Blog

Comics, Collectibles, and Coping with Calamity

Rare collectibles can provide an entertaining form of alternative “investment,” and might seem particularly intriguing when markets are wobblier than Aunt Gertrude’s jello salad. Comic books can sell for millions of...

Fed Keeps Pushing Rates Higher

Few investors should have been surprised when the Federal Reserve raised interest rates after its May meeting.Throughout April, Fed Chair Jerome Powell and several Fed Governors talked about the need to keep raising short-term rates to...

Breaking Down the Great Resignation

Lately, the "Great Resignation" has led many Americans to leave their jobs for other opportunities, while others have chosen a different path: early retirement. We can all understand looking for a more suitable place of work, but some...

Warren Buffett on Volatility

Consumer Confidence at the Pump

The Fed Plans for Higher Rates

"Unretiring" To Stay in the Game

Split Decision: Who Joins the Dow 30?

Keeping it in Perspective

April Is Financial Literacy Month

Protecting Your Financial Information Online

More consumers are conducting financial transactions online and may become vulnerable to tracking, hacking, identity theft, phishing scams, and other cyberspace risks. While nothing can guarantee complete safety on the Internet,...

Resources for Women-Owned Small Businesses

Small businesses face many problems related to their size, capital, and capability, and for women-owned small businesses, the challenge is sometimes even greater. The good news is there are many professional organizations out there...

Put Yourself in Front of the Savings Game

Like dieting, budgeting your expenses can benefit from long-term commitment. However, human nature leads many of us to become frustrated when we can’t immediately have the things we need or want. As a result, the best-laid...

The Financial Planning Process: Why and How

Planning personal finances used to be the worry of the wealthy and their worry—usually preservation of wealth—was attended to by teams of trust officers and lawyers. Many of today’s middle class families have...

Four Tips for Gaining Financial Independence

The golden rule of financial planning: if you can plan it, you can pursue it Over the past July 4th, we celebrated our country’s history of declaring independence and guaranteeing basic human freedoms. But true freedom includes...

Life Insurance: Changing Times, Changing Needs

Changing Times, Changing Needs When Judy purchased her life insurance policy 10 years ago, she thought her insurance planning was complete. She assumed that if she paid her premiums on time, she could sit back and not think about life...

Clearing the Air on 401(K) Hardship Withdrawals

When it comes to 401(k) plans, some people may find themselves a bit confused about the 10% Federal income tax penalty for withdrawals prior to age 59½ and hardship withdrawals from a 401(k) plan. The Internal Revenue Service...

Education: One of the Best Investments You Can Make

It wasn’t long ago when an individual went to college, got an education, and embarked on one career that usually lasted a lifetime. Many companies provided on-the-job training, and little emphasis was put on the idea of going...

Hostage Data: Ransomware and Protecting Your Digital Information

On May 7, 2021, the Colonial Pipeline, which carries almost half of the East Coast's fuel supply from Texas to New Jersey, shut down operations in response to a ransomware attack. Colonial paid a $4.4 million ransom not long after...

Should You Be Concerned About Inflation?

If you pay attention to financial news, you are probably seeing a lot of discussion about inflation, which has reared its head in the U.S. economy after being mostly dormant for the last decade. In May 2021, the Consumer Price Index...

What Can A Financial Professional Do for Non-Profits?

As of 2017, about two-thirds of all nonprofit organizations in the U.S. had annual budgets of less than $1 million.[1] For these non-profit organizations where every penny has a purpose, having the services of a financial professional...

Three Sobering Thoughts Hurting Your Retirement

Stagnant wage growth, rising inflation and low interest rates are real issues The idea of retiring at age 65 with a gold watch and a fully-funded retirement account is a quaint notion for many Americans. Amid stagnating real wages,...

3 Estate Planning Strategies You Should Consider Now

Today's low interest rates are a far cry from the double-digit rates seen in the 1970s and 1980s when even a certificate of deposit (CD) could yield up to 20 percent per year.1 But there are some distinct advantages to a...

