2018 Year-End Trading
January 15, 2019  | By Kevin Smith, CFA

The stock market brought us gifts just in time for Christmas. The chart above show the % declines from all-time highs over the past five years for the S&P 500. Christmas Eve just happened to be the most significant pull…Read More

Donor-Advised Funds for Flexible Charitable Giving
December 11, 2017  | By Kevin Smith, CFA

A Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) is a convenient way make charitable gifts over a long period of time. Here’s how it works: 1) Set up a DAF investment account. 2) Fund the account with a charitable donation and enjoy the tax benefit…Read More

New Service: 401(k) Account Management
November 6, 2017  | By Kevin Smith, CFA

If you have a 401(k) plan through your employer, chances are that it is receiving the majority of your new investments each year. In a lot of cases, it is the BIGGEST investment account in a household. Until now, we…Read More

Expanded access to non-traditional investments
October 30, 2017  | By Kevin Smith, CFA

We have expanded our access to non-traditional investments through an independent exchange called CAIS. This platform provides third-party research reports, analytics tools and streamlined transaction execution for private equity funds, private loan portfolios, hedge funds, real estate funds, and others. Non-traditional,…Read More

Lower cost ETFs now transaction-free on TD Ameritrade
October 25, 2017  | By Kevin Smith, CFA

Good news! Our preferred custodian, TD Ameritrade, recently announced that they are overhauling their offering of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) that trade without commissions. Here are a few key improvements: The list of ETFs that transact without trading costs will…Read More

Correlation and Portfolio Performance
August 31, 2015  | By Kevin Smith, CFA

Different types of investments are subject to different types of risk. On days when you notice that stock prices have fallen, for example, it would not be unusual to see a rally in the bond market. Asset allocation refers to…Read More

Five Ways to Manage Risk in Your Retirement Savings Plan
August 13, 2015  | By Kevin Smith, CFA

Your employer-sponsored retirement savings plan is a convenient way to help you accumulate money for retirement. Using payroll deductions, you invest for the future automatically, following that oft-noted advice to “pay yourself first.” But choosing to participate is just one…Read More

Should I be worried about a Federal Reserve interest rate hike?
February 11, 2015  | By Kevin Smith, CFA

After years of record-low interest rates, at some point this year the Federal Reserve is expected to begin raising its target federal funds interest rate (the rate at which banks lend to one another funds they’ve deposited at the Fed)….Read More

10 Financial Terms Everyone Should Know
February 11, 2015  | By Kevin Smith, CFA

Understanding financial matters can be difficult if you don’t understand the jargon. Becoming familiar with these 10 financial terms may help make things clearer. 1. Time value of money The time value of money is the concept that money on…Read More

Easy Math: 1.00% > 0.05% Interest on Cash
January 29, 2015  | By Kevin Smith, CFA

As of today, 01/29/15, interest rates paid for online savings accounts are in the 1.00% range and very close to the rates 12 month CDs are paying. We encourage clients with excess cash to consider these online savings accounts to…Read More