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Yields Defy Inflation Expectations

Global uncertainty has dominated the direction of long-term interest rates recently. Nominal Treasury yields have converged with breakeven rates, or market expectations for inflation (calculated from Treasury Inflation-Protected...

8 Steps for Pre-Retirees to Pursue Retirement Income

Sometimes people get caught up in the numbers so much that they get 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...

A Deeper Pullback

U.S. stocks’ slide deepened May 13 with the worst one-day sell-off this year since January 3. On Monday, the S&P 500 Index dropped 2.4% amid threats of higher tariffs on all Chinese imports and retaliatory measures from China....

Myths and Facts about Social Security

Fact: It's likely that Social Security will provide a smaller portion of retirement income than you expect. There's no doubt about it — Social Security is an important source of retirement income for most Americans. According to...

Uncomfortable, but Expected

Trade tensions have flared up again, and they’ve caught the stock market off guard. The S&P 500 Index has dropped 2.1% over the past two days amid a slew of trade-related headlines. On May 6, the United States announced it would...

Saving For College

There's no denying the benefits of a college education: the ability to compete in today's job market, increased earning power, and expanded horizons. But these advantages come at a price. And yet, year after year, thousands of students...

Five Keys to Investing for Retirement

Making decisions about your retirement account can seem overwhelming, especially if you feel unsure about your knowledge of investments. However, the following basic rules can help you make smarter choices regardless of whether you...

Life Insurance at Various Stages of Life

Your need for life insurance changes as your life changes. When you're young, you typically have less need for life insurance, butthat changes as you take on more responsibility and your family grows. Then, as your responsibilities...

Rate Cut Bets on the Rise

Markets have frequently underestimated Federal Reserve (Fed) actions over the last few years, but lately the skepticism has been striking. Fed fund futures traders are increasingly betting on a rate cut, even as data show an economic...

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...

Have You Checked Your Retirement Plan Lately?

It's generally a good idea to review your employer-sponsored retirement savings plan at least once each year and when major life changes occur. If you haven't given your plan a thorough review within the last 12 months, now may be a...

Socially Responsible Investing

Investing with an eye toward promoting social, political, or environmental concerns (or at least not supporting activities you feel are harmful) doesn't mean you have to forgo pursuing a return on your money. Socially responsible...

Creating An Investment Portfolio

You've identified your goals and done some basic research. You understand the difference between a stock and a bond. But how do you actually go about creating an investment portfolio? What specific investments are right for you? What...

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...

Top 10 Smart Uses For Your Tax Refund

If you have a refund check coming your way, consider using it to bolster your personal balance sheet. The average refund is usually around $3,000, and most people receive the money within three weeks of filing their returns. That's a...

Tradition At The Masters Tournament

Do you have a yearly tradition of reviewing your financial plan? It is Masters time again. The 2019 Masters Tournament begins on April 11th, continuing an April tradition that started in 1934. Why is the Masters so special? Well, it...

Teach Your Children Well: Basic Financial Education

Even before your children can count, they already know something about money: it's what you have to give the ice cream man to get a cone, or put in the slot to ride the rocket ship at the grocery store. So, as soon as your children...

Dear Valued Investor - April

April brings showers, baseball, and historically, the best month of the year for the S&P 500 Index (for the last 20 years). On top of that, the S&P 500 had its best first quarter since 1998, and in March we celebrated the 10-year...

Financial Planning: Helping You See the Big Picture

Do you picture yourself owning a new home, starting a business, or retiring comfortably? These are a few of the financial goals that may be important to you, and each comes with a price tag attached. That's where financial planning...

March Madness, Cindarella & 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...

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...

April's Bullish History

Seasonality could be on the bull’s side, especially after U.S. stocks’ best first quarter in 20 years. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, April has consistently been one of the strongest months for U.S. stocks. Over the...

A Penny Saved Is Two Pennies Earned

This modern twist on the Ben Franklin maxim reflects the multiplicity of taxes to which earnings are subject in today’s world.¹ Finding ways to manage expenses is one of the cornerstones of a sound financial strategy. Here...

Business Succession Planning

When developing a succession plan for your business, you must make many decisions. Should you sell your business or give it away? Should you structure your plan to go into effect during your lifetime or at your death? Should you...

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’...

True or False: You Are a Retirement Savings Plan Expert

How much do you really know about your employer-sponsored retirement savings plan? If you're like many people, you have many ideas about how your plan works, which may or may not be entirely accurate. To gauge your knowledge, take...

What The New Tax Bills Means For You

The enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act represents “the most sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code in more than 30 years.”1 For millions of Americans and businesses it means an altered financial and investment...

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...

Balancing a Retirement Portfolio with Asset Allocation

The combination of investments you choose is as important as the individual investments themselves. In fact, many experts argue that it's even more important, since the mix of various types of investments accounts for most of the ups...

What Type of Pullback Could We See?

The S&P 500 Index corrected nearly 20% from the September peak until December 24 before staging a furious rally of 19%. What could happen next? A well-deserved pullback would be perfectly normal, and in fact, is probably needed before...

