Annual Market Review 2025 Overview The year 2025 was extraordinary for the economy and the markets. Sweeping tariffs, a cooling labor market, rising consumer prices, a prolonged U.S. federal government shutdown, turmoil in the Middle East, and the ongoing Russia/Ukraine war were some of the many factors that should have signaled economic contraction and a […]

Why the Dot-Com Comparison Falls Short in 2025 AI Leadership and Market Anxiety 2025 has been defined by an increasingly concentrated market led by a handful of mega-cap names. The top ten holdings in the S&P 500 now comprise roughly 39 percent of the entire index, a level of concentration that raises questions about the index’s […]

Market Summary October 2025 Tech Leads While Materials Lag All Indices Positive as the Fed Cuts Rates Again Nvidia Overtakes Entire Nations Nvidia (NVDA) has officially entered uncharted territory. The company’s market capitalization has surged past $5 trillion, making it larger than the entire GDP of every country globally except the United States and China. At this scale, […]

Mandatory Roth Catch-Up Contributions Begin in 2026 For nearly a quarter century, employers have been able to offer their retirement savings plan participants age 50 and older a valuable opportunity — the chance to make additional catch-up contributions to their plan.1 Thanks to the SECURE 2.0 Act passed in 2022, that opportunity became even more valuable: […]

Sweet Strategies: What Halloween Candy Can Teach Us About Investing Halloween is the one time of year it’s perfectly acceptable to trade chocolate for gummy candy or diversify your stash with a little of both. Believe it or not, your candy bag can teach us a great deal about building a well-balanced investment portfolio. Let’s […]

Top Headlines Tech & Emerging Markets Lead Housing Stimulated Labor Softens as Fed Cuts Rates Equity Performance Markets moved higher across the board, as the S&P 500 posted its best September month in 15 years, gaining 3.7%. In what has historically been the worst month for stocks, every major index posted gains, led by emerging markets, which increased […]

What Happens to Your Time Horizon at Retirement? In investing, “time horizon” refers to the amount of time you have to pursue a financial goal. Along with that goal and your tolerance for risk, your time horizon is one of three key factors that typically help determine the mix of investments in your portfolio. In […]

Expectations for Rate Cuts Accelerate After months of mixed signals and market impatience, August marked a turning point in the case for rate cuts. At Jackson Hole, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the shift, stating, “With policy in restrictive territory, the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance.” With rates […]

5 Money Mistakes That Can Make the Road to Retirement Even Longer For many Americans, their 401(k) balance is a sobering reminder that good intentions don’t always lead to good outcomes. Perhaps you planned to increase your retirement savings each year, but instead succumbed to immediate gratification and upgraded to a nicer car each time […]

Holding Equities for the Long Term: Time vs. Timing Legendary investor Warren Buffett is famous for his long-term perspective. He has said that he likes to make investments he would be comfortable holding even if the market shut down for 10 years. Investing with an eye toward the long term is particularly important with stocks. […]