Equity Performance Markets were mixed in June.The small caps Russell 2000 led the way with a 3.7% gain, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a 2.7% increase. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was the largest laggard, slipping 2.8% in June. Sector performance was split fairly evenly, with six of the eleven sectors ending the month higher. Industrials led with a 7.3% gain, followed […]

Organizing Your Financial Records An integral part of managing your personal finances involves properly maintaining your financial records. This is especially important in the event of a crisis or emergency so that you can quickly locate something if needed. That’s why you should make a point of dusting off the cobwebs that have built up […]

Beginning in 2018 under the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 and continuing under new provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) of 2025, an individual taxpayer (and certain trusts and estates) may claim an income tax deduction equal to 20% of the taxpayer’s allocable share of qualified domestic business income (QBI) […]

A New Era at the Fed On May 15th, 2026, Jerome Powell’s tenure as Fed Chair ended after eight years, as Kevin Warsh was sworn in as the 17th Chair in the Federal Reserve’s 113-year history. Warsh takes over with the Federal Funds Rate at 3.75%, and markets are forecasting a more than 50% chance that this remains unchanged […]

Ed Lyon, a pioneering urologist at the University of Chicago, wanted his retirement account to go to his 36 grandchildren. Seven years after his death, his heirs are still fighting to make that happen.  The family’s appeals to both the university and the account’s record-keeper, TIAA, were rebuffed. They were told they hadn’t provided the […]

You can improve your chances to achieve financial security by controlling credit card debt, having an emergency fund, and setting aside a portion of each paycheck to invest in long-term goals, including retirement. Here are tips to build wealth through saving and investing.Be smart about credit card debt.Credit cards charge high interest rates if you […]

Watch Out for Crypto Scams As interest in cryptocurrency takes off, scammers have come out in droves to cash in. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), there has been a massive increase in scam losses involving Bitcoin ATMs, which are often located in gas stations and convenience stores and used to exchange cash for […]

Oil Surges on Iranian Conflict March unveiled the full effects of the United States’ strikes on Iran in late February, resulting in the worst month for the S&P 500 since September 2022. While global indices, asset classes, and equity styles all felt the shockwave, none reacted quite as heavily as oil. The most immediate effects […]

Setting and Targeting Investment Goals Setting investment goals means defining your dreams for the future. When you’re setting goals, it’s best to be as specific as possible. For instance, you know you want to retire, but when? You know you want to send your child to college, but to an Ivy League school or to […]

How Markets Absorb Geopolitical Uncertainty Over Time Periods of geopolitical uncertainty bring financial markets into the spotlight as investors scramble to determine the impacts on their portfolios. The role of financial advisors is amplified as headlines pile up and fear begins to influence how clients interpret short-term market moves. Looking at the effects of major […]