Dear Valued Investor

The S&P 500 Index has staged an impressive rally after nearly entering a bear market December 24, with U.S. stocks notching their best start to a year since 1991. Stocks have climbed the “wall of worry” once again, but...

A Retirement Income Roadmap 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?...

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...

A “Recipe” for Retirement Savings

Do you ever dream of the day when you can retire and pursue your interests, travel, or simply relax from the pressure of the daily grind? In the past, retirement planning was a simpler process. Many retirees could count on...

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...

10 Years and Counting: Points to Consider as You Approach Retirement

If you're a decade or so away from retirement, you've probably spent at least some time thinking about this major life change. How will you manage the transition? Will you travel, take up a new sport or hobby, or spend more time with...

Trimming Our 2019 GDP Forecast

Economic data have consistently missed expectations recently as investors and Wall Street have struggled to quantify the impact of global trade and political risks. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, the Bloomberg U.S. Economic...

Long-Term Care Insurance: How Does It Work?

Whether you've had a long-term care insurance (LTCI) policy for years or you're thinking of buying one, it's critical to understand exactly what set of conditions will trigger coverage. This information is the bread and butter of any...

The Year of the Pig Could Have Bulls Smiling

“Bulls make money, bears make money, and pigs get slaughtered.” Old Wall Street saying. The Chinese New Year (often called the Lunar New Year) kicked off Tuesday, February 5, and with it came the Year of the Pig. Although...

Myths and Facts about Social Security

Myth: Social Security will provide most of the income you need in retirement. Fact: It's likely that Social Security will provide a smaller portion of retirement income than you expect. There's no doubt about it — Social...

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...

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,...

Investing In Your Vacation

Why do so many of us not use our vacation days? Salespeople talk about “leaving money on the table.” Well, employees leave vacation on the table. And the cost to us is significant.In fact, Americans leave 429 million...

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...

Stocks Bounced, Now What?

The big bounce off the December 24 lows continued last week, as the S&P 500 Index added 2.9% for the week. In fact, it has gained 2.9%, 1.9%, 2.5%, and 2.9% over the past four weeks for a total gain of 10.5%. Of course, the S&P 500...

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...

Brexit Hits Another Bump

Yesterday’s U.K. Parliament vote was another bump in the road for Brexit. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, the British pound and the euro have steadily declined over the past few months, weighed down in large part by...

Staying on Track with Your Retirement Investments

Investing for your retirement isn't about getting rich quick. More often, it's about having a game plan that you can live with over a long time. You wouldn't expect to be able to play the piano without learning the basics and...

Lower Valuations May Signal Solid Gains For Stocks

Stocks have rebounded strongly off the December lows, with the S&P 500 Index adding 2% in January to its 7% gain over the last week of 2018. We see potential for further gains ahead given the fundamentals supporting economic growth...

Market Fears and Economic Realities

Recent Federal Reserve (Fed) rhetoric has spooked financial markets, especially as uncertainty has clouded investors’ horizons. But we still believe the fundamental U.S. economic landscape is compelling, and despite market...

Boost Your Retirement with IRAs and 401(k)s

Whether retirement is around the corner or decades away, there are more options than ever to help you plan for it. Let’s look at Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and 401(k) plans, which offer tax benefits that can help you...

Putting an Extremely Volatile Market in Perspective

On Monday, the S&P 500 Index came about as close as possible to the technical definition of a bear market without officially registering one (defined as a 20% or larger decline based on closing prices). Enduring these sharp declines...

10 Tips for Your $ Future

However much you make or save now doesn’t promise you a bright financial future. Life is unpredictable. Follow these 10 tips to prevent you and your family from money troubles. See a lawyer and make a will. If you have a will,...

Market Update: Wed, Dec 26, 2018

S&P 500 Index Reaches Bear Market on an Intra-Day Basis. While the S&P 500 Index is technically not in a bear market by the most widely used definition (20% or more decline based on closing prices), it is important to recognize that...

Is It Time For Santa?

So far it’s been rough for stocks in December, a month that has historically been bullish. How bad has it been? After 10 trading days, we’re off to the worst start to December since 1980! In fact, the S&P 500 Index is...

Outlook 2019

We are pleased to announce the release of the LPL Research Outlook 2019: FUNDAMENTAL: How to Focus on What Really Matters in the Markets, filled with investment insights and market guidance for the year ahead. After nearly 10 years of...

Social Security Gets Its Biggest Boost in Years

Seniors will see their retirement benefits increase by an average of 2.8% in 2019. In October of 2018, the Social Security Administration announced that Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 67...

5 Takeaways from Current Volatility

Last week was a tough week for stocks, with the S&P 500 Index down 4.5%, the worst performance since March. So what are some things investors should consider? To help answer that question, here are five takeaways on the near-term...

Is Your Homeowners Policy Up-To-Date?

Unlike the Declaration of Independence, all homeowners insurance policies are not created equal. Review of your coverage and policy components will help you ensure you have the proper type of policy and proper amount of coverage to...

