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How Financial Asset Management May Help Investors Stay the Course
Most people who decide to purchase stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or other investment vehicles do so understanding that there are risks associated with investing, but believing that the potential growth they may realize over time...
Read MoreFinancial Aid 101
Many parents pay for college with a combination of current income, savings, and financial aid. By learning the basics of financial aid, you'll be able to understand how the aid process works and compare the aid awards your child...
Read MoreBegin Investing While Young
There’s a simple word that has profound implications for savings and investing: compounding. Like a snowball that grows as it rolls down a hill, compounding provides the potential for your money to grow, reinvesting your...
Read MoreKey Tax Deadlines for 2021
While the 2020 tax year saw some significant changes to filing deadlines due to the effects of the global pandemic, the 2021 tax season seems to be set to be on track with normal filing deadlines. With the pandemic still in sight, it...
Read MoreTips for Organizing Your Financial Documents
In an increasingly paper-free society, organizing your financial documents can still be a challenge. No matter how simple or complex your financial picture might be, it takes some thought-out organization to keep your tax documents,...
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Investing for the Future
For years, you’ve diligently invested in your retirement portfolio, accumulating wealth that you hope will sustain you throughout your Golden Years. To help see that your assets are sufficient to help you support your lifestyle...
Read MoreUnique Financial Planning Considerations for Women
Retirement savings are supposed to last through your lifetime. That’s the plan, of course. But with the average life expectancy of women roughly five more years than it is for men — 81.1 years vs. 76.1 years1 — the...
Read MoreEnd of Year (EOY) Deadlines Checklist
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,...
Read MoreWhat Should Women Entrepreneurs Do to Thrive in the COVID Era?
With COVID rocking the employment landscape for job-seekers, some women have taken this opportunity to reinvent themselves and take charge of their own financial futures by launching a business. Entrepreneurship is one of the most...
Read MoreEnd of Year Planning: Set Goals and Reduce Taxes
By the last third of the calendar year, you're likely to have a pretty good idea of what your annual income will be and whether any major expenses or big life changes await you. This can allow you to engage in more robust tax planning,...
Read MoreRecognizing and Avoiding Online Scams
According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the number of U.S. data breaches hit a new high in 2017. Nearly 20% of breaches included credit and debit card information, a nearly 6% increase from the prior year. The actual number of...
Read MoreStevie Award Press Release
LOREEN GILBERT RECOGNIZED WITH SILVER STEVIE® AWARD IN 2020 STEVIE AWARDS FOR WOMEN IN BUSINESS Women Around the World to Be Recognized During Virtual Event Irvine, CA – October 5, 2020 – Loreen Gilbert, Founder and CEO...
Read MoreWomen, Money, and Today's Retirement
Despite all of the other advances made in our society in recent generations, women continue to face unique challenges when it comes to preparing for their financial futures. Recognizing the Shortfalls For starters, women on average...
Read MoreInvesting in an Election Year
The world's events always affect the markets, and making smart investment choices requires you to look at what's happening around the world. But what about during an election year? How should you invest while the country is deciding...
Read MoreWhat Gen Xers, Millennials, and Baby Boomers Need to Know About Financial Planning?
Financial planning is an important part of securing your current lifestyle as well as preparing yourself for what you wish to do in your eventual retirement. And while this importance may look different during each stage of your life,...
Read MoreThree Steps to Build Your Savings
The fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic has made the need for a healthy savings account clearer than ever. Even before the pandemic, the U.S. Federal Reserve estimated that nearly 40 percent of Americans didn't have enough set aside to...
Read MoreAppropriate Checklists for Year-End Tax Planning
What are appropriate checklists for year-end tax planning? Tax planners often develop checklists to guide taxpayers toward year-end strategies that might help reduce taxes. Typically, suggestions are grouped into several different...
Read MoreA Checklist for Your Retirement Planning
The time to begin planning for your financial future is now. So, when it comes to preparing for retirement, the earlier you start, the better. Here are some steps to help you achieve your overall objectives: Review your current...
Read MorePreparing For Your Next 401(k) Open Enrollment
Open enrollment season is one of the shortest—in most cases, employees have only a few weeks to research their options and make a decision on things like their 401(k) contributions, health and dental insurance, disability...