Five Workplace Trends Will Shape Life after Lockdown

We are experiencing the biggest remote work experiment in history – but many are beginning to imagine life after lockdown. Amid unprecedented global job losses, concerns about transport infrastructure and the continuing need for...

Top Factors That Can Affect Your Insurance Rates

Between health, life, auto, disability, and homeowner/renter insurance, paying to insure your belongings--and yourself--can be a significant portion of your monthly budget. However, some of the factors that impact insurance rates are...

Why the Inflation Rate Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story

Why the inflation rate doesn’t tell the whole story – all it takes is a spike in a category like used cars to cause consumer prices to soar Markets, economists and policymakers have been fretting about inflation for months,...

Healthcare and the Sandwich Generation

Members of the "Sandwich Generation"—or adults who have at least one parent over age 65 and at least one child who still requires financial support—often find themselves torn between their dual caregiving responsibilities.1...

Could these Market Pullbacks be Opportunities?

Heeding the words from a legend: “Buy when there is blood in the streets” How this late-winter, coronavirus-induced market turbulence affects you depends upon how old you are. For people in or near retirement, it is scary...

Death, Taxes, and Market Volatility

"In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." When Benjamin Franklin penned this quote, he may have forgotten to add one item to this list -- market volatility. When we invest, we should always be ready...

403(b) Plans and Saving for Retirement

Understanding how much you can contribute as well as the catch-up limits In 1958, the Internal Revenue Service created 403(b) plans to encourage employees of certain organizations to begin saving for retirement. In 2001, the Economic...

12 Estate Planning Must-Dos

Many of you already have estate documents, probably executed many years ago. You need an estate attorney to look over your documents every 10 years or so. Here are a dozen points to review. Do you have a will and powers of attorney for...

Your Retirement Portfolio: Five Things to Consider Before Market Turbulence

It is human nature to seek advice when things aren't going well or when an unforeseen event occurs. Often, people seek financial advice from a professional only when the stock market and their investments are experiencing turbulent...

529 Plans vs. Other College Savings Options

529 plans can be a great way to save for college, but they're not the only way. When you're investing for a major goal like education, it makes sense to be familiar with all of your options. Mutual funds Mutual funds are an option to...

Spring Clean Your Finances

As temperatures warm up, trees begin budding, and the days get longer, you probably throw open your windows and think about spring cleaning your home. As you tackle washing windows, cleaning carpets, and sorting out the garage,...

Three Steps to Build Your Savings

The fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic has made the need for a healthy savings account clearer than ever. Even before the pandemic, the U.S. Federal Reserve estimated that nearly 40 percent of Americans didn't have enough set aside to...

Applying for Small Business Grants

Oh, the things you could do with free funding for your small business! And thousands of those opportunities are out there1 – like fish in the sea. Landing one of those fish requires dedication, preparation, and hard work, but...

How to Make Savings Last Longer in Retirement

Whether you dream of a travel-filled retirement or would prefer to relax and enjoy spending more time at home, you're probably wondering what you can do to make your golden years as stress-free as possible. For many who have spent the...

Thinking About Social Security Benefits at 62?

Get advice on the benefits of postponing until your full retirement age Social Security is an asset that is taken for granted by many folks. If you are tempted to take Social Security early, when first eligible at age 62, think again:...

Retirement Planning: To Roth or Not to Roth?

When saving for retirement, it often makes sense to contribute to employer-sponsored retirement plans to take advantage of any available employer match opportunities. However, not everyone has access to an employer-sponsored plan. Even...

The Month of April is Financial Literacy Month

Use this social-distancing time to establish healthy financial habits COVID-19 has presented everyone with incredible challenges as it has wreaked havoc on our country and around the world. Beyond the worry of the virus itself,...

How Financial Asset Management May Help Investors Stay the Course

Most people who decide to purchase stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or other investment vehicles do so understanding that there are risks associated with investing, but believing that the potential growth they may realize over time...

All online, all the time? Technology brings new benefits to hiring a property manager.

