March 2025 Market Summary After the First Quarter, the Score is… The first quarter has concluded – and it saw equities decline. Dow Jones: -1.27% S&P 500: -4.59% Nasdaq: -10.42% This is only the seventh Q1 since 2000 where all three major U.S. indices posted negative Q1 returns. The worst Q1 in this 26-year timespan […]

What Happened to the Magnificent Seven Stocks? The Magnificent Seven stocks–Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, NVIDIA, and Tesla–have carried U.S. indices higher. Between 2023 and 2024, these seven names rose 156.1% as a collective, compared to 25.16% for the remaining 493 names and 57.88% for the S&P 500 index overall. However, this cohort has […]

Cash Balance Plan What is a cash balance plan? A cash balance plan is a qualified employer-sponsored retirement plan that has become increasingly common in recent years as an alternative to (or replacement of) the traditional defined benefit pension plan. Though it is technically a form of defined benefit plan, the cash balance plan is […]

Alternatives are the “It” Investment: What to know before you dive in. Alternative investments aren’t so “alternative” anymore. Once the rarefied domain of institutional investors and some sophisticated individuals, alts—from hedge funds to private credit to cryptocurrency—have increasingly pushed their way into the investment portfolios of wealthy people. They’re now hitting the mass market, too. […]

February 2025 Market Summary U.S. Stock Indices Post Modest Declines, Employment Situation Improves, and the Median Home Price Slides Further The Not-so-Magnificent Seven The Magnificent Seven stocks––Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Meta Platforms (META), Microsoft (MSFT), NVIDIA (NVDA), and Tesla (TSLA)–lifted the market higher in 2023 and 2024, combining for a 156.1% return over […]

Why Treasury Yield Are Rising in February 2025? In February, Treasury yields have experienced an upward trajectory as investors respond to higher-than-anticipated inflation data and concerns over proposed U.S. import tariffs. The 10-year Treasury yield, a critical benchmark for fixed-income investors, has risen to 4.56%, reflecting market adjustments to these economic indicators. Let’s dive into some key […]

What is the Roth 401(k) five-year rule? The Roth 401(k) five-year rule determines when you can begin receiving tax-free qualified distributions from your 401(k) plan Roth account. While it’s similar to the five-year rule that applies to Roth IRAs, there are important differences. Withdrawals from your Roth 401(k) plan account — including both your contributions […]

What Trump’s Plan to Stop Minting Pennies Means for Consumers President Trump said Sunday that he had asked the U.S. Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies, part of an effort to cut down on what he called wasteful government spending. His remarks revived a long-running debate over whether to get rid of the smallest […]

January 2025 Market Summary Equities Stocks Drive Higher, Gold Soars to New All-Time High, Treasury Yields Largely Unchanged Equities got off to a strong start in 2025 with positive performances in January. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4.8%, the S&P 500 advanced 2.8% and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.7%. Large-cap Value had the best month among Russell 1000 and Russell 2000 equity styles, […]

Trump’s 2025 Executive Actions: How They Could Affect Financial Markets Introduction: Policy and Markets in 2025 Executive actions often serve as a window into a president’s policy priorities, and for financial markets, these decisions can be transformative. In 2025, President Donald Trump signed a series of executive actions that are already influencing the U.S. economy […]