Read MoreLife Insurance and Charitable Giving
Life insurance can be an excellent tool for charitable giving. Not only does life insurance allow you to make a substantial gift to charity at relatively little cost to you, but you may also benefit from tax rules that apply to gifts...
Read MoreHow aggressive should I be when I invest for retirement?
It depends. The right answer in your case will depend on a number of key factors. These include, among others, your income and assets, your attitude toward risk, whether you have access to an employer-sponsored plan at work, the age at...
Read MoreTeaching Money Mindfulness to Your Children
At some point in a child's development, all parents wonder: how can I best teach my child the value of money? Parents who grew up in more modest circumstances than their own children can struggle to balance the desire to provide their...
Read MoreHow much annual income can your retirement portfolio provide?
Your retirement lifestyle will depend not only on your assets and investment choices, but also on how quickly you draw down your retirement portfolio. The annual percentage that you take out of your portfolio, whether from returns or...
Read MoreHandling Market Volatility
Conventional wisdom says that what goes up must come down. But even if you view market volatility as a normal occurrence, it can be tough to handle when your money is at stake. Though there's no foolproof way to handle the ups and...
Read MoreUsing SRI and ESG to Balance Investment and Ideals
When you invest funds, you are preparing for your retirement and your future. But at the same time, you may also want to consider the impact your money has on the world. Ethical investment strategies seek to balance these two concepts....
Read MoreHow Our Economy Can Bounce Back
This week's market update explores recent retail sales, US-China trade, small businesses, and what it will take for our economy to bounce back.
Read MoreCoping With Market Volatility in Uncertain Times
As the United States desperately tries to flatten the contagion curve for the coronavirus, many state governors have mandated the closure of an unprecedented number of businesses and issued stay-at-home orders to their citizens. The...
Read MoreHow a Financial Professional Can Guide You Through Choppy Seas
In these trying times, even those with veins of steel can find themselves nervous about the market's direction and what it could mean for one's financial future. And the unprecedented nature of the novel coronavirus—and its...
Read MorePulse Check: Should You Ignore the Economic Data and Pullback Odds Are Increasing
More bad economic data A record 20.5 million people lost their jobs in April, well above the previous record of 2 million during World War II. This is further confirmation of how quickly our economy stopped, and the LPL strategists...
Read MoreResilience, Perseverance, and Innovation
Stocks hit a rough patch the last week of April, as the historic rally could be tiring. The news was heavy and the economic data continued to be very weak, but central banks are doing all they can to help weather the storm. Central...
Read MoreHave Stay-At-Home Growth Stocks Peaked?
Over the past couple of weeks, we have thankfully witnessed new cases of COVID-19 in the US trending lower. Increasingly, we are also seeing governors implementing plans to re-open their state economies in phases. If the US economy...
Read MorePutting Things in Perspective
The economic data keeps getting worse, yet stocks have been in the midst of one of the greatest multi-week rallies ever. As the LPL Chart of the Day shows, the S&P 500 Index gained 27.2% in the 15 days after the March 23 lows, the...
Read MoreJobless Claims See a Second Giant Surge
More than 6 million people filed new claims for unemployment in the week ending March 28. It’s hard to capture what a number like that means. Last week’s 3.3 million new claims was already almost five times the previous...
Read MoreWhat Is in the $2 Trillion Relief Package?
The United States has more cases of the coronavirus than any other country, and in an attempt to stop the spread of this disease, states have closed schools and businesses throughout the country. These unprecedented shutdowns have...
Read MoreCoronavirus Concerns? Consider Past Health Crises
During the last week of February 2020, the S&P 500 lost 11.49% — the worst week for stocks since the 2008financial crisis — only to jump by 4.6% on the first Monday in March1.By all accounts, the drop was largelydriven by...
Read MoreWhat’s Next for U.S. Treasury Yields
It’s no surprise that uncertainty around the impact of coronavirus (or Covid-19) has led to increased buying pressure in longer-maturity U.S. Treasuries, pushing yields lower, but the strength of the move has been unusual. While...
Read MoreBeyond Retirement: What About Your Other Goals?
