The health of employment in the country has always been a topic of interest. However, ever since COVID, the release of the monthly payroll report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics has become “must see TV,” second only to the release of CPI! Early on in the pandemic, it was shocking to see how quickly […]

Some client questions and discussions are more challenging than others. The ones I’ve been having in the wake of the recent banking crisis (you can read more on that here) have been hard. Not because these are contentious topics to address and not because I don’t know how to answer them. They are challenging because […]

Here we are, nearing the end of Q1 2023. If you simply looked at market returns, you would think it was a pretty decent quarter. During the first three months of the year (with one trading day to go), equity markets have risen around 5%, interest rates have fallen slightly (giving a boost to bond […]

We’re in the homestretch of the 2022 tax season and as a result, I’ve been fielding questions about IRA and Roth IRA funding. I recently helped a few clients contribute to Roth IRAs (despite being over the income limit) and thought it may be a useful item to touch on this week Wait, what’s a […]

The Federal Reserve found itself facing a considerable dilemma this week at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting that took place Wednesday March 22, 2023. How would they balance the tension between their ongoing battle against inflation and the threats posed by the recent instability in the banking system? Up until a few weeks ago, […]

There have been quite a few new terms floating around these days, given all the events concerning the banking industry. One of those terms is “cash sorting.” A client recently reached out to clarify what this terms means – and whether it was an activity they should undertake. Let’s take a closer look Why is […]

It’s been about ten months since I started writing these weekly letters to all of you. During most of that time, we have talked at length about the “after shocks” of COVID and the related government stimulus, focusing largely on inflation and the resulting rapid rise in interest rates to offset it. We have talked […]

Given the events of the past week, it’s natural that people are reevaluating their own cash management strategies. Chief among the questions I heard from clients this week is whether their money is “safe” at the bank. Let’s review the basis of bank deposits and the potential guarantees of those funds. What happens to money […]

It’s been yet another tumultuous week in markets. What caused the downward momentum this week? While one can never be certain, market prognosticators have largely pointed to Fed Chair Jay Powell’s comments in front of Congress, as well concerns over job market strength (non-farm payrolls will be released the day after I publish this). Weeks […]

I worked with two clients this week that had a set amount of cash to deploy to longer-term savings & investment accounts. Their question – what accounts should I allocate this to – and how much in each? It can be definitely be challenging to figure out your savings strategy and like most things in […]