We typically think of interest rates at their surface level or simply as the rate posted on a CD or treasury bond. Economists and professional investors will commonly refer to these as nominal rates. But real interest rates, or the nominal interest rate after...
Consider This Program with Joe Clark, CFP, Adam Harter, CFA. In this segment we will cover: If you have assets, someone has attempted to sell you an annuity. The sales pitch is hard to argue with, now if only the pitch matched the reality. Buying an annuity can feel...
Consider This Program with Joe Clark, CFP and Adam Harter, CFA. In this segment we will cover: Extrapolating investment returns, tax rates, and inflation many years into the future can be downright daunting. How do you know how much income you will need and what...
Consider This Program with Joe Clark, CFP and Adam Harter, CFA. In this segment we will cover: Feeling compelled to be charitable is a wonderful calling. You want your charity to get the most out of your gift, and we want you to get the biggest bang for your...
Consider This Program with Joe Clark, CFP, and Adam Harter. In this segment we will cover: A conflict of interest anytime a decision is made could benefit or harm the one making the decision. When you name a child or any beneficiary of your estate as the financial...
The Summer Olympics are here! We will take the easy shot and incorporate Olympic talking points into our article. Hey, we only get this chance once every four years. The goal of the Olympic games is for the athlete to wind up on the podium with a ribbon and a medal....
Financial markets give every single one of us plenty of opportunities to be “wrong.” Wrong in the sense that we transform things that we believe are highly probable into a forecast for what will definitely occur. The difference is subtle, but the nuance between likely...
This year begins as the worst start to a bond year in nearly a decade. According to Adam Harter, CFA and Chief Investment Officer at the Financial Enhancement Group, “2013 was a doozy for bond owners, and this year is so far on pace to well outdo the Taper Tantrum’s...
In the interest of honesty and fairness, know that I wish I had written this post 13 years ago when building a home – or read it from someone else who had. Surely, there are plenty who had, but it wasn’t anything that hit my radar or went looking for. I say these...
[vc_row][vc_column width="1/4" offset="vc_hidden-xs"][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id="sidebar-main"][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] Even the novice investor understands the importance of breaking asset classes into importantly distinctive categories...
[vc_row][vc_column width="1/4" offset="vc_hidden-xs"][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id="sidebar-main"][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] Has this ever happened to you? You think of what you would describe as a clever term or phrase only to take to the...
[vc_row][vc_column width="1/4" offset="vc_hidden-xs"][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id="sidebar-main"][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] You may have noticed (and it’s without coincidence) the basketball connotation in this blog’s design. From the...
[vc_row][vc_column width="1/4" offset="vc_hidden-xs"][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id="sidebar-main"][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] “Common sense” when carefully applied can be a useful tool in an often overly complicated world, and sometimes we...
[vc_row][vc_column width="1/4" offset="vc_hidden-xs"][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id="sidebar-main"][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] I write this from the perspective of one who has generally benefited (i.e. maintaining significant bond exposure)...
[vc_row][vc_column width="1/4" offset="vc_hidden-xs"][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id="sidebar-main"][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text] The month of February ushered in two key valuation milestones for the market (S&P 500). First, the Shiller...