Blog
Basic Facts of Life Insurance
Thinking of a future without ourselves in it, is not the most pleasant of thoughts…however, it is necessary to do so for the financial future of your family. Life insurance may provide you with the opportunity to bequeath money...
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Tips to Shape Up Your Fiscal Fitness this Summer
A regular program of disciplined financial practices can help you in the long-run Many people realize that the best way to stay in shape is to develop an appropriate fitness regimen and then stick with it. If you start a fitness...
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Higher Rates Break Homebuilder Stocks
Undoubtedly the most important story of the past week is the historic move in interest rates. While this is a trend that has been firmly in place for months, it has accelerated even more following last Friday’s higher than...
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Five Keys to Authentic Retirement Happiness
The ability to enjoy our golden years is the same as the ability to be happy People say things like, “When I retire, I am going to be happy,” or “When I don’t have to work anymore, I will be happy.” The...
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A Bear Market is Officially Here
A bear market is officially here thanks largely to stubbornly high inflation. For many of us, it has probably felt like a bear market for a while now, but the S&P 500 Index didn’t close more than 20% below its January 3 record...
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Inflation at 41 Years Highs but There Is Some Good News
Headline Inflation Jumps, Core Inflation CoolsHeadline inflation in May rose 8.6% from a year ago, accelerating from April’s 8.3% growth rate. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to the highest year-over-year increase since...
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How to Develop a Money Mindset That Aligns with Your Goals
Financial goals are essential. Setting them will help you to obtain the things you want out of life as well as live the lifestyle you desire, both during your working years and in your retirement. But obtaining these goals isn't...
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Fed Fears The Tight Job Market
Labor Markets Are Tight With Little Signs of LooseningEmployment in May grew by 390,000, driven by strong gains in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and transportation and warehousing. Job growth does not...
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Bull Market Hangs by a Thread
The bull market that began in March of 2020 came dangerously close to an end. From March 23, 2020 through January 3, 2022, the S&P 500 Index gained 114% (excluding dividends). From that January 3 closing high through the recent low on...
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Will There Be A June Swoon? Maybe, But Maybe Not
After a late month rally, we can say goodbye to the month of May, which now opens the door to June. Here’s the bad news, June is historically a weak month and it is actually the worst month of the year during a midterm year, down...
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What role does Social Security play in your retirement income strategy?
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April 1st employment report was no joke: the labor market is tightening
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Gas Drives Headline Inflation To 40-Year High: Are We Near The Peak Yet?
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What Is the VIX Index And How Has It Responded To Russia-Ukraine Conflict?
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Munis Have Held Up (Relatively) Well in Periods of Rising Rates
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Tax Prep Checklist: Everything You Need to Be Ready for Tax Season
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Weekly Market Performance – Down Week Puts U.S. Stocks Near Correction Territory
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New Year, New Goals: Your Countdown to Financial Health
For many people, a new year provides a new start—and nothing says "new start" like a fresh new set of financial goals. But setting these goals is easier said than done. What steps should you take to get the most bang for your...
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A Season of Giving: 5 Different Ways To Give During the Holidays
With the holidays here, now is the time to get into the giving spirit and help to change others' lives for the better. Whether you are looking to make a difference in a specific person's life or the life of many, there are many ways to...
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Remarkable Rise Of ESG Investing
Environmental, Social and Governance Investing Basics Responsible investing is widely understood as the integration of environmental, social and governance factors – hence the ESG acronym – into investment processes and...
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Holiday Resilience
We hope everyone enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. While life has been challenging during the pandemic, we have a lot to be thankful for. At this time, we are especially grateful for COVID-19 vaccines and...
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How Have Stocks Done Under Jerome Powell?
The big news this week was Jerome Powell will remain in charge of the Federal Reserve (Fed) for four more years, so we wanted to do a quick blog that looked at how stocks have done while he has been the Fed Chairman. “There are...
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The Origins of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is one of the most widely celebrated holidays in both the U.S. and Canada with the purpose of celebrating the blessings of the past year. It is known as one of the busiest travel holidays of the year and in the U.S is most...
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Tech is Leading Again
The S&P 500 Information Technology Sector has gained 27% in the past six months, outperforming the broader S&P 500 by more than 10%. But could its run of leadership just be getting started? As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, the...
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How do Black Friday and Cyber Monday retail sales affect the stock market?
What typical investors need to know We all read and hear about various special deals, “doorbusters,” price cuts, and early opening hours on Black Friday. We also read and hear about the Cyber Monday deals. These sales days...
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Reasons To Be Thankful
As we reach the home stretch of 2021, there is a lot to be thankful for. Stocks are having an amazing year, the economy is improving, and COVID-19 trends are going the right direction. Let’s look at some reasons to be thankful....
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All About Financial Planning
No matter where you are in life, you may have at least a few financial goals. Perhaps you want to buy a house, save for your child’s college education, or retire early. Regardless of what your goals are, financial planning can...
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Job Growth Bounces Back in October
The October payroll report more than delivered on expectations for a bounce back from the soft September report. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its October employment report this morning, revealing that the domestic...
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Many Reasons to be Thankful
The past year and a half have tested all of us, but overall, the economy continues to strengthen, COVID-19 trends are greatly improving, and this still relatively young bull market is alive and well. As the leaves turn colors and begin...
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October Market Insights – The October Rebound
Index Performance View enlarged chart. U.S. and International Equities Stocks erased September losses with solid gains in October for the broad market averages. The S&P 500 returned almost 7% for the month, while the Dow Industrials...
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The Financial Planning Process: Why and How
Planning personal finances used to be the worry of the wealthy and their worry—usually preservation of wealth—was attended to by teams of trust officers and lawyers. Many of today’s middle class families have...
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Leading Indicators Show Tempered Optimism for Economy
On Thursday, October 21, the Conference Board released its September 2021 report detailing the latest reading for the Leading Economic Index (LEI), a composite of ten data series that tend to lead changes in economic activity. Many...
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Financial Planning Tips for Young Adults
Whether you're still living at home, in school, or starting your career, your late teens and twenties present a prime opportunity to think about your financial future. Though you may not hit your peak earning years until your 40s or...
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Solid Retail Sales in September
The U.S. Census Bureau reported overall retail sales grew 0.7% month over month in September vs. forecasts for a 0.2% decline, while retail sales excluding autos and gas also saw solid gains, rising 0.7% month over month vs. estimates...
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Financial Planning at Every Age
In 2013, a Gallup poll found that only about one in every three U.S. households maintained a budget.1 A 2021 survey of 1,000 Americans found that 80% now say they have a budget.2 Americans are budgeting more due to the pandemic....
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Third Quarter Earnings Season Preview
We have used most of the superlatives we know to describe corporate America’s stunning performances over the past two earnings seasons. Despite lofty expectations, results exceeded estimates by huge margins. We expect solid...
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Change May Bring Opportunities
One constant in life is change. During the past year and a half, we have experienced more change than any of us bargained for. Change is disruptive—but also brings opportunities. For investors right now, there is no shortage of...
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September Market Insights – The September Selloff
Index Performance View enlarged chart. U.S. and International Equities September has been the worst performing month over the past 10 and 20 years. Looking at the prior year, the S&P 500 pulled back over 9% from September 2nd to...
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October is National Financial Planning Month
Five tips to finding a financial professional that fits you and your family The financial professional you pick to manage your assets and advise you on key financial decisions may affect your retirement and other major financial goals...
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Leading Indicators Show Optimism For Domestic Economy
On Thursday, September 23, the Conference Board released its August 2021 report detailing the latest reading for the Leading Economic Index (LEI), a composite of ten data series that tend to lead changes in economic activity. Many...
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Revisiting Our 10-Year Treasury Yield Forecast
Until recently, we expected the 10-year Treasury yield to end the year between 1.75% and 2.0%. Now, however, there are two key elements suggesting we are unlikely to see significantly higher interest rates by year end: The Delta...