Once upon a time, investing in the stock market involved ticker tape and a lot of phone calls. Today, most investors reach no further than their pocket for up-to-the-minute market updates, portfolio valuations, trading capabilities,...

How Much Do You Know About Credit?

In 2020, the average FICO score in the U.S. rose to 711, an eight-point increase from 2019.1 When it comes to having healthy credit, your score is the result of many factors. But what specifically goes into someone's credit report,...

Re-thinking Your Bucket List

When approaching the latter part of life, it is easy to get caught up in achieving every goal on your bucket list. Individual lists vary widely, but often are filled with wild adventures like skydiving and scuba diving in the Great...

Choosing a Retirement Plan for Your Business

There are a lot of options to consider, depending on your business model You’re an entrepreneur and you’re not looking back. You’ve opened your own business, whether alone or with partners, and you’ve achieved...

Common Retirement Investment Mistakes

Only one-in-four Americans (27%) feel very confident that they will have enough money to live comfortably when they retire, according to the 2020 Retirement Confidence Survey Summary Report.⁠11 While the number is up slightly from the...

Retirement Income Planning

For investors approaching retirement, it is important to begin thinking about retirement income planning. This involves a mindset shift from accumulating an investment portfolio designed for growth to creating a portfolio of retirement...

Health Care Costs Expected to Jump in 2021

Will your 2021 benefits include telehealth and mental health services? As we approach the end of the year, employees and employers are both wrestling with changes to employee benefits for 2021. While every year always brings about...

Managing Your Retirement Plan When Switching Jobs

Changing jobs can impact your retirement plan. To minimize disruptions to your contributions and the vested portion of your previous employer’s contributions, it’s important to understand the choices you may have when you...

The Pandemic’s Impact on Savings Behaviors: Comparing Past and Present

One year ago, there was already troubling news about how little Americans had saved for retirement. Then the pandemic descended, multiplying those concerns. Local and national governments attempted to help with the immediate needs of...

Tips for Organizing Your Financial Documents

In an increasingly paper-free society, organizing your financial documents can still be a challenge. No matter how simple or complex your financial picture might be, it takes some thought-out organization to keep your tax documents,...

How to Structure Charitable Giving Throughout Your Lifetime

Charitable giving is a way for affluent individuals spread their money around and to benefit causes that are near and dear to their hearts. Yet, for those who fall into the high net worth category, it is critical to structure...

Getting a Jump on January Tax Season

From pandemic-related stimulus payments to job losses and furloughs, for many taxpayers, next spring's tax season may be more complex than usual. With the end of 2020 rapidly approaching, you should take some time to review your tax...

End of Year (EOY) Deadlines Checklist

2020 has been one of the most unprecedented years in recent history, but some things—like tax contributions and retirement deadlines—don't change much, if at all. And with the uncertainty surrounding just about everything,...

Prepare for Long-Term Care Before the Need

Long-term care (LTC) keeps you functioning in the face of devastating illnesses, disabilities and prolonged disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. LTC kicks in when you lose the ability to care for yourself and can no longer do...

End of Year Planning: Set Goals and Reduce Taxes

By the last third of the calendar year, you're likely to have a pretty good idea of what your annual income will be and whether any major expenses or big life changes await you. This can allow you to engage in more robust tax planning,...

Benefits of HSA and FSA Accounts

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) are designed to help you save money on medical costs by giving you access to a special savings account with tax benefits. Although these plans are very similar, they...

12 Estate Planning Must-Dos

Many of you already have estate documents, probably executed many years ago. You need an estate attorney to look over your documents every 10 years or so. Here are a dozen points to review. Do you have a will and powers of attorney for...

Planning for Retirement? Don't Forget About Long-Term Care

Your plans for retirement may include travel, home improvements, and more time spent with family. Few people enter retirement with the expectation (or even the thought) that they soon may be unable to live independently. However, this...

What to Know About Working With a Financial Professional

If you've been wondering how to optimize your finances and ensure your money continues to work for you, a financial professional may be able to help. But the thought of turning over your most sensitive financial information to a...