Let's say that at the age of 25, you earned $35,000. If your salary increased at the average historical rate, you'd have earned nearly $2 million in total by the time you were 65.1,2 That might sound like a lot -- until you begin...
Read MoreFinancial Planning for Small Business Owners
When you're a small business owner, you need to pay extra careful attention to both your business and personal finances. Your financial planning strategies should simultaneously encourage the success of your business while also working...
Read MoreFinancial Considerations for Single Women
If you’re divorced or separated, money management will become an important part of your life. While it may be true that money can’t buy or ensure happiness, your ability to manage your finances can play a large role in your...
Read MoreDoes A Lower January Have Bears Smiling?
Stocks got off to a nice start in 2020, until the late January selloff due to the coronavirus outbreak fears. In the end, the S&P 500 Index fell only 0.2% for the month, but it did mark the end to a 4-month win streak. Should bulls...
Read More10 Ways the Secure Act Will Impact Your Retirement Savings
With the decline of traditional pensions, most of us are now responsible for squirrelling away money for our own retirement. In today's do-it-yourself retirement savings world, we rely largely on 401(k) plans and IRAs. However, there...
Read MoreWhat You Need to Know About the Secure Act
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 – the SECURE Act – passed the House of Representatives earlier this year and was approved by the Senate and signed by President Trump on the days leading...
Read MoreCharitable Giving: Good for Your Heart and Your 1040!
It may be better to give than to receive, but it may be even better to give and see your generosity rewarded. Charitable giving can play a valuable role in your financial and tax strategies. A well-planned gift to charity could provide...
Read MoreHow to Control Holiday Spending
If advertisements and commercials are beginning to feature scenes of happy families, clad in brightly colored sweaters, gathered by a fire, surrounded by an assortment of presents, then the countdown to the holidays has begun....
Read MoreHow Charitable Giving Can Benefit Donors
Kelly and Bob regularly set aside a small portion of their budget for charitable donations. In addition to feeling good about supporting a number of worthy causes, they’ve been able to deduct the value of their charitable gifts...
Read MoreA Business Plan Can Be Your Guide to Growth
Whether you're a current business owner or a budding entrepreneur burning with the next great idea, one of the most important steps you can take on your road to success is creating a business plan. Why? A well-thought-out and...
Read More10 Tips for Small Biz Owners
Small businesses owners should conduct an annual assessment of their personal finances. Owners of small businesses have much the same concerns as everyone else, except they are personally responsible for the fortunes of their...
Read MoreEstate Planning Checklist
Because you've worked hard to create a secure and comfortable lifestyle for your family and loved ones, you'll want to ensure that you have a sound financial plan that includes trust and estate planning. With some forethought, you may...
Read More7 Steps to Your Financial Future
Sometimes, even highly-compensated individuals may find it difficult to achieve long-term success when it comes to managing their personal finances. Although they may attain a comfortable level of income, their focus may be on career...
Read MoreSmart Financial Moves in Your 40s and 50s
These crucial years call for action. Today, retirement may seem nearer to you than it once did. The following moves might be worth making—and soon. Catch-up contributions to your retirement accounts. Starting in the year you turn...
Read MorePost-Divorce Long Term Care Planning for Business Owners
Going through a divorce can be a difficult experience both emotionally and financially. If you are divorced, you are not alone: approximately 40 to 50 percent of marriages in the United States end in divorce.[1] While transitioning...
Read MoreI'm Changing Jobs. What Should I Do With the Money in My Plan?
Changing jobs is an important decision -- one that many of us are making more often. Once you've decided to switch jobs, your next move is to determine what to do with the money in your former employer's retirement plan. Four Common...
Read MoreDo Major Hurricanes Impact Stocks?
First and foremost, our thoughts are with all of those that were impacted by Hurricane Dorian over the Labor Day holiday and all those that are still in its path. Many have asked us what stocks tend to do after a major hurricane hits...
Read MoreThe Charitable IRA Transfer
If you are age 70½ or older and charitably minded, you may wish to consider tapping your individual retirement account (IRA). The qualified charitable distribution (QCD), also known as an IRA charitable rollover, allows you to...
Read MoreHow Well Do You Know Your 401(k)?
The old saying "knowledge is power" applies to many situations in life, including retirement planning. The more you know about the benefits your plan offers, the more likely you'll be to make the most of them and come out ahead...
