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Weekly Market Insights: Investors Enter 2024 in Doubtful Mood
Stocks retreated in the first trading week of 2024, struggling a bit after a celebratory end to last year as investors second-guessed Fed signals and fretted over lingering inflation concerns. New Year Blues Stocks got off to a rough first week of the new year, with...
Weekly Market Insights: Investors Boost Stocks Ahead of Holiday Week
Investor optimism and fears of missing out on future gains propelled stocks higher in the last full week of trading before year-end. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.22%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 0.75%. The Nasdaq Composite index advanced...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Rally on Fed, Inflation News
Markets reacted positively last week to cooler inflation and the idea of potential rate cuts next year, adding to the gains of the market’s year-end rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.92%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 2.50%. The Nasdaq...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Spark Late Week Rally
A late-week, two-day rally left stocks higher, adding to November’s gains as the last month of trading for 2023 began. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat (+0.01%), while the Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 0.21%. The Nasdaq Composite index advanced 0.69% for...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Rise as Bond Yields Fall
A Friday rally turned an otherwise mixed week for stocks into a solid performance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 2.42%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 0.77%. The Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.38% for the week. The MSCI EAFE index, which tracks...
Weekly Market Insights: Short Week Strong For Stocks
Investor enthusiasm for stocks remained strong last week, buoyed by declining bond yields in a holiday-abbreviated trading week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 1.27%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 1.00%. The Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.89%...
Weekly Market Insights: November Rally Continues
Stocks extended their November rally last week as investors cheered lower-than-forecast inflation data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.94%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 added 2.24%. The Nasdaq Composite index rose 2.37% for the week. The MSCI EAFE...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Rally Friday; Powell Cautious On Progress
A powerful Friday rally left stocks higher last week, extending the market’s early November gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.65%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 advanced 1.31%. The Nasdaq Composite index jumped 2.37% higher for the week. The MSCI...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Retreat On Cautious Earnings Reports
Amid a busy week of corporate earnings reports, stocks slumped on cautious earnings guidance, fears of higher interest rates, and growing anxiety over the increasing amount of Treasury bonds and notes coming to market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.14%,...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Retreat Despite Solid Earnings
Rising bond yields and uncertainty over whether this was the close of the Fed’s rate-hike cycle dragged markets lower last week despite solid corporate earnings results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 1.61%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 2.39%. The...
Weekly Market Insights: Markets React to Turmoil in Middle East, Inflation Concerns
Stocks ended mixed last week amid the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East and higher-than-expected inflation data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.20%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 0.45%. But the Nasdaq Composite index slipped 0.18% for...
Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Rally After Strong Jobs Report
A Friday rally overcame a shaky week, sending stocks mostly higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.30% for the week. Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 0.48%, and the Nasdaq Composite index added 1.60% for the five trading days. The MSCI EAFE...
Weekly Market Insights: Bond Yields Rise; Government Shutdown Looms
Rising bond yields and government shutdown fears left stocks in mostly negative territory for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.34%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 slipped 0.74%. The Nasdaq Composite index was flat (+0.06%) for the week. The MSCI...
Questions To Ask A Financial Advisor
The recent volatility in the stock market has again become a wake up call to many investors.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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?.
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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.
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Just Say NO to Pie Charts!!
Pie charts look nice coming out of a color printer, but they can’t help manage investment risk
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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…
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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?
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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%.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Father’s Day Tribute
Father's Day Tribute June is the month for Father’s Day — but it’s also the month for family vacations and road trips! Whenever I plan a vacation with my family, I think back to all the trips I took as a kid. When I do, the first things to come to mind...
John Dough’s Investment Strategy
John Dough’s Investment Strategy Buy and Hold Back in the late 1990s, John Dough had it all figured out. He had worked for the same government agency for more than 30 years, he made a nice salary, he would get a solid pension upon retirement, he was...
Memorial Day Thoughts
Memorial Day Thoughts When I was young, I remember asking my parents why we observe Memorial Day. While some people use it mainly as a chance to throw a backyard BBQ, others take the time to visit cemeteries, pour over old photographs, or read the stories...
Stimulus Bill Analysis
The New Stimulus Bill President Biden just signed another stimulus bill, aimed to help those affected by the virus (and to deal with a few other matters found in the 5,593 pages of legislation).So discerning investors might ask two questions: (1) What’s in...
Trending Now-2021-S&P Hits 4000
milestone (noun)1 a stone functioning as a milepost 2. a significant event or stage in the life, progress, development, or the like of a person, nation, etc. The S&P 500 closed above 4,000 on Thursday, April 1, marking a major post-recession milestone....
End Of Week Market Update
End Of Week Market Update One year. It seems incredible, but it’s been one year since COVID-19 struck our shores. One year since the World Health Organization declared a pandemic. One year since the markets crashed and the schools closed and we realized...
Don’t forget about your 2020 IRA contributions!
There’s still time to contribute to your IRA!If you haven’t already contributed to an IRA (Individual Retirement Account), there’s still time to do so. Many people don’t know that the 2020 contribution deadline is actually April 15, 2021.1 However, if you...
Special Edition from Jack – the 45 DAY REPORT!
Special Edition from Jack – the 45 DAY REPORT! Friends and Clients, Hard to believe, isn’t it? The first quarter is half over. The year is 45 days old. It’s 1/8th over with! The stock market bull rally continues, and hopes for President Biden and his COVID stimulus...
Valentine’s Day Message
How Are Your Investments Doing Lately? Receive A Free, No-Obligation 2nd Opinion On Your Investment Portfolio > December 9, 2020 Our Mission Is To Create And Preserve Client Wealth Little Drummer GirlOn this Valentine’s Day, we often find the feeling...
SPECIAL EDITION MARKET UPDATE
How Long Can This Last?Performance NumbersOur aggressive growth model is once again outpacing the S&P 500 Index. We’re up 8.48% year-to-date, while the S&P sports a mere 4.25%. And get this: that 8.48% performance occurred while holding 18% of...
When the Year Is New
Time to Take Stock Bye-bye 2020. For everything not financial, we don’t hate to see you go. Pandemics. Riots. Elections. Safe Distancing. Masks. Lockdowns. The parade of horrors just doesn’t stop. But for matters financial, 2020 was a very good year. And when the year...
Special Edition – Year End Tax Matters
Making a List and Checking It TwiceAs one of the strangest years ever thankfully draws to a close, it behooves us to take stock and see our situation as it now stands. A host of questions inevitably arise, the type that beg for our honest and, we hope,...
DOW 30K: Yellin’ for Yellen
The market likes President-Elect Joe Biden’s selection of Janet Yellen to serve as Treasury Secretary. Many Wall Streeters feared that Biden would appoint Elizabeth Warren, while many progressives feared he would appoint someone too friendly to big banks...