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Main Street Sentiment Remains Strong Despite Risks from Speedy Recovery
According to LPL Research’s analysis of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) recently released Beige Book, business sentiment on Main Street has declined in recent months as the economy navigates the latest wave of COVID-19, but...
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Global Monetary Policy and What Likely Comes Next
The Covid-19 pandemic was an unprecedented shock to a large majority of global economies. But the economic damage was met with an extraordinary global monetary response with the Federal Reserve (Fed), European Central Bank (ECB), the...
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Five workplace trends will shape life after lockdown
We are experiencing the biggest remote work experiment in history – but many are beginning to imagine life after lockdown. Amid unprecedented global job losses, concerns about transport infrastructure and the continuing need for...
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Estate planning for your digital assets
What will happen to your Facebook account when you die? What about all your photos shared on social media, your texts with loved ones, or documents on cloud-storage systems? In just the two-year period from 2012 to 2014, humans...
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Digital Technologies Linked To Better Company Performance
Companies that extensively employ digital technologies perform better and are more efficient than companies that have not fully taken advantage of those technologies, according to the findings of a survey of senior information...
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The Bull Market Continues
The bull market continues, with the S&P 500 Index now up seven months in a row. Stocks have impressively gained 20% year-to-date, with the S&P 500 making 53 new all-time highs before the end of August—another new record. All of...
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How is Delta Affecting Consumer Behavior?
How is the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in the United States linked to the spread of the Delta variant affecting the U.S. consumer’s behavior? We look at some consumer confidence focused high-frequency data for clues on how...
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How Technology Can Improve Your Financial Wellbeing in 2021
The coronavirus pandemic has motivated financial professionals to take full advantage of technology. Many of them are pairing various tech solutions with their unique human touch to help clients work towards their financial well-being....
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Jackson Hole Economic Symposium Preview
Since 1978, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City has played host to central bankers, policymakers, academics and economists from around the world at its annual economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which is slated to...
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A Closer Look At The High Yield Muni Market
As mentioned in the most recent Muni Market Monitor, high yield muni funds have accumulated $24 million of net inflows year to date, representing ~20% of total inflows to the total municipal category. With the prospects of higher...
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Your Retirement Portfolio: Five Things to Consider Before Market Turbulence
It is human nature to seek advice when things aren't going well or when an unforeseen event occurs. Often, people seek financial advice from a professional only when the stock market and their investments are experiencing turbulent...
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How Financial Asset Management May Help Investors Stay the Course
Most people who decide to purchase stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or other investment vehicles do so understanding that there are risks associated with investing, but believing that the potential growth they may realize over time...
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Leadership Changes Coming to the Federal Reserve?
The Chairperson of the Federal Reserve (Fed) is appointed by the President of the United States and serves a four-year term. The current Chairperson, Jerome Powell, has held that position since 2018 so his initial term is ending early...
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Six Months and Counting
Six months and counting. That is the current monthly winning streak for the S&P 500 Index. To take that a step further, this key equity benchmark has posted gains in 13 of the last 16 months—dating back to the March 2020 low....
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July Market Insights – Sixth Straight Monthly Gain for the S&P 500, Led by Growth
Index Performance View enlarged chart. U.S. and international equities In July, the U.S. major market indexes finished higher while international equities, as represented by the developed international markets (MSCI EAFE), and the...
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Market Volatility and the Importance of Staying the Course at Different Ages
When you invest in the stock market, you want to see growth, but unfortunately, in most cases, investments do not grow all the time. Inevitably, the market goes up and down, and to safeguard your potential for long-term growth, you...
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Federal Reserve Meeting Preview
The Federal Reserve (Fed) meets this week to discuss its ongoing support for the U.S. economy. During its regularly scheduled two-day meeting, the nineteen-member committee is expected to discuss if and when the Fed should start to...
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2021 is the Year to be Money Savvy
Definition of Savvy: having or showing perception, comprehension, or shrewdness, especially in practical matters. Money Savvy: smart with money, money-wise, financially astute, shrewd. If you started saving for retirement at an early...
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Earnings Season Off to a Great Start
Top Story Earnings season off to a great start Beat rates have been outstanding so far with 85% and 90% of S&P 500 companies beating earnings and revenue targets. Second quarter earnings growth is tracking to a nearly 70%...
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COVID-19 and Retirement
More and more Americans are contemplating their decision to retire this year. Others are tapping their retirement savings, while others continue to save more due to the economic fallout and impacts of COVID-19. The TD Ameritrade...
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LPL Research Releases Midyear Outlook 2021: Picking Up Speed
LPL Research is proud to announce the release of Midyear Outlook 2021: Picking Up Speed. While the speed can be exhilarating as economic growth accelerates, it can also be dangerous. Our updated outlook is designed to help you navigate...
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Midyear Outlook 2021: Picking Up Speed
LPL Research Midyear Outlook 2021: Picking Up Speed is designed to help you navigate the risks and opportunities over the rest of 2021 and beyond. While the speed can be exhilarating as economic growth accelerates, it can also be...
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Picking Up Speed
In the first half of 2021, the U.S. economy powered forward faster than nearly anyone had expected. Speed can be exhilarating, but it can also be dangerous. In our view, the overall economic picture remains sound and will likely...
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S&P 500 Index Streaking
Top Story Streaking. Stocks have been extremely strong recently. Here are some eye-opening stats. The S&P 500 Index is up seven days in a row for the first time since August 2020. It hasn’t been up eight in a row since April 2019...
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Picking the Right Golf Partner is Not Easy
Have you ever thought about what kind of golf partner best suits your game? Maybe you have an upcoming member guest or are considering joining a local four-ball league this summer? Turns out picking a golf partner is a lot like...
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Corporate Credit Markets Are Boring And Why That’s Good For Equity Investors
While most of the focus lately has been on the volatility in the Treasury markets, the corporate credit markets continue to tell an encouraging story about the economic recovery. The traditional U.S. corporate credit bond market...
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Connecting the Dots on the Recent Bond Market Price Action
The “dot plots” are slowly becoming the new phrase of the year after the July 16 Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting. As a reminder, the dot plots represent the expected path of short-term interest rates by Fed members. Each dot...
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Tempering Tech
As investors we fight against behavioral biases in every investment decision we make. Our Director of Research Marc Zabicki talked recently about some of these biases in this video. We become attached to our ideas and when we think...
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Your Retirement Portfolio: Five Things to Consider Before Market Turbulence
It is human nature to seek advice when things aren't going well or when an unforeseen event occurs. Often, people seek financial advice from a professional only when the stock market and their investments are experiencing turbulent...
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TEACHING MONEY MINDFULNESS TO YOUR CHILDREN
At some point in a child's development, all parents wonder: how can I best teach my child the value of money? Parents who grew up in more modest circumstances than their own children can struggle to balance the desire to provide their...
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How to Teach Your Children Financial Wellness
Teaching children about financial wellness should start at an early age. Learning how making money, saving, and spending is related and the first step in teaching your child how to understand the value of money. Children learn from...
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Munis Are Expensive but Technicals Remain Favorable
While many of the taxable markets have generated negative returns this year, both the high quality and high yield municipal markets have generated positive returns (no guarantees that will continue, of course). State and local...
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Gearing Up For Summer
As we move into June, a path to normalcy is coming quickly with stadiums allowing full capacity, restaurants filling up, and summer vacations in full swing. Meanwhile, the U.S. economy continues to recover remarkably quickly and the...
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May Market Insights – Commodities Extend Gains in May
Index Performance View enlarged chart. U.S. and international equities The month of May proved to be mixed for the U.S. major market indexes. Last month’s top performer, the Nasdaq composite, was May’s laggard....
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The Relationship Between Treasury Yields and Mortgage Rates
Mortgage rates are still around all-time lows but they may be headed higher. The 30-year national average mortgage rate hit an all-time low of 2.82% back in February, but with the U.S. economic recovery in full swing, mortgage rates...
