Resources
MARKET COMMENTARY
Read monthly updates on economic events and market trends
Ryan Redfern
Chartered Market Technician® (CMT®)
Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®)
INVESTMENT RESEARCH
Learn more about active management form the author of “Why Bad Things Happen to Good investments”
Will Hepburn
Vice President of Investment Research
BEHAVIORAL FINANCE
Discover how your values influence your financial behavior
Phil Lebkuecher
Behavioral Financial Advisor (BFA)
PERSONAL FINANCE
Take the fear out of finance by understanding how personal decisions affect long-term goals
Laura Redfern
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) Professional
Certified Financial Transitionist®
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Blog
January 2025 Market Commentary
The new year is off to a volatile start. It's not exactly bad, but it's not that great either. If you look at January by itself, the market looks strong. But if you look at it next to December or even back to November, the S&P 500 hasn’t made much progress...
How to Love Your Finances: The Art of the Money Date
February is right around the corner, so what better time to talk about the concept of a “money date”? A money date is just like it sounds: time to shut out the rest of the world and focus on just you and your money for a little while. Think of it as you and your...
TikTok: What’s All the Fuss?
Tech guru Kim Kommando runs one of my favorite newsletters, chock full of the kind of tech tips we all can use. She recently wrote about how far TikTok reaches into the lives of those who use it, which is most young folks today. (Not me!) At the core of the issue is...
Financial Planning for Aging Adults: Navigating the Challenging Landscape
Aging is an inevitable part of life, and with it comes the necessity for financial planning. As individuals grow older, their financial needs and concerns shift. This is especially true for retirement and beyond. This is when healthcare usually costs the most. It...
December 2024 Market Commentary
2024 has been a surprisingly mixed year. While the main US indexes (the S&P 500 and NASDAQ-100) showed solid performance, most diversification beyond these two indexes did little to help portfolios. The US Small Cap, International, and Emerging Markets Indexes all...
How Financial Planning is Like Building IKEA Furniture
I recently tackled the project of building an IKEA dresser all by myself. Yes, I know. Possibly brave; possibly foolish, especially since I am not in any way mechanically inclined. (I do own a hammer and several screwdrivers, however, so I’m not completely helpless.) ...
Fun Facts from 2024
Mutual Funds & ETFs The Refinitiv Lipper database gives the median turnover of a US mutual fund as 39%, implying a holding period of just 2.5 years. (source link) This suggests an average holding period of around 2.5 years. Clearly investors are waking up and...
Embracing the Spirit of the Season
There are certain activities, songs, food/drink, and traditions that help me get into the Christmas spirit. A lot of it is kind of frivolous, like watching the movie Scrooged with Bill Murray or the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss. My wife loves...
November 2024 Market Commentary
Here we are, in the final stretch of 2024. And with both the US election and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions (mostly) behind us, we should now be able to finish the year on a positive note. Historically, we are now in the best 3 months for the stock...
Prepare for 2025: Three Significant Shifts in Retirement Savings Plans
Although it was passed back in 2022, SECURE ACT 2.0 will create some big changes for retirement plans in 2025. Pretty much all of these changes are positive, but they could take a little legwork on your part to take advantage of them, so here’s what you need to know! ...
How to Not Become a Tech Dinosaur
AI is all the rage these days, but some of us have an aversion to learning curves, and the older I get, the more that pertains to me. I had played around with AI a few times asking simple questions, but never really got my mind wrapped around it. So, I decided to do a...
Financial Math for a Better Savings Plan
I’m pretty sure “normal” people don’t sit around contemplating such things as “financial math” very much, but I believe it’s important! Understanding the differences between thinking about savings in terms of dollars vs a percentage of salary can have a significant...