Read MoreFed Delays Value’s Turnaround
Growth stocks have had an unprecedented run of outperformance compared with value stocks for over a decade now. Strong performance has left valuations at extremes, which we used to support our slight preference for value stocks in late...
Read MoreTakeaways on the Yield Curve Inversion
A closely watched point on the Treasury yield curve has fallen negative for the first time in this economic cycle. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, Yield Curve Inversion Raises Economic Questions, the spread between the 2-year and...
Read MoreRetiring Business Owners - Plan for Succession
If you’re a small business owner, you’ve invested a great deal of time and effort into building your company. With day-to-day demands, it may be difficult to imagine your eventual transition into retirement. Yet, if you...
Read MoreAnother Summer Storm
U.S. stocks have hit another trade-induced summer storm. The S&P 500 Index fell 3% on Monday, its worst day since December 2018. The index is now about 6% from record highs in U.S. stocks’ worst bout of volatility since May. As...
Read MoreWomen, Wealth, and Legacy Planning
Women play a central role in establishing and preserving family wealth -- whether nurturing the values of children, fulfilling charitable goals, or making investment decisions that affect the financial security of themselves or their...
Read MoreHere Comes August, Time to Buckle Up?
It has been a great year for stocks. As of July 30, 2019, the S&P 500 Index is up more than 20% so far in 2019. To put that in perspective, since WWII only seven years have been up more than 20% by the end of July, with 1997 being the...
Read MoreThe Traits of a Good Investor and How Women Can Make the Most of Them
Many women manage their own money. This includes women who have always been doing so and women who are relatively new to the world of investing, for whatever reason. Regardless of your level of investing experience, there are certain...
Read MoreThe Dow’s Hot July
Blue chip stocks have been on a tear this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) has risen 2.8% in July, the best performer of the four benchmark stock indexes we track. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, The Dow’s Hot...
Read MoreLet’s Talk About Pullbacks And Corrections
Let’s get one thing straight: Market pullbacks, corrections, and bear markets happen. Last year was a perfect example of this: The S&P 500 Index endured five separate 5% pullbacks throughout the year, and a nearly 20% bear market...
Read MoreRetirement Planning—Options for Women Business Owners
You’re an entrepreneur and you’re not looking back. You’ve opened your own business, whether alone or with other partners, and you’ve found some success. You’ve hired employees, or not, depending on your...
Read MoreHappy Birthday, And Another Record Goes Down
“If you’re looking for something to discuss at your barbecue while watching fireworks, be sure to mention this is now the oldest economic cycle in history at 121 months old,” explained LPL Senior Market Strategist...
Read MoreMidyear Outlook 2019
We are pleased to announce the release of the LPL Research Midyear Outlook 2019: FUNDAMENTAL: How to Focus on What Really Matters in the Markets, with investment insights and market guidance through the end of 2019. LPL Research...
Read MoreA Business “Will” can Go a Long Way
A business will is far more than a legal document designed to transfer assets upon the death of an owner or partner. It is a comprehensive estate planning tool that can include everything from management plans, and other documents...
Read MoreCan Stocks Really Gain 20% This Year?
U.S. stocks could have a big year if LPL Research’s forecasts prove correct. All year, we’ve maintained our fair value target on the S&P 500 Index of 3,000, implying that we expect this bull market and economic expansion to...
Read MoreWomen: Make a Financial Plan -- the Secret of Your Success
Financial planning is more than just a good idea. Research has consistently shown that people who have financial plans -- and who work with financial advisors -- save and invest far more and are nearly twice as likely to feel on track...
Read MoreStocks’ Losing Streak In Perspective
The S&P 500 Index has closed lower four consecutive weeks, its longest weekly losing streak since October 2014. The S&P 500 has closed down five weeks in a row only once since the bull market started in March 2009—a six-week...
Read MoreBuild a Solid Financial Foundation
When the markets and the economy are behaving badly, as they tend to do from time to time, it's easy to feel helpless. But creating a solid financial foundation can help you gain control of your investments and possibly avoid mistakes...
Read MoreTime For A June Swoon?
