Only one-third of adults have an estate strategy document such as a will in place, which may not be entirely surprising. No one wants to be reminded of their own mortality or spend too much time thinking about what might happen once they’re gone.1 But a will is an instrument of power. Creating one [...]

During your accumulation years, you may have categorized your risk as “conservative,” “moderate,” or “aggressive” and that guided how your portfolio was built. Maybe you concerned yourself with finding the “best-performing funds,” even though you knew past performance does not guarantee future results. What occurs with many retirees is a change in mindset—it’s less [...]

Have you ever had one of those months? The water heater stops heating, the dishwasher stops washing, and your family ends up on a first-name basis with the nurse at urgent care. Then, as you’re driving to work, you see smoke coming from under your hood. Bad things happen to the best of us, [...]

According to Yale University's Crash Confidence Index, only about 40% of investors are confident the stock market will not crash sometime during the next six months.1 If fear leads investors to avoid the entire investment class, they may limit their potential returns. For example, for most of the 10-year period ended 2023, stocks outperformed [...]

Imagine driving a car without a basic understanding of the rules of the road or even how to operate it. Scary thought. Here’s another scary circumstance – one that is all too real. Many Americans are making financial decisions with minimal financial knowledge of investing, budgeting, and credit. The TIAA Institute conducted a survey [...]

There is no shortage of analysis for anyone interested in investing. A search for the term "stock market analysis" turned up over one billion results on Google and well over two billion on Yahoo.1 The majority of stock market analysis can be lumped into three broad groups: fundamental, technical, and sentimental. Here's a close [...]

Regardless of how the markets may perform, consider making the following part of your investment philosophy: Diversification. The saying “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” has some application to investing. Over time, certain asset classes may perform better than others. If your assets are mostly held in one kind of investment, you [...]

One of the most common questions people ask about Social Security is when they should start taking benefits. Making the right decision for you can have a meaningful impact on your financial income in retirement. Before considering how personal circumstances and objectives may play into your decision, it may be helpful to preface that [...]

Whether through inertia or trepidation, investors who put off important investment decisions might consider the admonition offered by motivational speaker Brian Tracy, "Almost any decision is better than no decision at all." This investment inaction is played out in many ways, often silently, invisibly, and with potential consequences to an individual’s future financial security. [...]

A money market fund, not to be confused with a money market account, is a type of mutual fund that invests in instruments like cash equivalents and short-term debt-based securities, which can also include U.S. Treasury Bonds.1 Safety First These funds are designed to be easily accessible and are often considered cash equivalents. Their [...]