Legacy Planning: Designating Your Beneficiaries | Suzanne Himes, CFP® & Steve Carlson According to the Investment Company Institute, total US retirement assets exceed $23 trillion, mostly in employer-sponsored retirement plans and IRAs. How these assets transfer to the next generation is a very important part of the financial planning process. Typically, these assets will pass…
Should I Buy GameStop Stock? | Paul Fain, CFP® Hello all! Just when you thought it couldn’t get any wackier!? It did. Several weeks ago, my son asked me if I had seen what was happening with GameStop, AMC and Blackberry stocks. My honest reply was, “No, but are those companies still in business?” In…
Expect the Unexpected for the 2021 Stock Market, and Plan Accordingly | Paul Fain Last year was a paradox: The second quarter was the worst GDP performance on record. However, November was one of the best months for the stock market on record, led by long-lagging small caps and value stocks. The Russell 2000 Index…
Here’s a Merry Approach to Mortality | Paul Fain The holidays (normally) conjure warm images of large family gathering with dinners, gift exchanges, and merriment. The holidays are different this year. As the COVID pandemic is filling ICUs across the country, our mortality has entered the national conversation. With that in mind, here’s a seemingly macabre…
Simple Tax Considerations for 2020-2021 | Paul Fain, CFP® and Joe Ottaviano, CFP®, CKA® TAX CHANGES IN 2021? Maybe. One of the possible implications of a change in the White House is tax regulations. Americans, blue or red, are asking the same question: are my taxes going to change? Joe Biden’s victory could spell changes in…
Stay Calm and Prepare for Another Wave of Pandemic Panic | Paul Fain Election Day is over. The sun rose the following morning. The stock market did not crash. So our attention has turned back to the pandemic. A second wave of the virus is surging across the nation. To wit, I was hospitalized…
Hang in There, Things Will Get Better | Paul Fain Several weeks ago, I (virtually) attended the Vanguard Advisor Symposium. Sidebar: One of the unexpected silver linings to the COVID pandemic has been access to great meetings without the hassle and expense of air travel and hotels. The event kicked off with a presentation…
Risky Business | Suzanne Himes, CFP® Why do we talk so much about risk assessment? The financial markets are always reacting to a variety of global events and this volatility can be unnerving for individual investors, especially if investing without first understanding one’s personal risk profile. So, how do you begin to decide how much…
What Should I Do With My Money? It Depends… | Paul Fain, CFP® From the perspective of personal financial planning, the answer to many of life’s complexities is, “It depends.” Of course, we all prefer black and white answers to important questions. But “It depends” fails to give us any certainty of outcomes. Here are…
Basic Investing Building Block #3 By Steve Carlson and Jonathan McAlister How can you reduce investment risk? Diversification! Diversification in investing is a technique whereby you allocate your money in different financial instruments, industries, etc. By doing so you reduce your risk by limiting your exposure to any single company. Simply put: Do not…