Back in 2006, a couple of U.S. Senators took it upon themselves to create a national retirement security awareness week, set for the third week in October. As you can imagine, the intervening twists and turns in the stock market — the 2008 Great Recession and the Covid crash in 2020 — only served to… Continue reading →

It’s an irony of life many financial planners see every day: women live longer, but they end up having less for retirement. The money has to stretch further and can sometimes run out. A big part of the problem is the retirement gender gap. We often hear about the “gender gap” in terms of pay… Continue reading →

As summer winds down many of us are heartened by the promise of crisp autumn air, pumpkin spice coffee drinks, and the weekly showdowns of NFL football giants. Amazingly, alongside the absolutely enormous revenue machine that is pro football, a secondary, completely virtual game has grown into a massive industry of its own — fantasy… Continue reading →

The lives of financial titans can seem otherworldly, replete with the trinkets of absurd wealth that come from commanding personal billions. Then there’s David Swensen, the one-time Wall Streeter who passed up all that and instead focused on something larger than himself: building a massive gift for the benefit of generations of students to come.… Continue reading →

Not long ago, I received an unexpected early Father’s Day gift from my older daughter when she returned home for a long weekend visit with mom and dad. Since graduating from college Alyssa had been living in the Chicago area, where she worked as a research assistant for a prestigious university. She thoroughly enjoyed living… Continue reading →

Reflation Risk According to Goldman Sachs With fiscal stimulus and accommodative monetary policy buoying the U.S. economic recovery, prominent economists from former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers to former IMF Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard have raised concerns that the U.S. economy could be headed for overheating and inflation. In this recent Goldman Sachs podcast, host Allison… Continue reading →

Honestly, how many of you had Baylor University taking the NCAA Men’s basketball tournament, a.k.a March Madness?  Maybe some of you, maybe even a lot. Unless you’re fibbing. But how many of you got every single team right in your bracket? Essentially, that number is zero. It’s always zero and likely always will be zero.… Continue reading →

The pandemic year has a been a hard one for otherwise diligent savers and investors. Some of your employees may have opted to take out loans from their 401(k) plan to cover expenses. It’s important as a plan provider to educate your employees on the importance of staying current with 401(k) loan terms and, if… Continue reading →

The past year certainly has been tumultuous in many ways, including for retirement savers trying to keep up with tax planning.  There have been a number of changes to your taxes on the legislative front in regard to the pandemic, of course. Add to the confusion an understaffed IRS and questionable mail service and you… Continue reading →