AllClear ID

Thoughts on today’s sell-off

As of this writing, the S&P 500 Index is down again on top of the over 3% drop on Tuesday (markets were closed Wednesday to celebrate the life of former President George H. W. Bush 41). Here are our thoughts on the latest...

Time for Santa?

2018 has been a rocky year with a big dose of volatility, but could a late-year rally be in store for investors? History says it is quite possible. “Although the well-known Santa Claus rally is technically the last five days of...

Password Protection Strategies

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn—they’ve all fallen prey to hackers who exposed passwords and other personal information for hundreds of thousands of their users. If you haven’t yet had your password stolen, chances are,...

LEI-ding the Way to No Recession

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’...

Setting a Retirement Savings Goal

Conventional wisdom says that what goes up, must come down. But even if you view market volatility as a normal occurrence, it can be tough to handle when it's your money at stake. Though there's no foolproof way to handle the ups and...

Midterm Elections and The Market

The potential outcomes of the midterm elections have been dominating the news cycle lately, and we know from history that the markets typically do not like uncertainty. With the Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives,...

Is Gridlock Good for the Markets?

This question is being asked a lot following last week’s midterm election results, in which the Republicans held onto the Senate and the Democrats claimed control of the House. In one sense, these results may not matter for U.S....

401(K) Plans: The Basics

Retirement plans established under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code, commonly referred to as "401(k) plans," have become one of the most popular types of employer-sponsored retirement plans. What is a 401(k) plan? A 401(k)...

Midterm Election Perspective

The consensus was right. Although some votes are still rolling in, the Republicans have held onto their Senate majority (and they are tracking to add at least a couple seats to their majority), while the Democrats are poised to retake...

How To Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft

Massive computer hacks and data breaches are now common occurrences — an unfortunate consequence of living in a digital world. Once identity thieves have your information, they can use it to gain access to your bank and credit...

A Silver Lining

It’s been a rocky ride so far in October, but there is a silver lining. “Incredibly, the S&P 500 during a midterm year has never finished lower if you bought the October low and held till the end of the year,”...

When Do Markets Get Volatile?

After the S&P 500 Index’s least volatile third quarter since 1963, October has ushered in a wave of volatility: Daily moves in excess of 1% now feel like the norm. Here’s what you need to know about volatility: It tends to...

Estimating Your Retirement Income Needs

You know how important it is to plan for your retirement, but where do you begin? One of your first steps should be to estimate how much income you'll need to fund your retirement. That's not as easy as it sounds, because retirement...

What Happens If You Miss the 10 Worst Days of the Year?

After more than three months without a single 1% change (up or down) for the S&P 500 Index, volatility came back—and in a big way—this past week. This brings up an interesting question: What would happen if you could avoid...

Saving For Retirement

Although most of us recognize the importance of sound retirement planning, few of us embrace the nitty-gritty work involved. With thousands of investment possibilities, complex rules governing retirement plans, and the unpredictable...

Thoughts on the Market Sell-Off

Stocks just had their worst one-day drop since February, as a combination of higher bond yields, U.S./China tensions, nervousness over the upcoming midterm elections, six straight months of gains, and worries about peak margins this...

Retirement Plan Considerations at Different Stages of Life

Throughout your career, retirement planning will likely be one of the most important components of your overall financial plan. Whether you have just graduated and taken your first job, are starting a family, are enjoying your peak...

Getting Help from a Financial Professional

Are you suddenly on your own or forced to assume greater responsibility for your financial future? Unsure about whether you're on the right track with your savings and investments?Finding yourself with new responsibilities, such as the...

Understanding Social Security

Approximately 66 million people today receive some form of Social Security benefits, including retirement, disability, survivor, and family benefits. (Source: Fast Facts & Figures About Social Security, 2017) Although most people...

9 Facts About Retirement

Tip: Nearly 70% of workers expect to work for pay in retirement, but only 26% of retirees actually have done so. Source: 2018 Retirement Confidence Survey, EBRI Retirement can have many meanings. For some, it will be a time to travel...

Retirement Planning: The Basics

You may have a very idealistic vision of retirement — doing all of the things that you never seem to have time to do now. But how do you pursue that vision? Social Security may be around when you retire, but the benefit that you...

5 Money Rules To Live By

Five Money Rules to Live By Evergreen principles for finding financial balance It’s not simply a matter of working harder; it’s much more about using your non-financial skills and talents in new ways to bring you prosperity...

9 Facts About Social Security

9 FACTS ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY Tip: How Much? Check your Social Security earnings and see an estimate of your benefits on the website, www.ssa.gov. Social Security’s been a fact of retirement life ever since it was established in...

Midyear Outlook 2018

The recently released LPL Research Midyear Outlook 2018: The Plot Thickens is filled with investment insights and market guidance to take us through the rest of the year. So far this year, the return of the business cycle has brought...

Strategies For Managing Student Loan Debt

If college were a party, then student loans are the hangover. Unfortunately, the “hair of the dog” won't cure this headache, but here are some ideas for managing your student loan debt. The programs listed are not intended...