Labor Day fell on the earliest day it can (September 1) this year and for some reason, I feel as though it cut summer short. Fall is upon us here in Wisconsin and we are now in the final stretch of 2025. Let’s take a look at the data that came out this week and […]

In the US, a primary way to save for retirement is via employer-sponsored retirement plans. The primary type of these plans is the 401(k) – named after the tax code that established these plans. 401(k)s are in the news these days and a client reached out asking what I thought about the latest hot topic […]

I’ve been writing about the US Federal Reserve (America’s Central Bank) quite a bit as of late. This week, the institution responsible for monetary policy in this country, found itself in the headlines for two major storylines. Powell’s Jackson Hole Speech On Friday August 22nd, Fed Chairman Powell gave a speech at an annual symposium […]

I’ve written about 529 plans (tax advantaged accounts used for education savings) a few times in the past (you can find those posts by searching archives on the blog if interested). This week, I talked to a client about how to best invest funds within those accounts. Reminders Before Diving In Just a reminder about […]

This Friday (August 22) Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will give a speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium. There is intense speculation concerning what Chair Powell will say and whether or not he will signal upcoming rate cuts. The path forward is anything but certain and the increased pressure from the administration to lower rates […]

At the risk of saying what many of you are probably thinking – “where has the year gone?” It will be September in less than two weeks! With four months left in a very interesting year for investors, I thought it was worth taking stock of where we’ve been and where we may go from […]

After a few weeks of talking about the July’s jobs report (the often forgotten half of the Fed’s dual mandate), its better half (inflation) was back in focus this week with the release of the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Index for July. The releases were somewhat mixed. Consumer prices rose modestly. CPI […]

Stock buybacks have been in the news as of late as they reach all-time highs and are set to top $1.1 billion in 2025 (see recent Wall Street Journal article here). This prompted a client to ask what they are and why they matter to markets Stock buybacks are essentially defined by their name. It’s […]

If you listen to the earnings calls of major multinational corporations (think Apple, Nike, or Microsoft to name a few), you will undoubtedly hear reference to the impact of movements in the US dollar on their earnings. A client asked for a quick explanation of this concept so let’s dive in. The US dollar remains […]

Every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a monthly jobs report. This data, obtained from phone surveys and online data, is a key indicator of how the labor market in the US is performing. This economic release can (and has) garnered meaningful attention in the past and does move markets – but the reaction […]