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What Is “Tapering” and Why Is It Important?
After the April consumer price index (CPI) release that surprised to the upside, indicating consumer prices in some areas of the economy are increasing at a faster pace than many expected, the discussion has shifted to the need for the...
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Raising Financially Aware Kids in the Internet Age
Today's kids have more information at their fingertips than past generations could ever have dreamed—but not all this information is always accurate. And when it comes to financial literacy, the ability to weed out misinformation...
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Ready to Retire? How to Know for Sure
Retirement is an exciting time for many, and the reward for years of hard work. While there is no set age for retirement, it is important to be prepared before you make the leap, so that you enjoy your retirement and financial...
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Measuring Inflation and the Fed’s Reaction to Higher Prices
Inflation is one of the primary risks to bondholders. Rising consumer prices erodes the “real” value of principal and interest payments making them worth less. However, the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) reaction to...
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Medicare Options During Retirement
Medicare is available to virtually all U.S. citizens and legal residents 65 years of age and over who have previously worked and paid U.S. taxes or who are/were married to someone who did. And while this opens a host of healthcare...
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Out of the Shadows
As the calendar has turned to May, the popular “Sell in May and Go Away” stock market cliché is getting a lot of airtime. This is the idea that the stock market tends to be weakest between May and October (and...
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April Market Insights – Economic Revival Signs Are At Hand
Index Performance View enlarged chart. U.S. and International Equities This month provided another set of positive results for the U.S. major market indexes. The top performer was the Nasdaq, rebounding from last month’s lagging...
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5 Misconceptions About Medicare Coverage
The United States national health insurance program, Medicare offers coverage to seniors age 65 and older and some younger people with disabilities. Although this program is widely used by millions of people throughout the country,...
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End of Recession May Be Announced Soon
End of recession call may come soon Incredibly, the COVID-19 recession may have ended a year ago, but we still don’t have an end-of-recession call from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). But we may be a step closer...
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Three Key Components of Financial Literacy
Financial feats that were once unheard of—from investing in cryptocurrency to instantly paying someone through an online payment system—have now become commonplace in many parts of the country. But these sophisticated tasks...
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Valuations Matter in the Bond Market Too
“Price is what you pay; value is what you get.” – Legendary value investor Ben Graham. Valuations matter—at least in the long run. We believe it to be true in the equity markets and in the fixed income markets...
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Quarterly Market Insights – Economic Recovery, Redux
Index Performance View enlarged chart. U.S. and International Equities This quarter provided positive results for all major market indexes. The top performer and standout was the US small cap Russell 2000, returning over 12% for the...
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Why Financial Planning Retirement is for Everyone
When it comes to retirement plans, there is no one-size-fits-all approach for how to invest. While there are some basic strategies everyone should follow, it’s important to keep in mind retirement plans will vary, depending on...
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Eight Key Facts to Know About Social Security
A whopping 70 percent of adults in their 20s through 50s fear that the Social Security program might be reduced or eliminated by the time they retire, and don’t know what to expect.1 It's important for all adults to be informed...
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Revisiting Our Treasury Yield Forecast
Coming into this year, we expected longer-maturity U.S. Treasury yields to rise, consistent with improving economic growth dynamics. That is indeed what we have seen, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury higher by 80 basis points (0...
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Spring Into A Positive Outlook
“The real key to making money in stocks is not to get scared out of them.” Peter LynchThey say April showers bring May flowers. Well, after a lot of showers and storms over the past year, flowers are starting to bloom and things are...
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Stocks Love April
“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” Mark Twain What more can we say other than few months have been kinder to stocks lately than the month of April. In fact, it was last year that saw the S&P 500...
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Six Keys to More Successful Investing
A successful investor maximizes gain and minimizes loss. Though there can be no guarantee that any investment strategy will be successful and all investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal, here are six basic...
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Corporate Credit Markets Have Sold Off This Year. A Harbinger of Things to Come?
While most market participants have been (rightly) focusing on the sell-off in the Treasury markets this year, U.S. corporate credit markets have sold off as well. Corporate credit markets, as defined by the Bloomberg Barclays U.S....
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March Madness—Stock Market Edition
March Madness: Stock Market Edition LPL Research share their “Final Four Factors” for the stock market in 2021 in this week’s Weekly Market Commentary, available at 1 p.m. ET. Daily Insights U.S. stocks open little...
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How Financial Asset Management May Help Investors Stay the Course
Most people who decide to purchase stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or other investment vehicles do so understanding that there are risks associated with investing, but believing that the potential growth they may realize over time...
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Rising Interest Rates Are A Global Phenomenon
Today is the one-year anniversary of the low in the 10-year Treasury yield. While we’ve discussed the sharp rise in U.S. Treasury yields that have occurred this year, rising rates have been a global phenomenon. Similar to the...
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How to Protect Your Wealth as You Get Older
As you get older and closer to retirement, your financial practices need to shift slightly as you transition from working and saving to relying on your nest egg. As you approach this stage of your life, you need to take steps to...
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The Return of Normal is Approaching
It’s now been over a year since COVID-19 first hit American shores. While the pandemic has affected everyone to varying degrees, we can all agree that everyone’s life is different today than it was a year ago. It’s...
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Energy and Financials Fuel February’s Markets
Index Performance View enlarged chart. US and International Equities This month provided positive results for the major market indexes. The top performer was the Russell 2000 small cap index, returning over 6% for the month. Small caps...
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Treasury Yields Are Rising. Now What?
Treasury yields started moving sharply higher this past month (remember that as yields go up, prices go down). And while the upward march began in earnest last August when the 10-Year Treasury yield bottomed at an all-time low rate of...
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Common Retirement Investment Mistakes
Only one-in-four Americans (27%) feel very confident that they will have enough money to live comfortably when they retire, according to the 2020 Retirement Confidence Survey Summary Report.11 While the number is up slightly from the...
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Got Yield? Hold the Rate Risk, Please
In LPL Research’s Weekly Market Commentary this week, we looked at some stock and bond options that may be attractive income-producing ideas for suitable income-oriented investors. On the bond side, many income-oriented investors...
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The History of Mardi Gras
Mardi gras is French for “Fat Tuesday,” and this holiday is celebrated on the day before the first day of Lent. Historically, for Catholics, Lent is a period of fasting, and, before starting the fast on Ash Wednesday, many...
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Inflation Expectations Highest Since 2014
The 10-year breakeven inflation rate, a market-based measure of inflation expectations, hit its highest level last Friday, February 5, since 2014. Still, at 2.21% expected annual inflation over the next 10 years, it remains a...
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Stay the Course
“In the short-term, the market is a popularity contest. In the long-term, the market is a weighing machine.” Warren Buffett 2021 is under way, as our nation and the rest of the world look to begin to put the global pandemic...
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As Goes January, So Goes The Year
Stocks got off to a nice start in 2021, until the late January selloff, as everyone got GameStop fever. Should bulls worry about what a down January might mean for the rest of 2021? There’s an old adage on Wall Street that...
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Interest Rate Reversals Revisited
In LPL Research Outlook 2021: Powering Forward, we noted that large interest rate declines historically have been followed by reversals. With the 10-year Treasury yield continuing to climb, now’s a good time for an update. As...
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Longevity Risk and Retirement Income
How long might you live in retirement? Think carefully. Your answer could influence whether you have enough money for a comfortable retirement or just scrape by. According to pension mortality tables, at least one member of a...
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Credit Spreads Limit Bond Performance Outlook
Investment-grade credit spreads, the extra yield you get from investment-grade corporate bonds compared to similarly dated US Treasuries, have already tightened to a level you usually only see during the middle of the economic...
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Reducing Risk with Diversification
Diversification is a basic concept that's critical to building a portfolio able to withstand the test of time. It is the process of spreading your money among a variety of securities to reduce exposure to any one investment or asset...
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Treasuries Hit Key Levels
Treasury yields hit two key levels the first week of 2021. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, the 10-year Treasury yield moved above 1% for the first time since March 2020, and the 10-year breakeven inflation rate, a measure of...