Appropriate Checklists for Year-End Tax Planning

What are appropriate checklists for year-end tax planning? Tax planners often develop checklists to guide taxpayers toward year-end strategies that might help reduce taxes. Typically, suggestions are grouped into several different...

How Financial Planning Helps You Work Towards Your Self-Improvement Goals

Many self-improvement goals focus on stability and personal growth — and financial goals are often no different. From buying your first home to saving for retirement, planning your finances can also help you work toward your...

How to Protect Your Wealth as You Get Older

As you get older and closer to retirement, your financial practices need to shift slightly as you transition from working and saving to relying on your nest egg. As you approach this stage of your life, you need to take steps to...

A Checklist for Your Retirement Planning

The time to begin planning for your financial future is now. So, when it comes to preparing for retirement, the earlier you start, the better. Here are some steps to help you achieve your overall objectives: Review your current...

Staying on Track with Your Retirement Investments

Investing for your retirement isn't about getting rich quick. More often, it's about having a game plan that you can live with over a long time. You wouldn't expect to be able to play the piano without learning the basics and...

Back to School: Getting Your Financial House in Order

The abrupt end to the 2019-2020 school year in many parts of the U.S. left parents and students alike struggling to establish healthy routines. As many students prepare to head back to the classroom (or the remote classroom) this fall,...

Why A Potential Democrat Sweep May Not Be A Market Worry

Market Blog Based on the latest polling data, there’s growing consensus that former Vice President Joe Biden potentially may win the election and Democrats possibly may sweep Congress. Some might think this could be a negative...

I teach at a school that offers a 403(b) plan. Is this a good way to save for retirement?

In general, yes. Also known as a tax-sheltered annuity, a 403(b) plan is an employer-sponsored plan designed for employees of certain tax-exempt organizations (e.g., hospitals, churches, charities, and public schools) to invest for...

How aggressive should I be when I invest for retirement?

It depends. The right answer in your case will depend on a number of key factors. These include, among others, your income and assets, your attitude toward risk, whether you have access to an employer-sponsored plan at work, the age at...

Teaching Money Mindfulness to Your Children

Teaching Money Mindfulness to Your Children At some point in a child's development, all parents wonder: how can I best teach my child the value of money? Parents who grew up in more modest circumstances than their own children can...

Socially Responsible Investing

Investing with an eye toward promoting social, political, or environmental concerns (or at least not supporting activities you feel are harmful) doesn’t mean you have to forgo pursuing a return on your money. Socially...

Coping with Market Volatility: Avoid Rash Decisions

If you've been watching the market lately, perhaps the first question on your mind is, "Should I make a big change in my investments?" In reality, a volatile market isn't the best time to do a complete makeover of your portfolio,...

How Much Annual Income Can Your Retirement Portfolio Provide?

Your retirement lifestyle will depend not only on your assets and investment choices, but also on how quickly you draw down your retirement portfolio. The annual percentage that you take out of your portfolio, whether from returns or...

How Our Economy Can Bounce Back

Stocks have weakened as various global concerns keep popping up. Stretched valuations, weakening technicals, and increased tensions between the United States and China have investors on edge. This week, the LPL strategists discuss...

Pulse Check: Should You Ignore the Economic Data and Pullback Odds Are Increasing

More bad economic data A record 20.5 million people lost their jobs in April, well above the previous record of 2 million during World War II. This is further confirmation of how quickly our economy stopped, and the LPL strategists...

Resilience, Perseverance, and Innovation

Stocks hit a rough patch the last week of April, as the historic rally could be tiring. The news was heavy and the economic data continued to be very weak, but central banks are doing all they can to help weather the storm. Central...

How a Financial Professional Can Guide You Through Choppy Seas

In these trying times, even those with veins of steel can find themselves nervous about the market's direction and what it could mean for one's financial future. And the unprecedented nature of the novel coronavirus—and its...

529 Savings Plans vs. Prepaid Tuition Plans

Section 529 plans are popular education savings vehicles. To choose the type of 529 plan that's right for you, it's important to understand how 529 savings plans and 529 prepaid tuition plans work and the differences between them. Who...

