Markets tumble in wake of negative headlines
Hurricane Ian barreled through Florida this week, leaving a wide swath of destruction in its wake. A natural disaster of this magnitude is a negative...
Interest rates spike, markets rally
The Fed met on Tuesday and Wednesday. Expectations last week were for it to raise rates another 50 basis points (bps) and for the Fed Funds rate to...
Rising Rates: How the FED Funds Rate Impacts U.S. Consumers
In May, the Fed raised interest rates for the second time in two months. Could we see more aggressive rate raises in the near future — and how...
Markets knocked out by one-two punch from retailers and Fed
It’s been another week of “up one day and down the next” for U.S. markets. In a major about-face following a 437-point rally on Tuesday...
Market Jitters
In mid-to-late January, investors experienced one of those common but utterly nerve-wracking pullbacks in the stock market. An accumulation of factors...
Challenges of the 2021 Tax-Filing Season
Learn about the unique challenges of this year’s tax-filing season and gauge your chances of being audited.
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Quarterly Market Report - 4th Quarter 2021
Markets performed well in the fourth quarter of 2021, despite a host of challenges: raging inflation, supply chain issues and new COVID-19 variants among...
CRYPTOCURRENCIES: A PRIMER
Overview
On March 12, the price of Bitcoin cryptocurrency reached over $61,000, posting what amounts to a 300% annualized return over the past...
WORKING TOWARD THE NET-ZERO ECONOMY
Overview
Scientists attribute extreme weather events all over the world to a global warming trend. Since the late 19th century, the average...
Are you sure your assets are diversified?
Overview
The theory of diversification is that by spreading out invested assets among a wide variety of holdings, an investor can help reduce...
How Infrastructure Investments Help the Economy
Overview
The American Jobs Plan (AJP) recently proposed by President Biden is composed of $2.7 trillion in expenditures and $2.1 trillion in...
Financial Advice for Expanding Families
Overview
Obviously, managing money as part of a partnership is vastly different than doing so for oneself. Even more challenging is the need...
Stimulus, Part III: The Plan to Rescue America
Overview
In early March, President Joe Biden signed into law the third round of economic stimulus legislation passed by Congress, authorizing...
Buy American: Pros and Cons
Overview
“Buy American” is a popular concept, both economically and politically. From the “Look for the Union Label”...
2021: Last Call for Both IRA Conversions?
Overview
Are you thinking strategically about the possibility of higher taxes and their effect on your retirement assets? With Democrats controlling...
Why Sequence of Returns Risk Matters Now
OVERVIEW
The stock market initially posted a major drop at the beginning of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak. Since then, it has gained back some...
Investing For Income
OVERVIEW
Investing for income is generally the modus operandi of a retirement portfolio. That’s because the so-called “accumulation...
1st Quarter 2020
A HISTORIC QUARTER
The first quarter of 2020 started favorably. In early January, the news centered around politics, with the House sending...
COVID-19 Update
Be sure to check out this special interview with an expert from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine about what seniors...
Rebalancing Act: Your Asset Allocation Strategy
Overview
A diversified investment portfolio is generally composed of stocks, bonds and cash instruments. The percentage of how much money to...
Spring Clean Your Finances
Overview
We tend to get caught up in the day-to-day issues related to jobs, family and home projects. We plan vacations, we plan weddings, we...
The Secure Act: What You Should Know
Overview
On Dec. 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act as part of...
2019 Goes Out With an Economic Bang
After a strong Q3, momentum continued throughout Q4 as we repeatedly hit new highs to close out the year. Q4 market drivers were the same we’ve...
Money Management Tools
There’s an app for seemingly every financial transaction or budgetary need consumers have. In fact, there are likely dozens if not hundreds from...
Investor Tips for the New Year
Overview
We approach the new year with indications of a potential economic decline in the near future. Given the continued strength of the economy...
New Outlook: What to do in a slow-growth economy
Overview
Technically, economists define a recession as a prolonged period of economic decline, often precipitated by two consecutive quarters...
Recession or no recession: Is that the question?
Overview
In November 2007, Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Chairman at the time, publicly announced inflation was likely to start inching...
Don't Let Natural Disasters Sink Your Savings
Overview
As extreme weather events become more prevalent with each passing year, it’s worth examining the damage they can bring. In addition...
Financial Lessons From the "FIRE" Movement
Overview
The message in today’s news and financial media is loud and clear: We are living longer, so we must work longer to save more. ...
