How Long Is ‘Transitory’? October 18, 2021 Economy and the Markets federal reserve, headline inflation, inflation, Weekly Question This week’s reader question: How long will elevated inflation last? Is transitory still the right way to think about it? To say that this is a hotly debated topic is an understatement. Many analysts and investors view today’s inflation environment as “transitory”—but what that actually means is … Read Morekeyboard_arrow_right
The ABCs of Medicare October 15, 2021 Retirement medicare, Retirement All of the talk of inflation this week came with one bright side for retirees: Social Security benefits, tied to inflation, will increase 5.9% next year—the biggest bump in 39 years. Where might that extra income be spent? Health care is one option. We recently wrote about Medicare’s Annual … Read Morekeyboard_arrow_right
Steve Johnson: Bank Earnings Save the Day October 15, 2021 Economy and the Markets coronavirus, video The S&P 500 posted its best day since March yesterday on strong earnings. In Today’s Market Takeaways, VP and Portfolio Manager Steve Johnson explains how a good third quarter for banks shows that the consumer remains in fine shape.Watch Nowkeyboard_arrow_right
Bond Market Review & Outlook Q4 2021 October 14, 2021 Investing bonds, inflation, managed bonds The U.S. bond market was positive for investors in the third quarter—but just barely. The returned 0.05% while the Treasury bond index was up 0.08%. If the quarter ended in the middle of September, we’d be talking about much better returns, but that’s not the way it works. What happened? Taper talk … Read Morekeyboard_arrow_right
Fidelity Doubles Down on Themes October 13, 2021 Adviser Fund Update ETFs, Fidelity, thematic investing, vanguard Fidelity Doubles Down on Themes Fidelity Investments has added four more new thematic exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to its lineup. The new additions bring Fidelity’s total ETF lineup to 46, including 33 thematic funds. The four new ETFs are passively managed, quantitative funds which use proprietary Fidelity indexes as their benchmarks. Fidelity’s … Read Morekeyboard_arrow_right
Liz Laprade on the Energy Price Spike October 12, 2021 Economy and the Markets video Oil and natural gas are hitting some of the highest prices in years. Today’s Market Takeaways with Research Analyst Liz Laprade delves into what is behind this latest trend.Watch Nowkeyboard_arrow_right
5 Smart Year-End Strategies October 8, 2021 Financial Planning financial planning, roth ira, stock options, tax planning Crisp autumn mornings serve as a reminder that now is the time to begin preparing financially for 2022. Last week, we looked at the tax hikes that could be in next year’s mix. Today, we’ll build on that and identify five strategies to set you and your family up … Read Morekeyboard_arrow_right
Steve Johnson: Economic Data Trumps Market Narratives October 8, 2021 Economy and the Markets coronavirus, video Tech stocks' rally led the market this week. In Today’s Market Takeaways, VP and Portfolio Manager Steve Johnson prepares you for the market landscape we expect in the weeks ahead and why data will likely trump other narratives.Watch Nowkeyboard_arrow_right
Liz Laprade on Facebook’s Freefall October 5, 2021 Economy and the Markets video Facebook’s stock, platform and related apps were down yesterday. Join Research Analyst Liz Laprade in Today’s Market Takeaways as she discusses what was behind the equity and product crashes.Watch Nowkeyboard_arrow_right
The Fate of Backdoor Roth IRAs – Your Question Answered October 4, 2021 Financial Planning Biden tax plan, financial planning, roth ira, tax hikes, tax planning, Weekly Question This week’s reader question: What’s the upshot of the Biden administration’s tax proposals, and what should we be most concerned about going forward? The Biden administration maintains that any tax increases would only affect households earning $400,000 or more per year. From our read on the tax proposals released by the … Read Morekeyboard_arrow_right
Fine-Tuning Your Medicare Coverage October 1, 2021 Retirement Andrew Busa, financial planning, medicare With the Annual Election Period (AEP) approaching, Medicare recipients must decide whether to make changes to their plan or not.Read Morekeyboard_arrow_right
Vanguard Launches New Active Management Options October 1, 2021 Adviser Fund Update active management, ESG Investing, restricted stock unit, vanguard Vanguard Launches New Active Management Options Vanguard plans to launch three new actively managed funds later this year: Advice Select Dividend Growth, Advice Select International Growth and Advice Select Global Value. As Adviser Investments clients know, we’ve long believed that, despite its well-founded reputation for low-cost index funds, Vanguard has some … Read Morekeyboard_arrow_right