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Six Tips To Take Control of Your Financial Health
Similar to taking care of your personal health by proactively incorporating healthy habits and annual checkups, you can also take control of your financial health when you are proactive and engaged in managing your finances. And also...
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2021 Brings a Fresh Start
Happy New Year! A new year offers a welcomed turn of the calendar and a fresh start. However, it’s difficult to put 2020 completely behind us just yet because the COVID-19 pandemic still presents a significant threat. Healthcare...
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December Market Insights
Market Blog View enlarged table. US and International Equities The S&P 500 Index, Dow Jones Industrial, and Nasdaq Composite indexes, continued their November run in December. As noted last month, November was a record-breaking month...
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Three Fed Takeaways from an Extraordinary Year
2020 was an extraordinary year for the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed responded swiftly and decisively to the rapidly accelerating financial and economic uncertainty brought on by efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The current...
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Is Brexit Fishing For A Deal?
Brexit, the United Kingdom’s (UK) withdrawal from the European Union (EU), is making news again as it stumbles toward its apparent conclusion on December 31, 2020. The major sticking point now: fish. The UK officially left the EU...
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Retirement Planning Throughout Life: Strategies to Keep in Mind
Retirement planning is a complex process requiring as much support and time as possible to reach the desired end. Retirement planning at all ages is important – the more time put into the process, the less investment is necessary...
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4 More Years of Dollar Weakness?
Back in July, we wrote in our July 23 LPL Research blog that dollar weakness may continue, highlighting a short-term bearish technical case for the US dollar. Since then, the Bloomberg US Dollar Index and the US Dollar Index (DXY) are...
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IRS Makes Annual Inflation Adjustments for 2021
Adjustments for deductions, tax rate schedules and 60 other tax provisions The Internal Revenue Service announced annual inflation adjustments for the 2021 tax year for more than 60 tax provisions, including standard deductions and the...
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Fixed Income Excels in the Third Quarter
Market Blog The third quarter was characterized by the carry-over of economic momentum from the second quarter, as states continued to lift restrictions to reopen their economies. Perhaps it was no surprise that some of the hardest hit...
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Market Volatility and the Importance of Staying the Course at Different Ages
When you invest in the stock market, you want to see growth, but unfortunately, in most cases, investments do not grow all the time. Inevitably, the market goes up and down, and to safeguard your potential for long-term growth, you...
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Signs of Strength in the Economy
Dear Valued Investor: Autumn has arrived, with students back in school, baseball playoffs beginning, and football in full swing. Life is trying to get back to as normal as possible despite the ongoing impact from COVID-19. While the...
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How Corporate Bond Spreads Respond to Equity Market Volatility
An old Wall Street adage says bond markets are smarter than equity markets, so when stocks encounter volatility, investors often look to the bond market for clues about the potential severity of equity market weakness. The...
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Appropriate Checklists for Year-End Tax Planning
What are appropriate checklists for year-end tax planning? Tax planners often develop checklists to guide taxpayers toward year-end strategies that might help reduce taxes. Typically, suggestions are grouped into several different...
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Three Steps to Build Your Savings
The fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic has made the need for a healthy savings account clearer than ever. Even before the pandemic, the U.S. Federal Reserve estimated that nearly 40 percent of Americans didn't have enough set aside to...
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How Bonds May Perform When Rates and Stocks Fall
A few weeks ago we looked at how different bond sectors performed during rising rate periods during the last economic cycle (2009–2020). Today we look at falling rate periods—not the outcome we expect, but it can still be...
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Central Banks Speak
The US Federal Reserve (Fed) and Bank of Japan (BoJ) both meet this week, while the European Central Bank (ECB) met last week. When central bankers talk— markets listen. “The global economy has been steadying faster than...
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The New Look of Professional Football During the Pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic has created uncertainty in almost every aspect of daily life. This includes the upcoming professional football season. Professional football is one of the most widely watched sports and an industry that makes...
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LPL Street View: The Recession Is Likely Over
Economic Blog In the recent LPL Market Street View video, LPL Financial’s Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick discusses why the recession is likely over, making it one of the shortest recessions ever. Some reasons discussed...
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Celebrating Labor Day 2020
Give me work, ‘till my life shall end and life, ‘till my work is done The national holiday we celebrate on Monday, September 7th is a good time for reflection on why we work and what we derive from it. The answer should be...
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Back to School in a New Way
Dear Valued Investor: Back to school this year will be different. On the one hand, like other years, it marks the end of summer, the arrival of cooler weather, kids hitting the books again, and Labor Day gatherings. But unlike other...
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Weekly Market Update
Markets mostly higher. The S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq opened higher after a mixed close on Monday, with the Nasdaq making yet another new high. The S&P 500’s lower close broke a seven-day win streak and six consecutive all-time...
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When Do Rates Start Rising After a Recession?
As the economy begins to recover, with the early stage more robust than expected, we increasingly get asked when interest rates will move meaningfully higher. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, historically rates don’t start...
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3 Mistakes to Avoid Before Taking Required Minimum Distributions
Uncle Sam wants your money. He has bills to pay, just like you. And he's been waiting patiently for decades for you to hand over his share of your tax-deferred retirement dollars. He expects some folks to be stubborn about it, so he...
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Low Treasury Yields Present a Challenge as Inflation Expectations Rise
As the COVID-19-related economic weakness that characterized the first half of the year subsides, growth has begun to return as trillions in fiscal stimulus have helped to stabilize consumer spending. Against a backdrop of improving...
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6 Essential Tips for Retirement Planning
Retirement planning is all about the future, your future. Whether you are classified as a millennial, Gen Xers, women, or you are in your 40s-50s, retirement planning is a must. The key to successful retirement planning is starting...
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The Worst Years for Treasuries Don’t Look Like This…Except One
Economic Blog The 10-year Treasury yield is historically low, so low that it could climb a full 1% before the end of the year and still be the lowest year-end yield on record, with room to spare. Historically low rates come with a...
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Three Tips for Planning Your Income in Retirement
If you've been diligently saving for your retirement, you may often find yourself wondering when you can afford to set an official retirement date. The answer to this question can often depend on how much monthly or annual income your...
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Assessing Your Retirement Resources
How resourceful can you be during your retirement? Determining where your retirement money will come from is an integral part of planning for retirement. Most people draw on three main sources of income: Social Security,...
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Let’s Get Real About Yields
While the 10-year Treasury yield has traded in a narrow range since early April, the equivalent real yield, represented by the yield on 10-year Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS), has continued to fall and could go lower....
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8 Steps for Pre-Retirees to Pursue Retirement Income
Sometimes people get caught up in the numbers so much that they forget why they're saving for retirement. At the beginning of your career, you may not have known what you wanted to do. Now that you've officially joined the ranks of...
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Real-Time Data Recovery Stalled Amid COVID-19 Resurgence
We check in again today on some of the real-time economic data that LPL Research is monitoring to provide insight into how the latest increase in COVID-19 cases and the rollback of certain reopening measures are affecting the state of...
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Mid-Year Outlook 2020: The Trail to Recovery
AT THE MIDPOINT of 2020, we’re mindful that it’s been an extremely challenging year so far in the United States and around the globe. We’re in the midst of a pandemic that continues to impact all of us, our...
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Economically Sensitive Fixed Income Sectors Lead in Second Quarter
The Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index posted a solid total return of 2.9% in the second quarter of 2020, its eighth consecutive quarterly gain, and a relatively strong quarter for the broad investment-grade bond index...
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Mortgage Rates Fall to Record Low
Economic Blog Nearly four months ago, in late February, the 10-year Treasury yield broke to its lowest level ever, undercutting the record lows from 2016 of 1.32%. Over the following two weeks, as fears surrounding the COVID-19...
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Why Financial Planning Retirement is for Everyone
When it comes to retirement plans, there is no one-size-fits-all approach for how to invest. While there are some basic strategies everyone should follow, it’s important to keep in mind retirement plans will vary, depending on...
