If you live in Wisconsin, odds are you too endured a wicked winter storm as well earlier this month. I went thru quite the adventure (which included lost power, downed trees, and manual bailing of two sump pumps)! After that experience, I took some time to sketch out action items I need to take care […]

During a year-end planning meeting, my tax advisor brought up the idea of adding a PIN to my IRS record to protect myself against the increasing risk of tax return fraud. This PIN prevents unauthorized individuals from filing a tax return under your social security number (which would allow them to possibly access any amounts […]

Pension plans, a type of employer-sponsored retirement plan that provides ongoing income after retirement, used to be very common. However today, about 15% of private sector employees and 75% of government employees have pensions, with the remainder of workers having 401k/403b plans instead. Pensions are defined benefit plans, meaning that as a participant, you are […]

There are a lot of adages in investing and one that has gotten a lot of air time in recent years is “don’t bet against the American consumer,” cited by those advocating for ongoing strength in the US economy backed by Americans’ desire (and ability) to spend. This adage was once again proven true this […]

We may have started a new year, but we are still talking about inflation! On Thursday, December’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report was released. The report showed the prices rose 3.4% year over year (compared to 3.1% in November) – however, after removing volatile food and energy, Core CPI rose 3.9% month over month (a […]

Bitcoin has been in the news quite a bit this week, which prompted a client to ask what the key developments were. Let’s take a look at what happened. This week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC) approved the registration and trading of Bitcoin spot price Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”). Prior to this moment, investors […]

Happy new year! I trust that you had a great holiday season and are ready for a wonderful year ahead. The calendar turned to a new year only a few days ago and already the markets and business media are off and running with their 2024 predictions. Countless money managers and economists are filing the […]

A new year has arrived! The turning of the calendar tends to spark the question “wait, is there something I’m supposed to do now?” There is certainly no shortage of messaging around the new year and things you should be doing (set resolutions, improve your health, write out new goals, and countless others every where […]

A client reached out this week to inquire about her performance (rate of return) since we started working together. As I drew her attention to that section of her quarterly reports, I also explained a couple of things to keep in mind when calculating and evaluating performance returns. These are important concepts for all investors […]

As one of our favorite research firms said after yesterday’s Fed announcement – Ho Ho Holy Moly! It sure seems like the Federal Reserve saved the best rate announcement of 2023 for last. Chairman Jerome Powell delivered a message that the equity and bond market both eagerly accepted as an early holiday present. In response, […]