Well, it finally happened. The S&P 500 Index pulled back more than 5% from its all-time high, marking the first 5% pullback of 2019. As we have discussed many times over the past two months, the odds were high that some type of...
Read More8 Steps for Pre-Retirees to Pursue Retirement Income
Sometimes people get caught up in the numbers so much that they get why they're saving for retirement. At the beginning of your career, you may not have known what you wanted to do. Now that you've officially joined the ranks of...
Read MoreAnother Reason For Bulls To Smile
Daily Insights FOMC minutes out this afternoon. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes will be released at 2pm EST today. The market is expected to have an outsized focus on discussions surrounding inflation, particularly in...
Read MoreWomen and Retirement Planning
Women often face special challenges when planning for retirement. Because their careers may be interrupted more often to care for children or elderly parents, women may spend less time in the workforce and earn less money than men in...
Read MoreMillennials are US$1 Trillion in Debt
New findings from the New York Federal Reserve reveal that millennials have now racked up over US$1 trillion of debt.This troubling amount of debt, an increase of over 22 percent in just five years, is more than any other generation in...
Read MorePullbacks Happen
As we noted yesterday, the recent bout of volatility has caught many investors off guard. However, we’ve been saying since late March that some type of normal correction could happen, and we’ve taken a more cautious stance...
Read MoreMyths And Facts About Social Security
Fact: It's likely that Social Security will provide a smaller portion of retirement income than you expect. There's no doubt about it — Social Security is an important source of retirement income for most Americans. According to...
Read MoreLife Insurance for Business Owners
If you own your own business, chances are you've at least thought about the conditions under which you will leave the businessand who is going to take over after you're gone. Business continuation is difficult enough under normal...
Read MoreTime to Sell in May? Part Deux
As we noted earlier this week, these next six months historically have been the worst for stocks. That is why there’s a well-known investment axiom to “Sell in May and Go Away.” However, that popular principle...
Read MoreThe Waiting Game for Record Highs
The wait is over. After more than seven months, the S&P 500 Index notched a fresh all-time closing high of 2,933.68 on April 23. To get here, investors have weathered back-and-forth in trade negotiations, a historic government...
Read MoreSocially Responsible Investing
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...
Read MoreThe Traits of a Good Investor and How Women Can Make the Most of Them
Women are increasingly taking responsibility for managing their own money. That includes those who in the past may have left investing to a spouse because they were busy raising a family or had no interest in the subject, but who have...
Read MoreWhat’s Priced In?
After such a strong rally this year, you may be wondering what could drive stocks higher from here. With the S&P 500 Index near its all-time high, a lot of good news could be priced in to stocks. At the same time, disappointments...
Read MoreTradition At The Masters Tournament
Do you have a yearly tradition of reviewing your financial plan? It is Masters time again. The 2019 Masters Tournament begins on April 11th, continuing an April tradition that started in 1934. Why is the Masters so special? Well, it...
Read MoreTeach Your Children Well: Basic Financial Education
Even before your children can count, they already know something about money: it's what you have to give the ice cream man to get a cone, or put in the slot to ride the rocket ship at the grocery store. So, as soon as your children...
Read MoreDear Valued Investor
April brings showers, baseball, and historically, the best month of the year for the S&P 500 Index (for the last 20 years). On top of that, the S&P 500 had its best first quarter since 1998, and in March we celebrated the 10-year...
Read MoreExit Strategies for Business Owners
After years spent launching and growing your business, the day will finally arrive when you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. But, just as starting your business involved hard work and planning, the process of exiting...
Read MoreAn Intriguing Exit Strategy for Today's Business Owner
One of the more difficult challenges facing a business owner is the formulation of a viable and economically beneficial exit strategy at retirement. Typically, the main goals of such an exit strategy are: 1) to identify a qualified...
Read MoreA Quarterly Update on Financial and Family Issues for Women
Stretching an IRA into Future Generations Imagine that you could wave a magic wand and turn your new grandchild into a millionaire for a head start in life. Believe it or not, even a relatively modest amount tucked away using a...
Read MoreApril's Bullish History
Seasonality could be on the bull’s side, especially after U.S. stocks’ best first quarter in 20 years. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, April has consistently been one of the strongest months for U.S. stocks. Over the...
