Asset allocation is a common strategy that you can use to construct an investment portfolio. Asset allocation isn’t about picking individual securities. Instead, you focus on broad categories of investments, mixing them together in the right proportion to match your financial goals, the amount of time you have to invest, and your tolerance for risk. … Read more
At a time when your career is reaching a peak and you are looking ahead to your own retirement, you may find yourself in the position of having to help your children with college expenses while at the same time looking after the needs of your aging parents. Squeezed in the middle, you’ve joined the … Read more
Whether you manage a trust for someone else, are the beneficiary of a trust, or are thinking of creating a trust, you probably have some questions about the “best practices” of trust management. A well-managed trust can help preserve wealth for generations, while a poorly-managed trust may provide only a quick path to insolvency. How can … Read more
What is a Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO)? Collateralized loan obligations (CLO) are portfolios of leveraged loans, a type of below-investment grade loan usually taken out by more heavily indebted companies. Each CLO is divided into a series of tranches with different degrees of risk. The more senior tranches receive their interest payments first, and therefore, have … Read more
529 plans can be a great way to save for college, but they’re not the only way. When you’re investing for a major goal like education, it makes sense to be familiar with all of your options. MUTUAL FUNDS Mutual funds are an option to save for college costs. They offer unlimited investment control and … Read more
Yesterday, The Conference Board released last month’s reading for its Leading Economic Index (LEI), a composite of leading data series, which showed a month-over-month increase of 2.8%. As seen in the LPL Chart of the Day, the return to positive territory follows three straight months of negative monthly growth. ”We noted that the pace of … Read more
The Federal Reserve (Fed) completed its third scheduled policy meeting of the year Wednesday, June 10, and continued to signal strong support for the economy, committing to keeping rates near zero until it is confident of a recovery and maintaining bond purchases (“quantitative easing”), at least at the current level. “Despite some early signs of … Read more
Whether you manage a trust for someone else, are the beneficiary of a trust, or are thinking of creating a trust, you probably have some questions about the “best practices” of trust management. A well-managed trust can help preserve wealth for generations, while a poorly-managed trust may provide only a quick path to insolvency. How can … Read more
Layoffs are a fact of corporate life as companies grapple with economic cycles and global competition. If you get caught in a corporate downsizing and you are not immediately moving to a new employer, you generally have three options for your retirement plan assets: Leave your money in the existing plan. Take a cash or … Read more
In many ways, what we’ve seen so far in 2020 has been both record-breaking and devastating. From the S&P 500 Index peak on February 19 to the bear market lows March 23, stocks lost 33.9%. Now, 50 trading days later, stocks have gained 39.6%, for the largest 50-day rally since the S&P 500 moved to … Read more
Despite the gradual reopening of the economy in several states, sentiment on Main Street remains suppressed, as the effects of COVID-19 appear to be keeping a lid on American optimism in the most recent Federal Reserve (Fed) Beige Book. In the Beige Book, the Fed presents qualitative observations made by community bankers and business owners—or … Read more
Most economic charts we look at in the LPL Research Department look alike. Many segments of the US economy came to an abrupt halt in March when the lockdowns and business closures began, making most economic charts covering March and April look like a steep drop on a roller coaster. Two months later, the economy … Read more
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