Picture the future. What are your plans for 10 years from now? How about 5 years from now? One year? How certain are you that your plans will become a reality? Of course, the truth is we can and should plan, but we can never be certain of what the fu...
September
02
2020
See our recap of August's key statistics and market commentary below. Noteworthy Numbers The S&P 500 gained 7.19% during August. It was the best August return since 1986. The NASDAQ Composite has gained 49.33% over the trailing 12 months. The ret...
August
19
2020
You may recall that the CARES Act says required minimum distributions (RMDs) don’t have to be taken in 2020 from IRAs and many employer retirement plans. This seems like a pretty simple concept, but it’s not. There were a number of unanswered questio...
August
04
2020
See our recap of July's key statistics and market commentary below. Noteworthy Numbers The S&P 500 tilted back into positive territory for 2020, with a year-to-date return through July of 2.38%. This index had fallen 34% from its peak by March 23...
July
08
2020
The CARES Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020, allows employees affected by COVID-19 greater access to money set aside for them in employer retirement plans. As often happens, many details of this new law were not immediately clear. We found ourse...
July
02
2020
See our recap of June's key statistics and market commentary below. Noteworthy Numbers The 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio of the S&P 500, a measure of stock valuation, finished June at 21.42. The measure is at a level not seen since the...
July
01
2020
Many companies offer 401(k) plans as a benefit to help attract and retain talented employees, but most business owners and CFOs do not look at 401(k) plans in relation to corporate profitability. The plans are treated as a necessary expense, a cost o...
June
24
2020
The last person to be receiving a Civil War-era pension has died. Irene Triplett, of Wilkesboro, NC, died on May 31 at the age of 90 due to complications from having fallen a few days earlier, according to the Washington Post and other news outlets. ...
June
17
2020
Retirement planning has become top of mind for many Americans in today’s economy. Fortunately, most businesses now offer 401(k) plans to attract new talent and compensate existing employees, helping them plan for their financial futures beyond their ...
June
01
2020
See our recap of May's key statistics and market commentary below. Noteworthy Numbers The S&P 500 has gained 18.19% during the first two months of the second quarter. The strong rally has erased most of the index’s losses from February and March....