Staying Productive While Working from Home

If you're like many workers who have recently transitioned to a home office until the coronavirus crisis passes, you may be struggling to stay as productive as you once were. Sharing your space with family members, often while lacking...

Life Insurance at Various Life Stages

Your need for life insurance changes as your life changes. When you're young, you typically have less need for life insurance, butthat changes as you take on more responsibility and your family grows. Then, as your responsibilities...

Have Stay-At-Home Growth Stocks Peaked?

Over the past couple of weeks, we have thankfully witnessed new cases of COVID-19 in the US trending lower. Increasingly, we are also seeing governors implementing plans to re-open their state economies in phases. If the US economy...

When Will The Recession Officially Start?

With 22 million jobs lost in the past four weeks, a record drop in retail sales, and huge drops in industrial production and housing starts, it is safe to say we are likely in a recession. Even the Federal Reserve (Fed) in the recent...

Putting Things in Perspective

The economic data keeps getting worse, yet stocks have been in the midst of one of the greatest multi-week rallies ever. As the LPL Chart of the Day shows, the S&P 500 Index gained 27.2% in the 15 days after the March 23 lows, the...

Big Annual Declines Are Rare

Stocks have rallied nicely off the March 23 lows on the back of a bold policy response from the Federal Reserve (Fed) and lawmakers in Washington, DC, which was followed by signs that a peak in growth of COVID-19 cases may come soon....

Is a Depression Coming?

“Could there be another depression” is one of the top questions we’ve received over the past week. “Yes, we are in a recession and many are worried if things may get much worse before they get better,”...

What Is in the $2 Trillion Relief Package?

The United States has more cases of the coronavirus than any other country, and in an attempt to stop the spread of this disease, states have closed schools and businesses throughout the country. These unprecedented shutdowns have...

Mutual Funds: Tax Planning

What is investment tax planning for mutual funds? Investment tax planning for mutual funds involves utilizing the tax rules that may help enhance your after-tax return on mutual fund investments. In order to help enhance the return on...

Times To Call Your Financial Advisor

Most of us go to see professionals when we’re in trouble or during times of crisis. Think about it. We go to the doctor when we’re sick. We go see a lawyer when we have a pending legal matter. We go see a counselor when...

Market Volatility Stresses Liquidity

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented volatility in recent weeks that has investors and traders scrambling to assess the economic and market impact of the aggressive containment measures. This past week the CBOE Volatility...

How Quickly Can Stocks Recover From COVID-19?

The market volatility continues, as the S&P 500 Index has closed either up or down 4% or more for a record 7 consecutive days. With the S&P 500 Index down 30% from the highs, it has officially moved into a bear market. Yesterday, we...

Low Valuations Imply Better Long-Term Performance

The dizzying volatility over the past few weeks has left all of our heads spinning as we wait for containment efforts in the United States and elsewhere to help slow new cases of COVID-19 (coronavirus). Public health is of course our...

Stocks Down in January and February Have Bulls Worried

The hits keep coming, as the Federal Reserve (Fed) did an intra-meeting cut yesterday, causing stocks to sell off hard on concerns the economy is on more fragile footing than most think. Read First Emergency Rate Cut By the Fed Since...

Financial Planning Tips for Small Business Owners

When you're a small business owner, you need to pay extra careful attention to both your business and personal finances. Your financial planning strategies should simultaneously encourage the success of your business while also working...

Put Savings (and Yourself) First with a Budget

Americans, it seems, are spenders. Personal savings rates are low and many people spend beyond their means. If you're among those Americans who can't seem to save, it might be time to create a budget. A budget allows you to understand...

Choosing a 529 Savings Plan

With so many 529 savings plans to choose from, it's important to ask a lot of questions in order to select the best plan for you. Compare the plans offered by different states If you're interested in opening a 529 savings plan account,...

Coronavirus Pullback Continues

The global equity weakness continued yesterday, with consecutive 3% drops for the S&P 500 Index for the first time since August 2015. It might be hard to believe, but exactly one week ago today the S&P 500 was making a new all-time...

