Interest Rate Cuts on the Horizon: How Lower Rates Could Affect Your Financial Plan
Will Interest Rates Drop? How it May Affect Your Plan There’s increasing speculation that the Federal Reserve might start lowering interest rates later this year or next. While no one can pinpoint the exact timing, it’s helpful to consider how a lower rate environment could impact financial decisions related to housing, estate planning, taxes, investing, […]
Investment Commentary – September 2, 2025
Executive Summary The S&P 500 closed out August near an all-time high, defying consensus commentary that was pessimistic. Coming into the month, many investors were bracing for seasonal weakness, the onset of new tariffs, elevated valuations, compressed credit spreads, and commentary related to the Federal Reserve’s independence. What drove the resilience? U.S. economic growth remained firm, […]
Economic Commentary – September 2, 2025
Lost in the sigh of relief that the inflation numbers (Personal Consumption Expenditures Index, or “PCE”) last Friday weren’t all that bad was the fact that inflation has conclusively ceased its movement to the Federal Reserve target of 2%. Given that the Federal Reserve has not changed its target inflation rate, it would normally be assumed […]
Financial Planning After Losing a Spouse: Essential Steps for Surviving Partners
Coping Financially After the Loss of a Spouse Losing a spouse is one of life’s most difficult experiences, and it can leave behind not only emotional pain but also a host of financial responsibilities. Amid grief, the idea of sorting through documents, accounts, and decisions can feel overwhelming. Having a plan in place before that […]
Investment Commentary – August 25, 2025
Executive Summary Rising corporate earnings and expectations of lower policy rates are positive for risk-asset markets. Many asset-market valuations are not appealing, but risk-on is likely to persist until earnings are challenged by a weakening economy, or long-term government bond yields potentially break out to the upside (price down/yield up) due to unanchored inflation expectations, increasing […]
Economic Commentary – August 25, 2025
The White House’s intense focus on the monthly labor market revisions by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has muddied the debate over the true health of US employment and its near-term direction. Even without the revisions, there would be serious questions as to the policy implications of the nonfarm payroll numbers. For example, is the […]
Economic Commentary – August 18, 2025
An invite to the annual Federal Reserve Jackson Hole Symposium — officially, “The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming”— has been highly prized almost from the event’s founding in 1982. There are few gatherings of central bankers, government officials, academics, and financial industry leaders that can compare with the quality of […]
Investment Commentary – August 18, 2025
Executive Summary The 2025 Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium will focus on “Labor Markets in Transition: Demographics, Productivity, and Macroeconomic Policy.” The symposium is scheduled for August 21-23. It’s an annual event hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, bringing together central bankers, policymakers, economists, and academics to discuss important economic issues and […]
Inherited IRA 10-Year Rule: What Beneficiaries Must Know Under SECURE Act
Did You Recently Inherit An IRA? The 10-Year Rule May Apply The SECURE Act reshaped how IRAs inherited after 2020 are distributed, and the so-called “10-Year Rule” now stands at the center of estate and retirement planning. Understanding these rules is essential, as they affect both the original account owner and those who inherit retirement […]
How BLS Economic Data Impacts Your Financial Plan: Employment Reports and Wealth Strategy
How Government Economic Data Impacts Your Plan The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has been in the headlines recently following the dismissal of its director over allegations of inaccurate employment reporting. The agency’s work is central to the economy, most notably through its monthly reports on employment growth and inflation. The accuracy of BLS data […]
Investment Commentary – August 11, 2025
Equities The S&P 500 returned +2.4% as markets focused on strong corporate earnings results and looked past the disappointing economic data from the previous week. Markets looked past several data points which may ordinarily have given it pause: a weak ISM Services print, rising yields due to weak auction demand for 10-year and 30-year treasuries, […]
Economic Commentary – August 11, 2025
Inflation returns to center stage this week with the release of the July Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI). These numbers have significance for all the usual reasons, but now will be viewed in the context of a July employment report weak enough to have shifted the thinking to an “almost-certain” September […]