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Moving to the Next Phase on the Road to Recovery
Market Blog The US economy has made impressive progress in recent weeks. As the economy re-opens, the way we assess the recovery has changed. In March and April, we were looking for evidence that growth in COVID-19 cases was...
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Annuity Basics
An annuity is a contract between you, the purchaser or owner, and an insurance company, the annuity issuer. In its simplest form, you pay money to an annuity issuer, and the issuer pays out the principal and earnings back to you or to...
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What Happens After Historic Rate Declines?
The yield on the 10-year Treasury yield has been broadly declining since the early 1980s, when it peaked over 15%, but even over that long decline there have been intermittent periods of rising rates. In fact, after periods of...
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It’s Official, We’re In A Recession
In probably one of the least surprising economic calls of all time, the Nation Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) officially declared an end to the longest expansion ever and the start of a new recession. As shown in the LPL Chart of...
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Congratulations, Graduates! What are your next steps, financially?
What recent graduates (and their parents) need to think about Spring is here, summer weather has begun (in many places), and graduation time has arrived. Across the country, students are finishing their high school, college, and even...
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2020 In Charts
2020 is only five months old, but in many ways it is one of the most historic years we’ve ever seen. “2020 went from moving along nicely, to seeing the worst recession in a generation and the fastest bear market ever...
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Corporate Bond Spreads Decline as Fed Increases ETF Purchases
The Federal Reserve (Fed) increased its bond exchange-traded funds (ETF) purchases in the week ending May 20 (the most recent data available), adding another $1.5 billion in bond ETFs to its balance sheet, bringing the total holding...
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How a Financial Professional Can Guide You Through Choppy Seas
In these trying times, even those with veins of steel can find themselves nervous about the market's direction and what it could mean for one's financial future. And the unprecedented nature of the novel coronavirus—and its...
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Fed Says No to Negative Rates
There’re plenty of people who think negative interest rates are a good policy. But we don’t really think so at the Federal Reserve. And I think it’s an area of real uncertainty in the central banking world. -Fed...
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The Inflationary Impact of COVID-19 Stimulus
Should you worry about inflation, deflation, hyperinflation, or stagflation? The coronavirus outbreak, which was first detected in China, has infected millions of people in hundreds of countries and has left global governments,...
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Why Gold Will Continue To Shine
Gold has done quite well so far in 2020, up more than 12% year to date versus the S&P 500 Index which is down about 10%. We started to warm to the yellow metal late last year and continue to think it can serve as a potential hedge in...
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Financial Considerations for Single Women
If you’re divorced or separated, money management will become an important part of your life. While it may be true that money can’t buy or ensure happiness, your ability to manage your finances can play a large role in your...
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Remembering the Flash Crash
One of the most historic market crashes ever took place 10 years ago today, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index plunging more than 1,000 points, or 9%, within minutes, only to regain most of the losses by the end of the day....
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When Marriage Ends in Divorce or Separation
The end of a marriage is also the beginning of a new financial life. Reconsidering your financial arrangements -- whether or not your income will be reduced -- should be a priority as you adjust to your new circumstances. Some of the...
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Silver Lining in Consumer Confidence Data
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) for April came in 86.9, falling more than 30 points from the prior month. The monthly drop was the biggest for the index since 1973, reflecting the severity of the economic...
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Amidst Stay-At-Home, Learn Money Mindfullness
Using money to enhance your life and the lives of those around you Money matters are complex and even scary. How you choose to approach finances mentally is key to mastering them. Financial professionals call this “money...
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When Will The Recession Officially Start?
With 22 million jobs lost in the past four weeks, a record drop in retail sales, and huge drops in industrial production and housing starts, it is safe to say we are likely in a recession. Even the Federal Reserve (Fed) in the recent...
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Retirement Assistance Within the CARES Act
In late March 2020, as the number of novel coronavirus cases in the U.S. surged past 100,000, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed into law.1 The CARES Act provides around $2.2 trillion in aid to...
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Can Stocks Close Higher In 2020?
What a ride 2020 has been for investors. The fastest bear market ever, now one of the steepest recoveries ever. After being down more than 30% for the year on March 23, this recovery is extremely impressive. In fact, before yesterday,...
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Big Annual Declines are Rare
Stocks have rallied nicely off the March 23 lows on the back of a bold policy response from the Federal Reserve (Fed) and lawmakers in Washington, DC, which was followed by signs that a peak in growth of COVID-19 cases may come soon....
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7 Tips to Help You Stay Productive at Home
With the rapid spreading of COVID-19, and more and more people either on self-quarantine or practicing social distancing, many of us are working from home. While working from home definitely has its perks – no commute! –...
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Street View: Is a Depression Coming?
“Could there be another depression” is one of the top questions we’ve received over the past week. “Yes, we are in a recession and many are worried if things may get much worse before they get better,”...
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Market Volatility Stresses Liquidity
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented volatility in recent weeks that has investors and traders scrambling to assess the economic and market impact of the aggressive containment measures. This past week the CBOE Volatility...
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5 Big Problems to Solve Before you Retire
It seems, sometimes, as though financial professionals come in only two flavors. There are those who promise everything is going to be fine; you don't have to fret about retirement, they say, because they'll help you make more than...
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Beware of Scams at Tax Time
Identity theft runs rampant during tax season Here’s what to know and how to protect yourself. Identity thieves often swipe your bank or credit card account numbers, birth date information or Social Security Number (SSN) to steal...
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Low Valuations Imply Better Long-Term Performance
The dizzying volatility over the past few weeks has left all of our heads spinning as we wait for containment efforts in the United States and elsewhere to help slow new cases of COVID-19 (coronavirus). Public health is of course our...
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Debt Should Retire When You Do
These days, having a credit card is practically a necessity, even when you are retired. It's hard to do things like buy airline tickets, rent a car, or place an order online without one. And, while monitoring your credit card use is...
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First Emergency Rate Cut By the Fed Since 2008
In a move in which the timing was more compelling than the decision itself, the Federal Reserve (Fed) announced this morning that it unanimously decided to cut its policy rate by 50 basis points (0.5%) from the 1.5-1.75% range to the...
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March Madness, Cinderella & Your Portfolio
You should pick investments (and teams) so you win most of your games Sports metaphors and investing are natural pairs. A good way to look at portfolio management is the NCAA March Madness tournament. As with basketball, you should...
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A Letter to Clients: The Coronavirus
Dear Valued Investor: Monday was a tough day in the stock market, with the S&P 500 Index down more than 3% as the number of coronavirus cases reported outside of China jumped. Monday’s losses reversed all of this year’s...
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DAILY INSIGHTS
Stock markets modestly lower after renewed coronavirus concern. Apple’s announcement that the coronavirus would impact sales had international markets striking a cautious tone overnight, with the technology sector getting much...
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Retirement Planning Throughout Life: Strategies to Keep in Mind
Retirement planning is a complex process requiring as much support and time as possible to reach the desired end. Retirement planning at all ages is important – the more time put into the process, the less investment is necessary...
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Six Keys to More Successful Investing
A successful investor maximizes gain and minimizes loss. Though there can be no guarantee that any investment strategy will be successful and all investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal, here are six basic...
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Yield Curve Back in the News
The financial media returned to a favorite topic in the last week, yield curve inversion, but we caution against getting caught up in the building frenzy. The Treasury yield curve inverts when short-term interest rates move above...
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Investing for the Long Haul: 5 Tips for Millennials
As Millennials establish themselves in their careers and as adults, now is the time for these 20- and 30-year-olds to begin investing. Developing a lifelong process of saving and investing for the future is the key to this...
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Are Yields Near a Bottom?
Economic Blog The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield moved to within .05% of its recent low on Friday, January 31, approaching the 1.47% mark set back in August 2019. Prospects of stabilizing global growth and progress on trade encouraged...