Earnings Season Observations

The recent news that technology giant Apple would miss its fourth quarter 2020 revenue targets has understandably increased investor anxiety surrounding the potential economic impact of the coronavirus (now called COVID-19). Lost in...

Closer Look At February

A late month selloff in January saw the S&P 500 Index close marginally lower for the month. But stocks have taken off in February, with the S&P 500 up nearly 4% this month, as US economic data remains strong and fears over the...

Manufacturing on the Mend

Monday’s strong manufacturing report caught our attention, even as the coronavirus outbreak dominated the financial media. At 50.9, the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing purchasing managers’ index...

Protect Your Assets With a Trust

A trust is a legal entity that is central to a three-part agreement in which an individual — the trust’s "grantor" — transfers the legal title to an asset to that trust for the purpose of benefiting one or more...

How much can I invest in a 529 plan?

The amount you can contribute to a 529 plan depends on the plan's lifetime contribution limit, which is set by individual states. Most states have a lifetime cap of $350,000 or more. When the value of your account reaches the limit, no...

How can I minimize taxes on my estate?

This question may seem simple, but the answer is not so easy. In fact, there are experts who make their living answering just this question. Estate tax liability depends on the year in which you die and the value of your estate when...

Viral Outbreak Ends Period of Market Calm

Fears that the deadly coronavirus would spread further around the globe intensified Monday and led to the biggest one-day drop in the S&P 500 Index since October 8, 2019. In fact, it was the first time the index moved 1% in either...

Another Look At Election Years

Last week in our LPL Research blog, we took a closer look at how stocks have performed during an election year. We found that since 1940, the S&P 500 Index hasn’t been lower during an election year when an incumbent president has...

Income Tax Planning and 529 Plans

The income tax benefits offered by 529 plans make these plans attractive to parents (and others) who are saving for college or K-12 tuition. Qualified withdrawals from a 529 plan are tax free at the federal level, and some states also...

Establishing a Budget

Do you ever wonder where your money goes each month? Does it seem like you're never able to get ahead? If so, you may want to establish a budget to help you keep track of how you spend your money and help you reach your financial goals...

Why The First Five Days Of 2020 Could Have Bulls Smiling

The first five days of 2020 are in the books. Although the headlines have been quite scary, equities have picked up right where they left off last year. In fact, after the first five trading days of the new year, the S&SP 500 Index is...

Choosing an Income Tax Filing Status

Selecting a filing status is one of the first decisions you'll make when you fill out your federal income tax return, so it's important to know the rules. And because you may have more than one option, you need to know the advantages...

Market Update - Don’t Fear the Repo

The fourth quarter is winding down, and investors are getting nervous that volatility in the short-term lending market could flare up once again. Rates on repurchase agreements (repos) jumped in September 2019 amid a shortage of cash...

Financial Planning: Helping You See the Big Picture

Do you picture yourself owning a new home, starting a business, or retiring comfortably? These are a few of the financial goals that may be important to you, and each comes with a price tag attached. That's where financial planning...

Market Update - Consumer Inflation Hovers Around Cycle High

Core CPI has increased at least 2.3% year over year for the past four months, the first time that’s happened since September 2008. That momentum may seem concerning, but it’s a manageable pace in our view. Inflationary...

IRA and Retirement Plan Limits for 2020

IRA contribution limits The maximum amount you can contribute to a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA in 2020 is $6,000 (or 100% of your earned income, if less), unchanged from 2019. The maximum catch-up contribution for those age 50 or...

Market Update - Reasons We Still Believe In December

It has been a rough start to the most wonderful month of them all, with the S&P 500 Index down each of the first two days of December. Don’t stop believing just yet, though. Everyone knows December has usually been a good month...

Charitable Giving: Good for Your Heart and Your 1040!

It may be better to give than to receive, but it may be even better to give and see your generosity rewarded. Charitable giving can play a valuable role in your financial and tax strategies. A well-planned gift to charity could provide...