Read MoreA Penny Saved Is Two Pennies Earned
This modern twist on the Ben Franklin maxim reflects the multiplicity of taxes to which earnings are subject in today’s world.¹ Finding ways to manage expenses is one of the cornerstones of a sound financial strategy. Here...
Read MoreDon't Bank Your Retirement on Your Business
Investing in your own business makes sense; many businesses achieve significant growth each year. However, when you consider that many small businesses fold every year, it becomes clear that banking your retirement solely on the...
Read MoreGood News Indicators
The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI) is one of our favorite economic indicators. It is designed to predict future movements in the economy based on a composite of 10 economic indicators (like manufacturers’...
Read MoreRisk Management and Your Retirement Savings Plan
By investing for retirement through your employer-sponsored plan, you are helping to manage a critically important financial risk: the chance that you will outlive your money. But choosing to participate is just one step in your...
Read MoreTime For New Highs?
After dropping nearly 20% late last year, the S&P 500 Index has officially bounced up more than 20% from the December 24 lows. As we noted at the time, most bear markets that take place in a non-recessionary environment tend to bottom...
Read MoreWomen: What You Should Know When Starting a Business
According to the National Association of Women Business Owners, there are 11.6 million women-owned businesses, employing nearly 9 million people and generating $1.7 trillion in sales in 2017.1 Many of these businesses started small,...
Read MoreWhat Type of Pullback Could We See?
The S&P 500 Index corrected nearly 20% from the September peak until December 24 before staging a furious rally of 19%. What could happen next? A well-deserved pullback would be perfectly normal, and in fact, is probably needed before...
Read MoreThe Nasdaq’s 10 Weeks of Green
U.S. stocks’ recent momentum has been historically impressive by many measures, and the Nasdaq Composite Index notched another milestone last week. The Nasdaq has risen for the past 10 weeks, its longest winning streak in 19...
Read MoreGiving Your Card A Charge
According to The Federal Reserve more than 174 million Americans have credit cards. The average credit card holder has at least three cards and carries more than $15,000 in credit card debt. At the end of 2017, U.S. consumer debt...
Read MoreWhy A Green January and February Have Bulls Smiling
After gaining 7.8% in January, the S&P 500 Index has added another 3.3% so far in February for a grand total year-to-date return of 11.4%. With two days to go, currently this is the best first two months of the year since 1987. As we...
Read MoreRetiring Business Owners - Plan for Succession
If you’re a small business owner, you’ve invested a great deal of time and effort into building your company. With day-to-day demands, it may be difficult to imagine your eventual transition into retirement. Yet, if you...
Read MoreTrimming Our 2019 GDP Forecast
Economic data have consistently missed expectations recently as investors and Wall Street have struggled to quantify the impact of global trade and political risks. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, the Bloomberg U.S. Economic...
Read MoreLong-Term Care Insurance: How Does It Work?
Whether you've had a long-term care insurance (LTCI) policy for years or you're thinking of buying one, it's critical to understand exactly what set of conditions will trigger coverage. This information is the bread and butter of any...
Read MoreThe Year of the Pig Could Have Bulls Smiling
“Bulls make money, bears make money, and pigs get slaughtered.” Old Wall Street saying. The Chinese New Year (often called the Lunar New Year) kicked off Tuesday, February 5, and with it came the Year of the Pig. Although...
Read MoreNAWBO Institute Commends Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative
Washington, D.C. —Today, the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Institute for Entrepreneurial Development is commending the launch of the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP) by...
Read MoreThe Diversified Investor’s Big January
Diversified investors just capped one of their best months of the current economic cycle. In January, the S&P 500 Index posted its biggest monthly gain since October 2015. At the same time, the Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate Bond Index...
Read MoreWhy Tom Terrific Might Not Be So Terrific For Stocks
The Super Bowl indicator suggests that stocks rise for the full year when the Super Bowl winner comes from the original National Football League (now the NFC), but when an original American Football League (now the AFC) team wins,...
Read MoreInvesting In Your Vacation
Why do so many of us not use our vacation days? Salespeople talk about “leaving money on the table.” Well, employees leave vacation on the table. And the cost to us is significant.In fact, Americans leave 429 million...
