When the Federal Reserve raises its benchmark federal funds rate, there are a number of ways it could affect you as a consumer and investor. What is the federal funds rate? The federal funds rate is the interest rate at which banks lend funds to each other overnight to maintain legally required reserves. It applies … Read more
It wasn’t so long ago that many investors regarded dividends as roughly the financial equivalent of a record turntable at a gathering of MP3 users — a throwback to an earlier era, irrelevant to the real action. But fast-forward a few years, and things look a little different. Since 2003, when the top federal income … Read more
With the wide variety of stocks in the market, figuring out which ones you may want to invest in can be a challenging task. Many investors feels its useful to have a system for finding stocks that might be worth buying, deciding what price to pay, and identifying when a stock should be sold. Bull … Read more
When you want to invest, there is always somewhere to put your money. However, if you’re considering paying off debts too, most notably your mortgage, the question then becomes: Where is the best place to put your money – your mortgage or the market? Here are some important factors to consider. If You Want to … Read more
INVESTMENTREAD TIME: 2 MIN YOUR SHIFTING RISK TOLERANCE When you created your investment strategy, your asset allocation should have reflected your goals, time horizon, and tolerance for risk. But over time, any of those three factors may have changed, and your portfolio may now need adjustments to reflect your new investing priorities. It’s important to … Read more
At the risk of sounding cliché, making the case for stocks to stage a second half rally back to the prior highs requires investors to see through some heavy cloud cover. If you prefer another market cliché, it’s times like these when investors need a crystal ball. We fully acknowledge how tough it is to see the … Read more
Investing with an eye toward promoting social, political, or environmental concerns (or at least not supporting activities you feel are harmful) doesn’t mean you have to forgo pursuing a return on your money. Socially responsible investing may allow you to further both your own economic interests and a greater good, in whatever way you define that term. The concept of putting … Read more
Today marks the 52nd Earth Day, with this year’s theme “Invest in Our Planet.” We took this opportunity to look at some of the risks relating to global climate change. While from the top down governments have been grappling with the commitments needed for climate change solutions, from the bottom up the private sector’s innovation … Read more
The Federal Reserve (Fed) meets this week and in all likelihood will raise short-term interest rates for the first time since emergency levels of monetary accommodation were provided to markets after the COVID-19 shutdowns. Inflationary pressures are running higher than the central bankers are comfortable with, but the conflict in Eastern Europe adds to the uncertain path of policy … Read more
For many Americans, the home is the single biggest purchase made during their lifetime.[1] As a result, it’s important to do everything possible to keep it in good condition. Even moderate or short-term neglect can be dangerous, as small problems can quickly snowball into larger and more expensive ones. But homes don’t come with an instruction … Read more
If you’re a small business owner, many of the best practices employed by individual investors are also available to you (of course!), but you also have some additional options and factors to weigh while creating your investment plans. We’ve outlined five key differences for your consideration: 1. DIVERSIFYING OUTSIDE YOUR OWN INDUSTRY Small business owners … Read more
2020 has been one of the most unprecedented years in recent history, but some things—like tax contributions and retirement deadlines—don’t change much, if at all. And with the uncertainty surrounding just about everything, meeting these deadlines and getting tax efficiencies in place now may help the rest of the year run more smoothly. Read on for … Read more
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