How to Make Charitable Giving Sustainable
Overview
Charitable giving is one of the oldest traditions practiced by mankind. The ancient Greeks believed philanthropy was fundamental to...
Weathering the Storm
Remember the adage, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb”? It certainly held true for the market this year; we gently entered...
Retirement Reform: Will the Proposed Changes Affect You?
Overview
In May, the House of Representatives passed the Setting Every Community
Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) with...
Student Loan Debt Now A Family Affair
Overview
A college degree is widely considered the necessary foundation for an upwardly mobile career and ensuing lifestyle. But to pay the...
Sandwich Generation: Stuck in the Middle With You
Overview
More than 40 million Americans serve as the primary caregiver for their aging parents, and this phenomenon isn’t just a moment...
What Could Trariffs Mean For The Economy - And Your Investments?
Overview
On May 30, President Trump threatened new tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico. Effective June 10, the U.S. would levy a 5% tariff,...
Advice For Your Recent College Graduate
During the economic decline of the recession, many households struggled as one or both breadwinners lost jobs. Even workers who managed to survive corporate...
The Increasing Success of Women as Investors
More and more we hear the same stories of women living longer, being sicker and with less money to work with into retirement. Women are 80% more likely...
Four Tips for Keeping an Active Lifestyle in Retirement
You worked, you saved, you planned. Now, after all that, it’s time to retire. This big change is both exciting and a little scary. If you’ve...
Finding Beauty in Change: A Lesson from Lao Tzu
Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally...
4 Steps to Manifesting Your Future
Do you ever make lists of all of the things you intend to do but haven’t quite gotten around to? Get back to the gym, go on that trip, start seriously...
North Carolina Residents may Benefit from Disaster Relief Tax Breaks
The storm has ended, the floodwaters have receded, and now you are left to clean up the mess that Hurricane Florence left in its wake. Hurricane Florence...
The Road to Longevity: Living to 120-and Beyond?
Medical technology can now identify risk factors in the human body long before they impact your health
A medical revolution is underway—one...
Smart Ways to Take Control of a Trust
Many successful families use trusts to minimize taxes, transfer wealth and protect assets from creditors and others. You may have already set up a trust,...
The Road Less Traveled: Taking Steps Toward Your Ideal Retirement
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”...
Practice and Courage: Why Retirement Is like Learning to Dive
Do you remember when you learned how to dive? Do you remember how you felt when you saw others doing it and you wished, hoped for the day when you would...
Emotional Investing and Consequences of Behavioral Biases
Distraction from the media, uncertainty or volatility in the markets, or pressure to buy and sell from friends, colleagues, financial “gurus”...
Want to Promote Family Entrepreneurship? Consider a Family Bank
A key objective among many single-family offices serving Super Rich families (those with a net worth of at least $500 million) is to enable future generations...
The Rich History of Arlie Gardens
In our 30+ years in Wilmington, my wife, Sandy, and I have seen mind-boggling changes in the area as it has grown — some good,...
Ways to Stress Test Your Financial Plan Like the Super Rich
The Super Rich (those with a net worth of $500 million or more) who have family offices typically engage a sizable lineup of professional advisors to...
January/February 2018 – Retirement Strategies Newsletter
Three ‘Spy Secrets’ That Can Protect You, Your Family and Your Business
Imagine yourself in a vintage tuxedo, sipping a “shaken, not stirred” martini as you make eye contact across the bar with a beautiful secret...
Understanding Retirement: Five Steps to Plan with Confidence
There was a time when people looked forward to retirement as a time for relaxation. But planning for the financial future is anything but relaxing for...
Smart Ways to Build a Moat Around Your Wealth
Have you taken steps to protect the assets you have worked so hard to build?
Chances are, you know someone who has been sued. Maybe that someone...
What Happens to Our Digital Assets After We Pass Away?
So, you’ve crafted a plan for how you want your wealth, possessions and other assets to be distributed after you die. But what happens to your...
It was a Dark and Stormy Night…
David has relinquished his writing privileges this month to me, his wife, Sandy. He’s nursing a little headache right now, bless his heart, for...
Maintaining Marital Bliss Through Your Retirement Transition
Compromise is a key component in any happy marriage. It gets couples through the many roadblocks that life places in the path of a long-term, committed...
Hurricanes and Tornadoes in Your Financial World
My wife, Sandy, and I sat huddled in the dark; the wind outside howled as if a freight train was going by. It was the fall of 1984, our first hurricane...
Financial Literacy from Childhood to Adulthood
As a parent and a financial advisor, it has always been important to instill the value of financial knowledge and to encourage other parents to teach...