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Education Featured Stock Markets

Every month I sit down to write this newsletter with the hopes that you’ll find it interesting and timely and that it will make some difference .
Divorce + Emotions + Money Innocence

Divorce + Emotions + Money Innocence

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Financial assets can refer to many different types of accounts, investments, cash, cars, collectibles, real estate, and much more.  During a .

Will slower global growth mean a slowdown for the U.S.?

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Let’s break down some facts from this year… Despite better production for many countries during the first part of the year, consensus is that global growth is still seen to drop this year due to softer dynamics among developed economies. For the past year, growth has only been expanding by 1.5% in the developed eurozone which has been the slowest since 2013. In China, it has been growing at 6.4% which also has been the slowest in years. In the U.S., growth accelerated rapidly in the first quarter, although the reading was most likely skewed from government shutdown rebound effects as well as by past front-loading of imports and a build-up of inventories due to the trade war. What was worrisome, private consumption and fixed investment both weakened in the first quarter. Looking at .

Market Update Q2, 2019

Economy Education Featured Stock Markets

2019 is off to a good start. Believe it or not, in the first quarter the S&P 500 index increased in value 13.1%, which was the largest quarterly increase since Q3 2009 (+15.0%). However, you can look at it as recapturing the overblown selloff during the last few weeks of December. Now that the major US equity indices are flirting with their all-time highs from last October, what is our view on the economy and the stock market? What is our course of action going to be? The Economy. There has been plenty of talk of global economic growth decelerating this year. This is mostly due to softer dynamics among developed economies, which continue to appear as approaching the tail-end of their current economic cycles.  That said, we are not expecting things to go completely sour .

Investing in Self-Driving Taxis

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For decades people have obsessed over the self-driving car, which was once reserved as only science fiction on the big screen, has now come to be reality. There are already several autonomous vehicles driving on the roads today by the firms developing the technology. However, it is conceivable that fully autonomous taxi services could be operational in some metropolitan cities as early as 2020. Las Vegas has been one of those cities that has been leading the effort and has digitized its roadway information for autonomous vehicles to navigate the city safely. This exciting new industry is expected to be generating $10 Trillion in global revenue by 2030(1).  But who will benefit and what does it mean for auto makers like Ford and GM as well has the ride share companies Lyft and .

9 Ways You Can Prepare Your Finances for 2019

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The holidays and vacations are over, the kids are back to school and we are all set to start our New Year resolutions.  If building wealth or maintaining financial security is on your list of resolutions, here are nine questions you can ask yourself to make sure you are prepared. Have I written down or listed my financial goals (short & long term)? Have I reviewed my current insurance policies (life, auto, homeowners, health, etc.) as recommended every 1-3 years to make sure they are still aligned with my needs? If something unexpected happened to my income (loss of job, slow-down in economy, disability, medical) how long would I be able to maintain my lifestyle for? Am I contributing to my retirement accounts and reviewing the investments regularly? Should I utilize other .

What I’m Grateful For

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By David Hicok, ChFC These monthly musings are usually reserved for financial topics; thoughts on the markets, how changes to the tax rates might affect us, things like that.  Today I want to talk about Gratitude.  Not just what I am grateful for, that’s important, but also why gratitude itself is so important.  Turns out, there is a science behind it. READ ARTICLE HERE.  Want more of something? Be grateful for what you have. Want to be happier and healthier? Take a few minutes to be grateful for what you have every day.  Don’t believe me?  Go ahead and give it a try.  Here’s my list: I am grateful every day for my clients, vendors, collaborative partners. Our clients come to us to help them live the best financial life they can.  Helping them achieve that is .

Many Women Are Becoming Smarter With Their Financial Future

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– yet some continue to encounter struggles Women are controlling more of their individual wealth these days. However, there are still a few situations that many women do not think about, often derailing their financial future. I myself at one point decided to take the path of being a stay-at-home mom. I felt not only lucky but proud to raise my children as they grew up, having the opportunity to create the best possible home for them. The dilemma however, is that often times we perceive our wealth and money in the present with no clear strategy or expectations about its future. We can get lost in the “happily ever after” story, assuming all will work out for the best without understanding the consequences of not properly planning. In my case, as well as for many women out there who .

Rising Rates Study and the Effect on Equities

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by guest author:  Andrew L. Berkin Berkin begins his analysis of the historical evidence with a review of the theory of the relationship between bond yields and stock returns. He asks: Why might stocks go down when yields rise? Basic investment theory states that the value of an investment should equal the sum of its discounted future cash flows. Therefore, as interest rates rise, so should the discount rate, which implies that stocks should be worth less. Higher rates also slow the economy, which can dampen earnings and cash flows. Furthermore, higher yields make fixed-income investments more attractive, and equity valuations may suffer. However, there are also reasons stock returns may be positive in the face of higher yields. Rising rates reflect a robust economy, which should .

The Final Stretch of 2018!

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As we head into the final quarter of the year, I feel this would be a good time to reflect back on 2018 and answer the question which is on everyone’s mind. When will the Bull Run be over? A few bright spots after a bright start. This year has been an interesting one for the stock markets. In January it was off to the races for the stock markets as all the major indices rocketed to new all-time highs. Then February came along and inflation fears and concerns over rising interest rates sank the markets. We saw the worst two week decline in over 5 years pushing the S&P into correction territory. Those fears were very short lived as the markets rebounded with one of the best one week rallies we had seen in the past 5 years on continued growth in the economy and strong earnings. Of .

Take Hold of Life

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Lately, we have been talking about the markets and market volatility. What can we do about it? Not much, so let’s focus on what we can control. We are living longer so let’s take better care of ourselves and strive for a better life. Let’s put things in order so that we can reduce some of the stresses in our lives. So, where do we start? Do we just focus on the financial stuff or look elsewhere for the things that are going to help us have a better quality of life? Here are a few thoughts:  Reduce time spent on social media. Yep, I said it. Why? Because when was the last time you felt really good about the time you spent on social media? When was the last time you closed your Facebook page and thought that was time well spent? For some, this could also be spending less time watching .

Mid-Year Review of the Financial Markets (Video)

Economy Education Featured Stock Markets

Mid-Year Review of Financial Markets We are pleased to provide this 15 minute video on a Mid-Year Review of the Financial Markets from our colleague and friend, Charley Wright.  It includes a brief review of the investment performance of the ten major financial markets, Dr. Bob Diele’s “No Spin Forecast” of the Economy for the next 9 months, thoughts on probable prudent 401k allocations, and much more. Charley has worked hard to research and publish financial podcast over the past several years.  It is exciting to announce that he is now featured on “Reuters Insider” through Thomson Reuters.  Good job!   Guest Author: Charley Wright, CEO, Strategic Alpha Investment Advisors, LLC (RIA)