How to Protect Your Assets at Each Life Stage
Posted by Brian McKinney, CFP® on Mon, 05/04/2020 - 10:49
Do insurance options seem overwhelming at times? It can be tricky to navigate the many different plan types and terminologies to find the right fit for your needs. Unfortunately, most people know very little about insurance, 90% of Americans aren’t even comfortable explaining basic terms like premium or deductible. Insurance needs to change as we age and move through different stages of our lives. The same policy or plan that benefits you today could very well be a poor choice for you later down the road.
Use this guide to help determine which policies you do and don’t need throughout your life.
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How to Take Advantage of the Market Downturn
Posted by G. Thomas Watson, CFA, CFP® on Thu, 04/09/2020 - 14:52
Unfortunately, many investors aren’t aware that there are ways to leverage market downturns to take advantage of future recovery periods. Consider following some of these strategies our financial planners have recommended to recovery gains and potentially improve your long-term returns.
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Advice for Investing in Turbulent Times
Posted by Gary S. Williams, CFP®, CRPC®, AIF® on Thu, 04/02/2020 - 14:54
Published in the Baltimore Business Journal on April 2, 2020
There is a certain comfort knowing everyone, including the most seasoned investment managers, has been blindsided by the COVID-19 virus and that we are all going through the same thing. Gary Williams has been a financial advisor for 25 years, let's take a look at what he has been telling his clients about their investments and the markets.
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One of The Most Prominent Retiree Risks: Sequence of Returns
Posted by Brian McKinney, CFP® on Thu, 03/26/2020 - 11:14
Imagine spending decades meticulously planning and conscientiously saving for retirement only to experience a bear market shortly after leaving the workforce. Suddenly, you’re ready to begin relying on your investment income and it isn’t all there.
What will you do? Will your portfolio be able to sustain your anticipated annual withdrawal rate? Or will you be forced to reduce your lifestyle to avoid outliving your assets?
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How Will the SECURE Act Affect My Retirement Plans?
Posted by Gary Williams, CFP®, CRPC®, AIF® and Nicholas Ibello, CFP®, AIF® on Wed, 03/18/2020 - 11:37
In an effort to help Americans better save and prepare for retirement, Congress has passed the first pivotal piece of retirement legislation we have seen in over a decade—the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act. The following outlines some of the most notable provisions of the SECURE Act and how they could affect your retirement or estate planning strategies now and for the foreseeable future.
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The Risks and Rewards of Investing in IPOs
Posted by Gary S. Williams CFP®, CRPC®, AIF® on Thu, 02/20/2020 - 13:32
Have you ever heard someone touting how they got in on the “ground floor” of a publicly traded stock and it skyrocketed from there? What did they mean by “ground floor”? Most likely what they are referring to is that they bought a company’s initial public offering (IPO) when the company “went public.”
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The 2 Most Common Tax Mistakes
Posted by Gary S. Williams CFP®, CRPC®, AIF® on Mon, 02/03/2020 - 14:42
As far as taxes go, January is the calm before the storm. Before you know it, your mailbox will be filled with tax forms, you will be gathering charity receipts, and you may be dreading taking the trip to your accountant or starting up your Turbo Tax software.
For most of us, gathering information to prepare our tax returns is simple. However, there are two tax documents you will never receive, but that you may need to be mindful of as tax time approaches.
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How Does the Stock Market Fare during Election Years?
Posted by Brian McKinney, CFP® on Mon, 12/30/2019 - 16:03
As the 2020 presidential election approaches, publications and news broadcasts alike are ramping up their coverage of polling updates and speculating on what effects the outcome of the upcoming election could have on the state of the stock market.
Let’s take a look at some historical numbers to see if we can filter through some of this noise.
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What Does Retirement Really Mean (To You)?
Posted by Gary Williams, CFP®, CRPC®, AIF® and Nicholas Ibello, CFP®, AIF® on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 16:44
Retirement is a nebulous word that means different things to different people. For some, it means leaving the workforce permanently to relax at home. For others, it means spending time doing the activities they haven’t had time to do during their working years, such as traveling, exercising, volunteering, or learning to play the guitar. The list of activities is endless and unique to each individual who is approaching or has already made the transition into, their retirement years.
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What is an inverted yield curve, and what does it mean to me?
Posted by Gary S. Williams, CFP®, CRPC®, AIF® and Nicholas A. Ibello, CFP®, AIF® on Wed, 10/02/2019 - 13:18
In early August of 2019, headlines referring to the feared “inverted yield curve” were on display all over the news, financial websites, and publications, sparking a more than 2.9% decline in the S&P 500 (Source: Yahoo Finance), its worst single day of trading for the year. The following day, a plethora of articles were published explaining an inverted yield curve and linking its direct correlation to an imminent recession, further weakening investor sentiment. In this day and age where the headlines are often times scary, many are wondering: what is an inverted yield curve and should they panic?
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