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 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 […]

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 […]

To Inform: How many of us routinely consider the question each year “how much am I eligible to contribute to my IRA or Roth IRA?” Many of us do, as we want to save as much as we can for our retirement goals while accomplishing them as tax-efficiently as possible. How many of us ask […]

To Inform: For fun, let’s start this Wealthnotes with a multiple-choice question. Which of these is correct? A.  The S&P 500 was down – 3.1% for the 2020 year to date period ending June 30 B.  The S&P 500 was down – 10.8% for the 2020 year to date period ending June 30 C.  Both […]

To Inform:  Growing up, one of the most joyous weeks of the year was the week of the county fair. I raised hogs as 4-H projects and the fair was a culmination of a few months of hard (and pungent) work. I’ll always have a fondness for hogs and not just because they are the […]

To Inform:  There is certainly not a shortage of topics to talk about as it pertains the economy and markets right now. Rising COVID cases in certain states, renewed lockdowns, the potential end of the recession which started in February (a bunch of June economic data was V-shaped and showed expansion), or the recent leadership […]

To Inform:  Death and taxes; we know the saying. In spite of the certainty, all of us fail to give our estate plan the attention it deserves. It’s easy to avoid and none of us enjoys thinking about our…well, you know. On top of that, you’ve already signed your estate documents so you’re done, right? […]

To Inform: There is a lot going on so this will be a bit longer WealthNotes, but let’s break down these three questions. Are We Seeing a 2nd Wave of the Virus? The headline in today’s Wall Street Journal is clear – cases of COVID-19 are reaccelerating across various areas of the U.S. Part of […]

To Inform:  “There is no one right portfolio, but there is one that is right for you.” This quote from author Larry Swedroe is worth remembering, especially when markets are experiencing bouts of volatility. Our holistic approach of weaving your portfolio, plan, and purpose together as a cohesive roadmap to financial security acknowledges this principle. […]