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Viral Outbreak Ends Period of Market Calm
Market Blog Fears that the deadly coronavirus would spread further around the globe intensified Monday and led to the biggest one-day drop in the S&P 500 Index since October 8, 2019. In fact, it was the first time the index moved 1%...
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Keep Your Head in the Game: Avoiding Mental Errors When You Invest
In the sports world, a mental error can cost your team the big game. When you are investing, a mental error can put your retirement portfolio at risk. Mistakes often result from letting misconceptions and emotions affect your decisions...
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Your Home and Your Retirement
Unlike earlier generations of retirees, who paid off first mortgages and retired at the family homestead, some of today's baby boomers are looking to capitalize on home equity to enhance their retirement savings. Popular strategies for...
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Recession Watch Update
ECONOMIC BLOG As the economic expansion caps its first decade, we thought it’d be a good time to check on LPL Research’s leading indicators in our Recession Watch Dashboard. As you can see in our latest update and in the...
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Five Strategies for Tax-Efficient Investing
After factoring in federal income and capital gains taxes, the alternative minimum tax, and possible state and local taxes, your investments' returns in any given year may be reduced by 40% or more. Here are five ways to potentially...
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Healthy But Manageable Consumer Inflation
Consumer inflationary pressures grew at a healthy, but manageable rate in December 2019. The core Consumer Price Index (CPI), which excludes food and energy, rose 2.3% year over year last month, around the fastest pace of the economic...
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Risk Management and Your Retirement Savings
By investing for retirement through youremployer-sponsored plan, you are helping to managea critically important financial risk: the chance that youwill outlive your money. But choosing to participate isjust one step in your financial...
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Planning the Withdrawal of Your Retirement Assets
You've worked long and hard to accumulate the assets that you are using to help finance your retirement. Now, it's time to start drawing down those assets. Exactly how you liquidate your assets will affect your tax and impact how long...
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What Mideast Escalation Means for Markets
The U.S. airstrike that killed the top Iranian military commander last week was a major escalation in Mideast tensions. In fact, it would be difficult to overstate the geopolitical significance of this action. Iran likely will...
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What a year it was in 2019!
It was the best year for stocks (S&P 500 Index) since 2013 and the best year for bonds (Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index) since 2002. The diversified investor had an especially good year: A hypothetical 60/40 portfolio with...
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Buying Locally and Giving Locally
Maybe your charitable donations should stay in your zip code? For many of us, buying locally matters. We’ve all heard the term and seen the signs: Shop Locally. Eat Locally. But let’s extend that thought for a minute: do...
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Is It Time For Santa?
Economic Blog December 17, 2019 December has been widely viewed as a strong month for stocks, with this year following suit so far. What many probably don’t realize, however, is the majority of the gains have taken place late in...
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Teaching Your College-Age Child about Money
When your child first started school, you doled out the change for milk and a snack on a daily basis. But now that your kindergartner has grown up, it's time for you to make sure that your child has enough financial knowledge to manage...
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Four Fed Hikes, One Year Later
The Federal Reserve’s (Fed) final policy meeting of 2019 starts today and will conclude tomorrow with the release of the Fed’s policy statement, updated economic projections, and a press conference by Fed Chair Jerome...
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A Financial Plan for All Seasons
Grab your sunglasses -- summer's here, and it's time to kick back and relax. If only it were that easy. It would be great if all your worries disappeared when summer arrived, but that doesn't happen. Actually, if money is stressing you...
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Naming Beneficiaries: What You Need to Know
A major issue in estate planning is who to name as beneficiaries on life insurance policies, pension plan accounts, IRAs, and annuities. This important decision often doesn't take into account the substantial estate and income tax...
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Outlook 2020: Bringing Markets Into Focus
Hindsight is 20/20, but finding clarity in future uncertainty can be fuzzy. AT LPL RESEARCH, as we look forward to the year 2020 and a new decade, some key trends and market signals will be important to watch, including progress on U...
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Small Caps Join the Party
It took nearly 15 months, but the Russell 2000 Index finally broke out to a new 52-week high. On November 25, the Russell 2000 gained an impressive 2.1% to close at its highest level since October 2018. Small caps have lagged their...
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Three Amazing Streaks
“We’re going streaking!” Frank The Tank in Old School As the bull market continues to make new highs, the past few weeks have seen some amazing market streaks. Here are three that have caught our attention. The S&P...
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Putting The Bull In Perspective
The S&P 500 Index has closed higher five consecutive weeks, making six new all-time highs along the way. There now have been 19 new highs in 2019, tying the number we saw last year. There’s no doubt that this bull market has been...
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6 Tips for Wealth and Sanity
And the most important tip of all? Hire a financial advisor. Investing can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. If you have a portfolio that was built for you and use the help of a financial advisor, you shouldn’t be...
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When Should You Collect Social Security
A growing number of Americans have been forced to delay their planned retirement date due to job and savings losses suffered during the past recession. Postponing retirement not only means working longer but also delaying when you...
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The Charitable IRA Transfer
If you are age 70½ or older and charitably minded, you may wish to consider tapping your individual retirement account (IRA). The qualified charitable distribution (QCD), also known as an IRA charitable rollover, allows you to...
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4 Weeks to a Better Holiday Budget
You can see it just ahead, looming on the horizon -- the holiday season. While children can hardly stand the wait, adults often wish they had a few more months before its arrival. Unfortunately, time does not stop. This year, don't...
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Bulls Stay in Motion
“An object in motion tends to remain in motion along a straight line unless acted upon by an outside force.” Sir Isaac Newton What a year it has been for the bulls. The S&P 500 Index recently made four more new highs, and...
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Will The Fed Go Three For Three?
The Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) is widely expected to cut interest rates on Wednesday, October 30, which would be the third cut this year after nine consecutive hikes. The current fed funds rate target is 1.75–2%, with a 25 basis...
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Another Brexit Delay Likely
The United Kingdom’s (U.K.) withdrawal from the European Union (E.U.), or Brexit, is stumbling along, and another delay looks increasingly likely. The U.K. Parliament’s “Super Saturday” voting session last...
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Password Protection Strategies
We all know that the more complicated a password is, the better. They should include a mixture of numbers, punctuation marks and symbols, and upper- and lower-case letters. Or should they? Recent research into password security has...
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Light at the End of the Brexit Tunnel
The debate over the United Kingdom’s (U.K.) withdrawal from the European Union (EU), or Brexit, is reaching another milepost in what could be an action-packed week. Talks between the U.K. government and the EU have entered...
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Naming Beneficiaries: What You Need to Know
A major issue in estate planning is who to name as beneficiaries on life insurance policies, pension plan accounts, IRAs, and annuities. This important decision often doesn't take into account the substantial estate and income tax...
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Can The Economy Predict The Next President?
“The economy, stupid” — Phrase campaign strategist James Carville used to help Bill Clinton get elected in 1992. As Carville noted ahead of the 1992 election, the recession in 1990 and 1991 was top of mind for many...
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5 Big Problems to Solve Before You Retire
It seems, sometimes, as though financial professionals come in only two flavors. There are those who promise everything is going to be fine; you don't have to fret about retirement, they say, because they'll help you make more than...
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U.S. Manufacturing Drops to 10-Year Low
U.S. manufacturing activity fell to a 10-year low, dragged down by a weakening global economy. The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 47.6 in September, the lowest level since...
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Longevity Risk and Retirement Income
How long might you live in retirement? Think carefully. Your answer could influence whether you have enough money for a comfortable retirement or just scrape by. According to pension mortality tables, at least one member of a...
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A Two-Week Rollercoaster in Yields
As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, the 10-year Treasury yield jumped 34 basis points (0.34%) in the week ending September 13, then gave back half that gain in a 17 basis point (0.17%) slide last week. The benchmark yield...
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Health Insurance in Retirement
At any age, health care is a priority. When you retire, however, you will probably focus more on health care than ever before. Staying healthy is your goal, and this can mean more visits to the doctor for preventive tests and routine...
