Blog
Understanding Volatility and the Benefits of a Long-term Investing Strategy
Investors typically include equities in their long-term plans with the expectation of generating a positive return. Historically, over longer periods of time, this strategy has helped many investors achieve their desired goals. While it would be accommodating if...
Quarterly Economic Update Second Quarter 2024
Equity and bond markets began the second quarter of 2024 with a rough start, thanks to the Federal Reserve’s decision not to reduce interest rates due to stubbornly high inflation rates. However, during the quarter, strong performances from companies tied to...
Converting 529 Plans to Roth IRA
A significant benefit has come to fruition on December 29, 2022. President Biden signed the “Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023”, which included the “SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022”. Well, now, starting from January 1, 2024, any remaining funds in a 529 account can be...
Common Investing Mistakes
Whether someone has $50,000 or $5,000,000 to invest, there are several investment pitfalls that any investor can fall into. One of our goals as financial professionals is to help clients avoid these pitfalls, which could be very costly. We have come across many...
Research
From Micro to Macro: A Busy Week of Market-Moving Data | Weekly Market Commentary | November 3, 2025
The S&P 500 is over halfway through Q3 earnings season, and results have been impressive. Of the 318 companies that have reported results, 83% have surpassed earnings per share (EPS) estimates, notably above the 10-year average beat rate of 75%, according to FactSet.
Halloween Special: What Could Spook Markets | Weekly Market Commentary | October 27, 2025
With the stock market in record-high territory and up about 35% off the April lows, market participants clearly haven’t been too scared lately. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of things to worry about. Just because risks haven’t affected markets much lately — subprime auto loan bankruptcies notwithstanding — doesn’t mean they won’t in the future. In that “spirit,” as Halloween approaches, we discuss what scares us about the economy and financial markets.
Cockroaches, Canaries, and Credit Markets | Weekly Market Commentary | October 20, 2025
Corporate credit markets represent a vital component of the global financial system, providing businesses with essential capital for operations, growth, and strategic initiatives. These markets can, in general, be segmented into four distinct categories: investment-grade bonds, high-yield bonds, bank loans, and private credit.
Happy Anniversary Bull Market | Weekly Market Commentary | October 13, 2025
Year three of this bull market was a strong one. After a bit of a slow start — the S&P 500 rose 21.4% during the first year of this bull compared with the average first-year gain near 40% — year two was a catch-up year with a 32.2% gain vs. a second-year average of 12.4%. Then in year three, a year that had produced an average gain of only 5.2% historically, the S&P 500 rallied 16.1% (through October 8, 2025, before Friday’s sell-off). As noted in the “After a Strong Third Year, This Bull is Ahead of Schedule” chart, the nearly 89% gain in the S&P 500 since this bull market began on October 12, 2022 (excluding dividends), is well ahead of the average and median three-year advances for all bull markets since 1950.
