Chief Investment Officer Troy Harmon, CFA, CVA, is joined by Managing Associate D.J. Barker, CWS®, and Senior Associate Jarrett McKenzie, CFP®, CWS®, to take a deeper look at a common investor sentiment about not keeping up with market performance. They discuss the faults with the S&P 500 index as a benchmark, the problems with chasing returns and portfolio risk.
The market kicked off the holiday-shortened week, closing in the red zone on Tuesday, as stocks traded lower on a variety of economic news. The ISM Manufacturing Index was surprisingly strong in August, rising to 61.3 from 58.1 in July, exceeding consensus expectations…
One advantage of term life insurance is that it is generally the most cost-effective way to achieve the maximum life insurance protection you can afford. Many people first purchase term life insurance to protect their family’s financial interests after a significant life event, such as getting married or the birth of a child. You may…
In this episode of Casual Finance Friday, Research Analyst Nick Antonucci, CVA, gives you a crash course on what many deem as a boring asset class: bonds.
In today’s Marietta Daily Journal, Bil Lako, CFP®, explains that despite sweeping tax reform, there are still tax advantages to homeownership.
If an error appears on your credit report, you should contact the credit bureau and request a reinvestigation of the disputed information. If the error is not removed, you have the right to add a 100-word consumer statement to your credit bureau file to explain your side of the story. The three major credit reporting…
A frequent question is whether inheritances are taxable. This is a frequently misunderstood question related to taxation and can be complicated. When someone passes away, all of their assets will be subject to inheritance taxation, and whatever is left over after paying the inheritance tax passes to the decedent’s beneficiaries. Sound bleak? Don’t worry, very…
According to the most recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projection, the federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2018 (which ends on September 30) will reach $793 billion, or 3.9% of gross domestic product (GDP). This figure is $230 billion larger than the CBO previously estimated in June 2017, largely because legislation enacted since then reduced…
In today’s Marietta Daily Journal, Bil Lako, CFP®, explains what you can do with your IRA required minimum distribution if you don’t need the funds to live on.
It’s exciting to discover an opportunity to expand the size or scope of your business, and sometimes more workers are needed to make that happen. In the fourth quarter of 2017, 32% of small-business owners said they intend to increase the number of jobs in their companies over the next 12 months.1 How do you…