Many investors have taken advantage of pretax contributions to their company’s employer-sponsored retirement plan and/or make annual contributions to an IRA. If you participate in a qualified plan program you may be overlooking an important housekeeping issue: beneficiary designations. AnRead More >
Blog
Changing Winds
“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” –Jimmy Dean Investing can be like sailing the ocean at times. You can have a seaworthy ship, experienced crew, andRead More >
Market Outlook 2015
Quarterly Newsletter – Winter 2015 “It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again” Yogi Berra is a Hall of Fame baseball player known as one of the greatest catchers of all time, yet he may be equally famous for his comicallyRead More >
January Effect
It was a tough close for the equity markets for January. The S&P 500 closed down 1.3% today to finish down 3.1% for January. Corporate earnings were a focal point as several important companies either missed their earnings targets orRead More >
The Impact of Oil
The outlook for crude oil has a significant impact on many aspects of our economy and markets. We briefly mentioned the drop in crude oil prices in our summer newsletter, but the decline has become much more of a relevantRead More >
Market Update
Market update from summer newsletter. Bull or Bear? Speculating on short-term movements in the equity markets is a fool’s errand due to the large number of variables involved. Consequently, we do not try to time the market itself. Read More >
Asset Allocation
We’ve seen significant trend changes from 2013 through the first half of this year. These trend changes are true across both equity and fixed income classes. Last year was a tough year for bonds with the 10-year Treasury moving fromRead More >
Master Limited Partnerships
MLPs are limited partnerships that are publicly traded. They are generally in the energy infrastructure industry. They have high income yields and preferential tax treatment, but they increase income tax complexity and require a Schedule K-1. They are generally onlyRead More >
The Fed
The Federal Reserve has two specific objectives with regard to monetary policy, price stability and full employment. These two mandates can sometimes be conflicting, so it’s important to review both to see which side policy will likely favor. Ben Bernanke setRead More >
GDP
Gross Domestic Product gained solid momentum in the 2nd half of 2013 running at an annualized 3.4% rate. The National Association of Business Economics (NABE) consensus forecast for 2014 is 2.8% . That compares favorably to the full year 1.9%Read More >