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 […]

Social Media and Investing – Understanding Your Accounts The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy previously issued this Investor Bulletin to provide investors with tips they should consider when establishing an account on a social media website. Investors’ use of Facebook, X, and other social media websites as an investing tool has increased substantially […]

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 […]

Want to Foil an AI Deepfake? Tell It to Draw a Smiley Face Faced with an onslaught of increasingly sophisticated deepfake scams, some companies are turning to low-tech tactics to foil artificial intelligence-powered audio and video impostors. The tactics, including verbal passphrases, off-topic questions and hand-drawn signs, offer a rare instance of targeted companies getting […]

Cybercriminals Use AI to Create Fake Websites That Look Just Like the Real Thing When Joann Fabrics filed for bankruptcy for the second time within a year this January, scammers seized the opportunity. Within days, a flurry of impostor websites appeared with URLs like “joannlosangeles.com,” “jo-annclosingonsale.shop” and “joanndiscount.shop”— all designed to look nearly identical to […]

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 […]

Will the Fed Ease in 2025? As the Federal Reserve maintains its target rate at 4.25-4.50%, financial markets find themselves at a critical juncture. With Core PCE inflation still elevated at 2.8% and unemployment at 4.2%, the central bank faces one of its most challenging policy decisions in recent history. This analysis examines the heated debate surrounding potential rate cuts 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 […]

New Senior Deduction Explained Beginning in 2025, seniors can take advantage of a new $6,000 tax deduction that may help them cover the rising costs of housing, health care, and daily living by potentially allowing more of their income to remain untaxed. The deduction, part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enacted in […]