Smart Ways to Save for Your Child’s Education

If you’re a parent, the start of a new school year may have you considering how much you’re able to set aside for your child’s college fund.  Average annual tuition in the U.S. is $38,185 for private college and $10,338 for public college.1 And those numbers may rise by 2%–3% in the coming school year.2 […]

Understanding the Charitable Remainder Trust

The charitable remainder trust (CRT) is a popular retirement- and estate-planning tool. It can be a convenient way to create a stream of lifetime income for yourself and others or donate to a charity while minimizing and deferring taxes. But there are many choices to make when establishing a CRT and, in some cases, these […]

The Sequence of Returns Risk in Retirement

Markets go up and down in ways that are not entirely predictable. For long-term investors, what the market is doing in the present isn’t that troubling; they’ve got a long time to ride out potential downturns. But for recent retirees, an ill-timed market downturn can have a negative impact on their nest egg, increasing the […]

How to Weather a Market Correction

Sometimes stock prices drop across the entire market at once triggered by a range of things, such as a natural disaster, political turmoil, concerns over rising interest rates, a global health crisis, or problems within a single sector that cause a domino effect across the market.  A decline in stock prices of 10% from their […]

It’s Time to Have “The Estate Plan Talk”

Talking with loved ones about estate planning and inheritance can be challenging, especially as it centers around two taboo topics – money and death. But talking with your adult children about their inheritance can provide signature advantages for you and them. It can help your heirs better prepare for the future and give you a […]

Understanding Mutual Funds, Index Funds, and ETFs

It’s common knowledge that investing in mutual funds, index funds, or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can help build a diversified portfolio. These funds hold diverse baskets of securities, including stocks, bonds and other assets from real estate to derivatives. By investing your money in a variety of investments, you help minimize the risk that your investments […]

How Women Can Overcome Obstacles to Retirement

Retirement planning requires forethought, discipline, and the juggling of many moving parts. Staying on track to meet financial goals can be tricky for anyone, but it can be especially hard for women, who face a number of financial headwinds.  Women face unique challenges when it comes to employment, income, and caregiving; as a result, they […]

Growth Stocks vs. Value Stocks

Stock investing is an important engine of growth in your portfolio, but deciding on an investing strategy and particular stocks can be challenging. When designing a diversified portfolio that minimizes risk, it can help to think of stocks as falling into one of two categories: growth stocks and value stocks. Both growth and value stocks […]

Keeping Your Financial Accounts Cyber-Secure

Cybercrime is on the rise everywhere. In fact, global losses due to cybercrime climbed from $600 billion in 2018 to $1 trillion in 2020. That’s enough to make anyone concerned about the security of their financial accounts. But you don’t have to feel helpless against the threat of hackers. These steps can help limit your […]