Read MoreBusiness Succession Planning
When developing a succession plan for your business, you must make many decisions. Should you sell your business or give it away? Should you structure your plan to go into effect during your lifetime or at your death? Should you...
Read MoreStocks Bounced, Now What?
The big bounce off the December 24 lows continued last week, as the S&P 500 Index added 2.9% for the week. In fact, it has gained 2.9%, 1.9%, 2.5%, and 2.9% over the past four weeks for a total gain of 10.5%. Of course, the S&P 500...
Read MoreSetting a Retirement Savings Goal
Many Americans realize the importance of saving for retirement, but knowing exactly how much they need to save is another issue altogether. With all the information available about retirement, it is sometimes difficult to decipher what...
Read MoreBrexit Hits Another Bump
Yesterday’s U.K. Parliament vote was another bump in the road for Brexit. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, the British pound and the euro have steadily declined over the past few months, weighed down in large part by...
Read MoreTax Planning Benefits of Your Retirement Savings Plan
Taxes can take a big bite out of your total investment returns, so it's encouraging to know that your employer-sponsored retirement savings plan may offer a variety of tax benefits. Depending on the type of plan your employer offers,...
Read MoreLower Valuations May Signal Solid Gains For Stocks
Stocks have rebounded strongly off the December lows, with the S&P 500 Index adding 2% in January to its 7% gain over the last week of 2018. We see potential for further gains ahead given the fundamentals supporting economic growth...
Read MoreMarket Fears and Economic Realities
Recent Federal Reserve (Fed) rhetoric has spooked financial markets, especially as uncertainty has clouded investors’ horizons. But we still believe the fundamental U.S. economic landscape is compelling, and despite market...
Read MoreBoost Your Retirement with IRAs and 401(k)s
Whether retirement is around the corner or decades away, there are more options than ever to help you plan for it. Let’s look at Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and 401(k) plans, which offer tax benefits that can help you...
Read MorePutting an Extremely Volatile Market in Perspective
On Monday, the S&P 500 Index came about as close as possible to the technical definition of a bear market without officially registering one (defined as a 20% or larger decline based on closing prices). Enduring these sharp declines...
Read More10 Tips for Your $ Future
However much you make or save now doesn’t promise you a bright financial future. Life is unpredictable. Follow these 10 tips to prevent you and your family from money troubles. See a lawyer and make a will. If you have a will,...
Read MoreMarket Update: Wed, Dec 26, 2018
S&P 500 Index Reaches Bear Market on an Intra-Day Basis. While the S&P 500 Index is technically not in a bear market by the most widely used definition (20% or more decline based on closing prices), it is important to recognize that...
Read MoreIs It Time For Santa?
So far it’s been rough for stocks in December, a month that has historically been bullish. How bad has it been? After 10 trading days, we’re off to the worst start to December since 1980! In fact, the S&P 500 Index is...
Read MoreOutlook 2019
We are pleased to announce the release of the LPL Research Outlook 2019: FUNDAMENTAL: How to Focus on What Really Matters in the Markets, filled with investment insights and market guidance for the year ahead. After nearly 10 years of...
Read MoreYear-End Tax Planning
As the end of the year approaches, it's time to consider strategies that could help you reduce your tax bill. But most tax tips, suggestions, and strategies are of little practical help without a good understanding of your current tax...
Read MoreStocks Tend to Ignore Shutdowns
Next week could bring the third government shutdown of 2018, especially after the fireworks out of Washington yesterday. In a widely watched live TV debate, President Trump sparred with Senate Minority Leader Schumer and House...
Read MoreIs Your Homeowners Policy Up-To-Date?
Unlike the Declaration of Independence, all homeowners insurance policies are not created equal. Review of your coverage and policy components will help you ensure you have the proper type of policy and proper amount of coverage to...
Read MoreThoughts on today’s sell-off
As of this writing, the S&P 500 Index is down another 2% on top of the over 3% drop on Tuesday (markets were closed Wednesday to celebrate the life of former President George H. W. Bush 41). Here are our thoughts on the latest...
Read MoreTime for Santa?
2018 has been a rocky year with a big dose of volatility, but could a late-year rally be in store for investors? History says it is quite possible. “Although the well-known Santa Claus rally is technically the last five days of...
