Every year, trustees of the Social Security trust funds issue an annual report. And every year, the media overreact and misreport to the American public what the trustees have to say. Here are a few headlines, which I feel are misleading: “The Social Security Trust Fund Goes Bust” — The Wall Street Journal, June 7, […]
Who is Equifax, and why are they in the news? Equifax is one of the leading consumer credit reporting agencies. Earlier this month, they announced a major loss of data. Hackers gaining access to Equifax data have left 143 million consumers vulnerable to identify theft and credit fraud. It’s hard to believe, but with this […]
It’s summer. While this traditionally means kids in their late teens and early twenties are looking forward to weeks of sun and fun, it’s also the time when tens of thousands of young men and women across our country apply for financial aid to attend college. In the mounds of financial information that you’ll […]
In March, the Federal Reserve Board raised interest rates. The increase of one quarter of one percent was only the third time in a decade that rates have gone up. Many economists believe that more increases are coming. The Fed itself has mentioned the possibility of further rate increases this year. There was a time […]
My new partner, Adam Hartrum, and his wife, Bianca, join the firm The next time you come in the doors of Asset Strategies, you’ll have more smiling faces to greet you — and a greater depth of experience to care for your wealth management needs. That’s because Adam Hartrum has joined our firm. Please join […]
Another year is coming to a close. So much has happened of late — England voted to “Brexit” the European Union, the Chicago Cubs ended their 108-year World Series draught and Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. With all that’s going on it might be easy to forget about your year-end financial […]
If you make orange juice from frozen concentrate you can mix it too strongly. Add only a little water, and it tastes too sugary, too tangy. Something similar is happening with the S&P 500 Index.* Lately, the index tastes funny. It’s too concentrated. “The S&P 500 has a big performance issue that should be a […]
It was the topic this spring that everyone talked about — except for some lawyers and bankers who generated the talk. The Panama Papers, an April 2016 leak of 11.5 million documents from a Panama-based law firm, revealed the murky world of tax havens and offshore companies and identified by name some very wealthy people […]
I wrote an article in 2013 entitled, “History’s investment lesson.” The article showed that in most years the stock market experiences at least one 10% drop during the year, but ends the year with an overall positive return. What’s unusual about the bull market since March 2009 is that we have not experienced these big, […]
If you’re a client of mine, you’ve probably noticed the name Securities America associated with my firm. It appears on your monthly and quarterly statements. It’s named in the disclosure below. It’s noted on my website. You probably receive enough mail naming Securities America that you may think they’re your pen pal. Who is Securities […]