Wealth Management Educational Articles

Putting away money for retirement? It’s easy to focus on the big picture, but don’t overlook the small things — they can really add up in the end.

The reasons vary. Sometimes it’s because of lack of money. Sometimes because retirees become restless and choose to take on a new job or even a new career altogether.

It’s important for you, as an investor, to understand your investments. While most investors can easily comprehend stocks, bonds as investments are much more complex. However, there are several potential benefits of investing in them.

This year kicked off with a strong start for U.S. stocks, but then offered everyone a healthy reality check that markets don’t always go up. A spate of market volatility in February and then again in March tested some investors’ confidence in the equity markets, as well as their ability to stick with their long-term, comprehensive financial plan. It also dominated headlines in the financial media for weeks.

It looks like the U.S. stock market will finally get something that happens, on average, about once a year: a 10+% percent drop — the definition of a market correction. The last time this happened was a whopper—the Great Recession drop that caused U.S. stocks to drop more than 50% — so most people probably think corrections are catastrophic. They aren’t.

On Friday, Equifax, one of the major credit reporting bureaus, issued a press release announcing that on July 29, it had discovered “unauthorized access” to data belonging to as many as 143 million U.S. consumers. We have compiled some information that we hope may help you understand what happened and what to do next.

As we look back at the second quarter, several events — political and otherwise — affected the markets. These events included France’s election of a new president; President Trump’s release of a proposed tax plan; and Britain’s election, in which the prime minister’s party lost seats in Parliament. But arguably, the factor that had the greatest impact on the market, across multiple asset classes, was the sharp decline in oil prices.

Business owners may not be able to set aside as much as they would like in tax-advantaged retirement plans. Typically, owners are older and more highly compensated than their employees, but restrictions on contributions to 401(k) and profit-sharing plans can hamper retirement-planning efforts. One solution may be a cash balance plan.

William Braddy, CFP®, a wealth manager with Kraft Asset Management, LLC, has earned the prestigious Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) designation after completing the Exit Planning Institute’s intensive program.

Planning for your death is not the most enjoyable process. Unfortunately, bad things can happen if you don’t. One never knows when tragedy will strike; when it happens, it’s too late to start planning. Getting your affairs in order is advisable for everyone.

The following rules can help investors build and adhere to a well-designed investment plan. These guidelines may be instrumental in giving investors the best chance of achieving their financial goals.

If you suddenly received $10 million and the diagnosis that you had only 10 years to live, what would you start doing? What would you stop doing?