Read MoreHow To Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft
Massive computer hacks and data breaches are now common occurrences — an unfortunate consequence of living in a digital world. Once identity thieves have your information, they can use it to gain access to your bank and credit...
Read MoreLEI-ding the Way to No Recession
The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI) is one of our favorite economic indicators. It is designed to predict future movements in the economy based on a composite of 10 economic indicators (like manufacturers’...
Read MoreHow To Work With A Financial Advisor
A flurry of new investment products, the emergence of global investing, the shift from company-funded pension plans to employee-driven retirement plans (like 401(k) plans), and uncertainty about Social Security have all contributed to...
Read MoreMidterm Elections and The Market
The potential outcomes of the midterm elections have been dominating the news cycle lately, and we know from history that the markets typically do not like uncertainty. With the Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives,...
Read MoreMidterm Election Perspective
The consensus was right. Although some votes are still rolling in, the Republicans have held onto their Senate majority (and they are tracking to add at least a couple seats to their majority), while the Democrats are poised to retake...
Read MoreA Penny Saved Is Two Pennies Earned
This modern twist on the Ben Franklin maxim reflects the multiplicity of taxes to which earnings are subject in today’s world.¹ Finding ways to manage expenses is one of the cornerstones of a sound financial strategy. Here...
Read More30th Anniversary of The Women’s Business Ownership Act H.R. 5050
October 23, 2018, Irvine, California – Loreen Gilbert, founder of WealthWise Financial Services, www.wealthwisefinancial.com and NAWBO Institute for Entrepreneurial Development Board Chair, was asked by the National Women’s...
Read MoreA Retirement Income Roadmap for Women
More women are working and taking charge of their own retirement planning than ever before. What does retirement mean to you? Do you dream of traveling? Pursuing a hobby? Volunteering your time, or starting a new career or business?...
Read MoreWhat Happens If You Miss the 10 Worst Days of the Year?
After more than three months without a single 1% change (up or down) for the S&P 500 Index, volatility came back—and in a big way—this past week. This brings up an interesting question: What would happen if you could avoid...
Read MoreThoughts on the Market Sell-Off
Stocks just had their worst one-day drop since February, as a combination of higher bond yields, U.S./China tensions, nervousness over the upcoming midterm elections, six straight months of gains, and worries about peak margins this...
Read MoreWomen and Money: Taking Control of Your Finances
As a woman, you have financial needs that are unique to your situation in life. Perhaps you would like to buy your first home. Maybe you need to start saving for your child's college education. Or you might be concerned about planning...
Read MoreHow to Be Money Savvy Through the Ages-By the Numbers
Advice for Investing in Your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and Beyond Irvine, CA – September 10, 2018 -- Loreen Gilbert, President and Founder of WealthWise Financial Services www.wealthwisefinancial.com is Chair of the National...
Read MoreDon't Let a Natural Disaster Turn into a Financial Disaster
With Hurricane Florence threatening the Eastern seaboard, most people affected are not thinking about preparing financially for a natural disaster. Saving lives and homes is the immediate concern. However, whether the natural disaster...
Read MoreWhy Women Need to Save More Than Men
Women often face greater obstacles when it comes to investing for retirement. On average, women work fewer years and earn less than men. This means that they have lower pension and Social Security benefits. But they also have longer...
Read MoreFinancial Planning: Critical For Women
Proper Financial Planning: Critical for Women A key goal of investing for retirement is making sure you save enough to make your money last throughout your lifetime. On this score, women may need to save more than men. The current life...
Read MoreRetirement Planning: The Basics
You may have a very idealistic vision of retirement — doing all of the things that you never seem to have time to do now. But how do you pursue that vision? Social Security may be around when you retire, but the benefit that you...
Read MoreFive Ways to Save for College
College won’t pay for itself. How will you pay for it? You may have more choices than you think. Is creating a college fund on your to-do list? Consider these options. 529 plans. Anyone can contribute to these savings vehicles....
Read MoreA Cheat Sheet For Sending Your Kid to College
College marks a great milestone in a child's life. It may be the first time he or she will live away from home. Dropping off your child at college may be an experience loaded with emotions, so here are a few tips for a smoother...
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