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9 Ways To Earn Retirement Income
Retirement income is different than what you're used during a full-time career. You'll have a new set of concerns, but you'll also have a decent amount of freedom to make your money behave the way you want. Here are nine of the most...
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A New High in CPI Growth
Consumer inflation has accelerated recently, bucking disinflation and deflation concerns that had permeated financial markets earlier this year. In August, the core Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased at least 0.3% for a third...
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Brush Up on Your IRA Facts
If you are opening an (Individual Retirement Account) IRA for the first time or need a refresher course on the specifics of IRA ownership, here are some facts for your consideration. IRAs in America IRAs continue to play an...
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Do Major Hurricanes Impact Stocks?
First and foremost, our thoughts are with all of those that were impacted by Hurricane Dorian over the Labor Day holiday and all those that are still in its path. Many have asked us what stocks tend to do after a major hurricane hits...
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Trade Uncertainty Still Weighing on Capital Investment
Business investment remains a critical component for this economic expansion. Capital expenditures (capex) drive productivity gains (more output per hour worked), which enables economic growth while keeping inflation contained. That...
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The Economic Journey of Your Morning Coffee
This morning 100 million Americans began their day in the same way—drinking their first cup of coffee.¹ Few, if any, took a moment during this morning ritual to contemplate or marvel the complex journey that brought their...
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Plan Ahead for the Holiday Budget Crunch
Every year, millions of Americans celebrate the holidays with traditions such as throwing parties and buying gifts for family and friends. Unfortunately, many also participate in a tradition that lands them in debt -- spending more...
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Breaking Down China’s Slowdown
Trade tensions continue to weigh on China’s growth, creating added pressure to reach a trade deal with the United States. Economic reports released last week provided further confirmation that the trade war is continuing to...
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Evaluating an Early Retirement Offer
In today's corporate environment, cost cutting, restructuring, and downsizing are the norm, and many employers are offering their employees early retirement packages. But how do you know if the seemingly attractive offer you've...
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Consumer Inflation Picks Up
Consumer inflation has surged back after a strong quarter of U.S. consumer demand. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, Consumer Inflation Picks Up in July, the core Consumer Price Index (CPI), which excludes food and energy prices,...
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Is a Trade Deal Still Possible?
We’re a week into August, and trade tensions have been the biggest driver of U.S. stocks, as we predicted in our latest Weekly Market Commentary. Markets don’t like uncertainty, and we are getting a heavy dose of it now. On...
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A Cheat Sheet for Sending Your Kid to College
College marks a great milestone in a child’s life. It may be the first time he or she will live away from home. Dropping off your child at college may be an experience loaded with emotions, so here are a few tips for a smoother...
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Here Comes August, Time to Buckle Up?
It has been a great year for stocks. As of July 30, 2019, the S&P 500 Index is up more than 20% so far in 2019. To put that in perspective, since WWII only seven years have been up more than 20% by the end of July, with 1997 being the...
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Checking On The Calendar
“I’ve been on a calendar, but I’ve never been on time.” Marilyn Monroe We’ve pondered where the S&P 500 Index could go now that it’s near our fair-value target of 3,000. As we discussed in the latest...
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A Beneficial Course in Budget Basics
One extra curricular activity that every student should master before heading off to college is personal money management. Typically, a student’s day-to-day spending is done on an ad-lib basis, meaning that overspending is the...
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Your Vacation: An Invitation to Burglars
Returning to a burglarized home can be a horrible jolt after a relaxing vacation. Unfortunately, the truth is that an empty home is an easy target for burglars, and peak vacation times show the highest number of break-ins. However,...
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The Dow’s Hot July
Blue chip stocks have been on a tear this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) has risen 2.8% in July, the best performer of the four benchmark stock indexes we track. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, The Dow’s Hot...
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12 Strategies to Generate Income in Retirement
When it comes to saving for retirement, maybe you've done everything right. You started early, maxed out your 401(k) plan, invested in a diversified portfolio and avoided costly mistakes, such as cashing out your retirement plan....
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Let’s Talk About Pullbacks And Corrections
Let’s get one thing straight: Market pullbacks, corrections, and bear markets happen. Last year was a perfect example of this: The S&P 500 Index endured five separate 5% pullbacks throughout the year, and a nearly 20% bear market...
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10-Year Treasury Yields Look Up
The 10-year Treasury yield has been flirting with dipping below 2% throughout the later half of June and into the start of July. As our LPL Chart of the Day, Will Trade Truce Help 2% 10-Year Treasury Yield Hold?, shows, the yield has...
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Beyond Retirement: What About Your Other Goals?
Let's say that at the age of 25, you earned $35,000. If your salary increased at the average historical rate, you'd have earned nearly $2 million in total by the time you were 65.1,2 That might sound like a lot -- until you begin...
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Recognizing and Avoiding Online Scams
According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the number of U.S. data breaches hit a new high in 2017. Nearly 20% of breaches included credit and debit card information, a nearly 6% increase from the prior year. The actual number of...
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Midyear Outlook 2019
We are pleased to announce the release of the LPL Research Midyear Outlook 2019: FUNDAMENTAL: How to Focus on What Really Matters in the Markets, with investment insights and market guidance through the end of 2019. LPL Research...
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Does Your Portfolio Fit Your Retirement Lifestyle?
Most portfolios are constructed based on an individual's investment objective, risk tolerance, and time horizon. Using these inputs and sophisticated portfolio-optimization calculations, most investors can feel confident that they own...
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Can Stocks Really Gain 20% This Year?
U.S. stocks could have a big year if LPL Research’s forecasts prove correct. All year, we’ve maintained our fair value target on the S&P 500 Index of 3,000, implying that we expect this bull market and economic expansion to...
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A Bucket Plan to Go with Your Bucket List
The baby boomers have re-defined everything they’ve touched, from music to marriage to parenting and, more lately, to what “old” means—60 is the new 50! Longer, healthier living, however, can put greater stress...
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Sentiment Stands Strong
Business confidence surged in May despite renewed uncertainty in the U.S.-China trade dispute. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, “Business Optimism Surges Despite Trade Uncertainty,” the National Federation of...
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A Look at College Savings Options
As time goes by, planning for a child’s college education is more challenging than ever before. The saving or investing method you choose will depend on your child’s age, as well as your financial resources. Other...
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Stocks’ Losing Streak In Perspective
The S&P 500 Index has closed lower four consecutive weeks, its longest weekly losing streak since October 2014. The S&P 500 has closed down five weeks in a row only once since the bull market started in March 2009—a six-week...
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Your Emergency Fun: How Much is Enough?
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, giving yourself...
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Another Reason For Bulls To Smile
The S&P 500 Index has officially gained each of the first four months of the year for the first time since 2013. This comes on the heels of the best first quarter since 1998. Six straight months in green has been the best monthly win...
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Estimating the Cost of College
It doesn’t take a degree in finance to see the cost of college continues to rise. In its 2017 report, the College Board showed that public four-year institutions raised prices an average of 3.2% annually between the 2007-08 and...
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Pullbacks Happen
As we noted yesterday, the recent bout of volatility has caught many investors off guard. However, we’ve been saying since late March that some type of normal correction could happen, and we’ve taken a more cautious stance....
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Trends in Charitable Giving
According to Giving USA 2017, Americans gave an estimated $390.05 billion to charity in 2016. That’s the highest total in more than 60 years since the report was first published.1 Americans give to charity for two main reasons:...
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Marriage and Money: Finding a Happy Balance
Marriage affects your finances in many ways, including your ability to build wealth, plan for retirement, plan your estate, and capitalize on tax and insurance-related benefits. Here are some considerations to keep in mind if you are...
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Rising Tide for Diversified Portfolios
Diversified investors were the big winners in the first four months of this year. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, both stocks and bonds have posted strong rallies through the first four months of this year, thanks to increased...
