The digital asset ecosystem has taken several quantum leaps forward since the creation of bitcoin in 2009, and cryptocurrency is now widely considered a viable investable asset. Read More
Investing in an interconnected world. We consider globalization the interdependence that arises as goods, services, people and information cross borders and encourage globally integrated markets. For example, smartphone components could leave factories in South Korea or Taiwan for assembly in China, and then the finished products cross the pacific to a shelf of a U.S. retailer. Read More
Many young investors may be grappling with high levels of personal debt. Specifically, student debt, which has ballooned to roughly $1.73 trillion in the second quarter of 2021, according to the Federal Reserve. The graph below depicts the large difference in consumer credit between student loans, revolving debt and motor vehicle loans. This makes student loans the second largest category of consumer borrowing (behind mortgages) in the United States. As the newest generation of investors begin their careers and start to earn money, they will face an onerous choice; invest early or focus on paying off their debt? Read More
Whether your children or grandchildren are toddlers or teenagers, it’s only a matter of a time before they leave the family home, probably as they head off to college. The cost of sending just one child to college for four years can be staggering, and tuition and fee hikes regularly outpace inflation. Rather than sending your children or grandchildren into the world with the burden of student-loan debt, you can save to help cover at least a portion, if not all, of their higher-education expenses. Read More
One financial strategy that is often overlooked when evaluating your retirement and estate planning options is the Roth IRA conversion. Converting allows you to reposition your current tax-deferred retirement account to a Roth IRA by paying federal and possibly state income tax [but without the IRS 10% additional tax for taking early or pre-59½ distributions (10% additional tax)] on the taxable amount of the conversion. The benefit is that any earnings would be distributed tax-free, if certain conditions are met. Read More
Are you interested in making contributions to a Roth IRA but your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) is too high? Do you choose not to contribute to a Traditional IRA because you are covered by a workplace retirement plan (WRP) and your MAGI is at or above the phase-out limits for a deduction? If so, chances are good you’ve been told or read about the “back-door” Roth conversion. But what is it? Read More
Over the past few weeks investors have asked us about various market risks and the possibilities of a near term correction. Read More
Deciphering Early Cycle Market Dynamics - We prefer to understand stock market conditions and potential future trends by synthesizing economic cycle dynamics and secular drivers. We believe that a focus on risk assets (stocks over bonds) and cyclical sectors can continue to benefit the investment portfolio in the current environment. Read More
For most investors, spending and investing follows a circular pattern: a focus on discretionary spending in younger years, followed by a greater emphasis on saving — for retirement, a home down payment, or children’s education — and then a return to discretionary spending once any long-term debts are paid off. Read More
Cryptocurrencies originated as a new kind of currency in 2009. They are not physically minted or printed, like a dime or a $20 bill. Cryptocurrencies are digital, which means that they only exist electronically. Using them as a currency requires a digital device such as a smart phone, tablet, or computer. Read More
Carefully consider the planning implications of any potential tax changes. Any action should align with your long-term goals and objectives, and not be motivated solely by short-term tax concerns. Read More
One year after the global economy emerged from lockdowns, the economy is running faster than many of us have seen in our lifetimes. The U.S. and China have led the way, thanks to the various COVID-19 vaccines, whose accelerating distribution is speeding the recovery and driving faster spending. This, plus a rise in private savings, low interest rates, and the “visible hand” of multiple government support programs are providing fuel for growth that should intensify the 2021–2022 U.S. economic recovery to its fastest two-year pace since 1965–1966. Read More
The wide performance swings over the past several years demonstrate a key principle of asset allocation1 — that asset returns and their rankings vary from year to year — but historically, over multiple-year time periods, asset-class performance has tended to smooth out. A diversified portfolio is designed to help reduce volatility over multiple-year time periods, but it also can accomplish this goal over shorter periods of significant return fluctuations, like we saw in 2020 with a sharp downturn and quick recovery. Read More