

To Inspire: Rick Rigsby, a minister, motivational speaker, author and former college professor, gave the graduation speech at a commencement ceremony at Cal Maritime a few years ago. At the time, he had four degrees and his brother was a Judge, but he considered his father to be the wisest person he had ever met. […]

To Inform: The words innovation and disruption seem to be getting used more and more around the investment world these days. This might spark a couple of questions. One being, “what does this mean for my investments?” and the other, perhaps, “is this anything new?” Before we answer, let’s define the terms. Innovation simply defined […]

The year 2020 will be remembered for a multitude of reasons. We’ve had a pandemic, a recession, an extended period of civil unrest and all during a presidential election year. With all of these events taking place in such a short period of time, this will certainly be one for the history books. The question […]

To Inspire: What do you do with a philosophy degree from Yale? That’s easy – become a cross-country truck driver. Seem a bit strange? Well that’s exactly what Tony Blake did back in 1993. One of the best African-American swimmers in the history of the Ivy League, when Tony failed to make the U.S. Olympic […]

To Inform: One of the hot topics we discussed at last week’s Portfolios at Your Place was the weaker U.S. dollar and how it was impacting changes in leadership across asset classes. Chris Verrone, Head of Technical Analysis at Strategas Research Partners recently said “there’s no shortage of moving parts in this environment and at […]