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Setting a Retirement Savings Goal
Many Americans realize the importance of saving for retirement, but knowing exactly how much they need to save is another issue altogether. With all the information available about retirement, it is sometimes difficult to decipher what...
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The Waiting Game for Record Highs
The wait is over. After more than seven months, the S&P 500 Index notched a fresh all-time closing high of 2,933.68 on April 23. To get here, investors have weathered back-and-forth in trade negotiations, a historic government shutdown...
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CHARITABLE GIVING YIELDS TAX BENEFITS FOR BUSINESSES
An economic downturn may not seem like the best time to increase charitable giving, but at the same time, the need for funding at many nonprofits is especially acute as a result of the current economy. In addition to supporting a...
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Volunteering in Retirement
“This generation got no destination to hold...We are volunteers of America”“Volunteers” by Jefferson Airplane¹ Those of a certain age will recall these Jefferson Airplane lyrics as a call to action, though...
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What’s Priced In?
After such a strong rally this year, you may be wondering what could drive stocks higher from here. With the S&P 500 Index near its all-time high, a lot of good news could be priced in to stocks. At the same time, disappointments could...
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The December Low Indicator Has Bulls Smiling
After the best first quarter for the S&P 500 Index since 1998, the big question is: What happens next? We’ve already discussed why a good start to a year could lead to more gains (here and here), but today we will take a look at...
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Your Emergency Fund: How Much Is Enough?
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, giving yourself...
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What Happens When January, February, and March Are All Higher?
What a start to 2019! The S&P 500 Index had its best first quarter since 1998—gaining 13.1%. Taking a deeper look at the data reveals another rare occurrence: The S&P 500 was higher each of the first three months of the year for...
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Does Your Portfolio Fit Your Retirement Lifestyle?
Most portfolios are constructed based on an individual's investment objective, risk tolerance, and time horizon. Using these inputs and sophisticated portfolio-optimization calculations, most investors can feel confident that they own...
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Good News Indicators
The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI) is one of our favorite economic indicators. It is designed to predict future movements in the economy based on a composite of 10 economic indicators (like manufacturers’...
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Risk Management and Your Retirement Savings Plan
By investing for retirement through your employer-sponsored plan, you are helping to manage a critically important financial risk: the chance that you will outlive your money. But choosing to participate is just one step in your...
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Don't Bank Your Retirement on Your Business
Investing in your own business makes sense; many businesses achieve significant growth each year. However, when you consider that many small businesses fold every year, it becomes clear that banking your retirement solely on the...
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Time For New Highs?
After dropping nearly 20% late last year, the S&P 500 Index has officially bounced up more than 20% from the December 24 lows. As we noted at the time, most bear markets that take place in a non-recessionary environment tend to bottom...
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Good Credit: Teach Your Children Well
Many parents teach their children the ABCs at a very young age, but do they teach them the ABCs of good credit? At certain points in life, everyone must deal with banks, loans, credit, and finances. You may have learned your lessons...
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Retirement Income Road Map for Women
More women are working and taking charge of their own retirement planning than ever before. What does retirement mean to you? Do you dream of traveling? Pursuing a hobby? Volunteering your time, or starting a new career or business?...
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The Nasdaq’s 10 Weeks of Green
U.S. stocks’ recent momentum has been historically impressive by many measures, and the Nasdaq Composite Index notched another milestone last week. The Nasdaq has risen for the past 10 weeks, its longest winning streak in 19...
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Why A Green January and February Have Bulls Smiling
After gaining 7.8% in January, the S&P 500 Index has added another 3.3% so far in February for a grand total year-to-date return of 11.4%. With two days to go, currently this is the best first two months of the year since 1987. As we...
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Changing Our 10-Year Yield Forecast
Economic growth could be lower than we initially expected this year, which could weigh on long-term rates. We’ve seen enough evidence recently to think 2019 gross domestic product (GDP) growth is likely to be closer to 2.5%, the...
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Healthcare Costs in Retirement
About 70% of American workers are confident they will have enough money to pay for medical expenses in retirement. In a 2018 survey, 30% of all workers reported they were “not too” or “not at all” confident they...
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Bund Yields Hover Around Negative
Germany’s benchmark bund yield is on the cusp of negative territory, a symptom of increased appetite for government debt that could eventually weigh on U.S. rates. The 10-year bund yield, which closed at 0.09% (9 basis points, or...
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Changing Unhealthy Behaviors
Most Americans know the fundamentals of good health: exercise, proper diet, sufficient sleep, regular check-ups, and no smoking or excessive alcohol. Yet, despite this knowledge, changing existing behaviors can be difficult. Look no...
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The Diversified Investor’s Big January
Diversified investors just capped one of their best months of the current economic cycle. In January, the S&P 500 Index posted its biggest monthly gain since October 2015. At the same time, the Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate Bond Index...
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How to Protect Your Small Business from Cyber Threats
Risk management is a key component in any successful business plan. In today's world — where data breaches are common occurrences — it's especially important for business owners to understand the digital risks they face....
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The Traits of a Good Investor and How Women Can Make the Most of Them
Many women manage their own money. This includes women who have always been doing so and women who are relatively new to the world of investing, for whatever reason. Regardless of your level of investing experience, there are certain...
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Why Tom Terrific Might Not Be So Terrific For Stocks
The Super Bowl indicator suggests that stocks rise for the full year when the Super Bowl winner comes from the original National Football League (now the NFC), but when an original American Football League (now the AFC) team wins,...
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Changing Unhealthy Behaviors
Most Americans know the fundamentals of good health: exercise, proper diet, sufficient sleep, regular check-ups, and no smoking or excessive alcohol. Yet, despite this knowledge, changing existing behaviors can be difficult. Look no...
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A Bucket Plan to go with Your Bucket List
The baby boomers have re-defined everything they’ve touched, from music to marriage to parenting and, more lately, to what “old” means—60 is the new 50! Longer, healthier living, however, can put greater stress...
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Apps That Help Achieve Goals
The gap between setting goals and achieving them can be difficult to bridge. To enhance the chances of achieving personal goals, reminders and motivation are essential; making a New Year’s resolution is simply not enough. A...
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Top New Digital Tools for Small Businesses
Technology has not only shrunk the tools we use, but it has also given small businesses the power to operate like big businesses. Technological tools can help small businesses get better organized, efficiently manage their finances, or...
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A House Divided
The latest research suggests that divorce rates in the U.S. have been falling in recent decades. Still, many people face the difficult crossroads that comes when their marriage ends.1 Getting a divorce is a painful, emotional process....
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Healthcare Costs in Retirement
About 70% of American workers are confident they will have enough money to pay for medical expenses in retirement. In a 2018 survey, 30% of all workers reported they were “not too” or “not at all” confident they...
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And the Executor Is...
In her will, American businesswoman Leona Helmsley left $12 million in a trust fund to her dog Trouble. Her four executors were responsible for seeing that her wishes were carried out. In the years after her death, they dealt with...
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Planning and a Dose of Common Sense Can Guide You
Grab your sunglasses -- summer's here, and it's time to kick back and relax. If only it were that easy. It would be great if all your worries disappeared when summer arrived, but that doesn't happen. Actually, if money is stressing you...
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Tax Reform: Before and After
We offer a cup of coffee and second opinion...if you want to find out what path you're on. To see if your financial plan is aligned with your goals, use our planning tool.
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Market Pullbacks
For a pdf of this image click here. We offer a cup of coffee and second opinion...if you want to find out what path you're on. To see if your financial plan is aligned with your goals use our planning tool.
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Growth: America's Net Worth Increases
Growth: America's Net Worth Increases
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Global Corporate Tax Rates & US Tax Reform's Impact
Global Corporate Tax Rates & US Tax Reform's Impact
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Economic Indicator: Come & Get Your Job!
Economic Indicator: Come & Get Your Job!
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S&P 500 Earnings Per Share: What's Driving Stock Market Returns?
S&P 500 Earnings Per Share: What's Driving Stock Market Returns?
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