Stocks are drifting higher in a environment of falling interest rates, trade deal optimism and "not as bad as we thought" earnings. It seems like it's smooth sailing higher from here. The question on everybody's mind is: when will the market correct and head lower? The second question on everybody's mind is: what can I do to protect my portfolio? There was a great article in Barron's this week that talked about these very questions. Investors are becoming more wary of the cla

What's a good way to retire? What's the best way to retire? Just work until your full retirement age, call social security and start getting checks in the mail? Sounds ok...but is there a better way? We're thinking a checklist might help. But not an exhausting list that covers what time to go in for your health checkups. What about an overview list that will get you thinking about the most important things? A list that will set you up with a plan well before it's time to sit

We just ended the worst week in the stock market in a decade. That's the worst 1-week stretch in 510 weeks! While there is a strong case to be made for a market recovery, this post is not about stocks - it's about Treasury Bills, now yielding the most they have since 2008 at just over 2.5%. Rates have gone higher with the Federal Reserve raising short-term interest rates. The Fed has raised rates 9 times in the past 3 years, when rates were at 0 to help the economic recovery

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. Yet, there is something that both employers and employees miss out on: a small business retirement plan. If you own a small business but you haven't yet started a retirement plan, this is your chance. No, this isn't a big, expensive 401k plan for your small business that requires hours and headaches about record-keeping and compliance. This is a simple retirement plan that is super easy to manage and has great tax advantages.

When the market crashes virtually everyday during a correction, it's hard not to watch your money evaporating as investments lose value. During market downturns, the perma-bears come out of the woodwork and do everything they can to scare you out of the market. They make it a "I told you so" moment by pointing to the deficit, political turmoil, geopolitical tension, interest rates, etc. etc. It's important to remember there's never a time when these things aren't an issue in

Listening to Jay Powell's press conference today was like listening to a college economics professor drone on in a monotone, robotic voice about monetary policy from a textbook. He said all the right things. He hit all the right data points. He even said the Fed will be flexible based on incoming data. Only problem is, that's not how economics play out in real life. Macroeconomics play out in real life on the microeconomics level. Supply and demand, equilibrium, price discove

How do you feel about writing a check for your IRA or 401k contribution? Not great, right? This is why you'll usually never do it. We have a terrible aversion to delaying gratification and saving money is the ultimate case of either rewarding yourself now or later. Now feels so much better. I'm right there with you. I'll clutch that money so tightly until my fingers turn white. Saving money instead of spending it is one of the most difficult things we can do as humans. You kn

Free financial advice is everywhere. It's literally everywhere, from websites, TV, YouTube videos and even your local broker who's been trying to sell you that insurance policy for years. You really could become a financial guru if you wanted to. But let's face reality here. EVERYONE struggles to plan for retirement. Whether it's not having the right job, kids needing financial help, or many many other reasons for putting it off - it's just easier not to think about it. When

Imagine this. A 401k that has sky high contribution limits AND open architecture where you're not limited to a menu of high cost mutual funds and you have thousands of investment choices. Enter the Solo 401k. In a Solo 401k, the business owner gets to contribute as the employee AND the employer. It's a pretty awesome deal. The benefit is two-fold: first, it maximizes retirement contributions and second, there are BIG tax advantages and business deductions. Here's how it works

On Tuesday, December 4, 2018, the Dow Jones crashed 799 points lower on the day. The question we started asking was what 401k investors (and all retirement plan investors for that matter) should do when the market crashes. We agreed on one common theme: Doing nothing when the market melts down is the wrong answer (or at least it's not the right answer). At the same time, people who have a 401k are for the most part, long-term, buy-and-hold investors. But this style of invest

We share a common thread in the world of financial matters. Most of us, on average are really bad at saving for retirement. We want to. We know we should. And we will...someday. What if there was a way to help us be better at this saving thing, actually save more every year and not have to think about it? The reality is this. Some people don't have access to a 401k plan. Some don't know where to start. And yet even more don't think it's possible to save money each month becau

There are people out there (maybe you) who obsessively watch their investment accounts everyday. Feeling great when the balance goes up and feeling lousy when the value goes down. Even though it might seem like the prudent thing to do to keep track of your investments (which it is), watching the value everyday is the road that leads directly to losing your mind. Here are 4 tips to deal with your bad investing habits (we all have them so don't think this doesn't apply to you.)

Fiduciary responsibility is all the rage these days in retirement plan conversations around the country. The average plan sponsor, however, doesn't really get it. Of course they're going to follow the rules and offer the best plan they can find for their employees. That's at the heart of being a fiduciary and doing what's right for the employee (plan participant). But let's dig a bit deeper on what it actually means to be a fiduciary. ERISA, The Employee Retirement Income Sec

The State Street SPDR S&P 500 Trust or SPY is one of the most popular ways to buy a basket of stocks representing the S&P 500 (popular by how big the fund is compared to others). Buying an index fund is all we hear about these days, and rightly so. For many investors, buying a single fund that holds a basket of 500 of the largest and most profitable companies in the U.S. is not a bad idea. In fact, over the last 10 years, this has been a pretty great investment strategy retur

A 401k has been traditionally limited to a menu of investment choices that have been pre-selected by the employer or plan sponsor. This menu is meant to give employees a choice of investment options that is intentionally limited - for reasons that are based in behavioral economics. The idea is this: first, limiting investment options actually increases the chances employees will pick one of them and utilize their 401k plan (a good thing). Second, the investments have been pre

Your 401k plan is riskier than you think. It's purpose is to be the nest egg that gets you to retirement but it's full of risks you might not be aware of. What a 401k won't do is perform well on it's own. It will just keep plugging along until someone does something to get it working. This can last years and decades and the fact is you just don't have that kind of time You can get help by attending our next 401k seminar, but if you'd like to understand just what types of risk