Articles
Welcome to our research center! We've put together a library of information on important financial topics that we believe you'll find helpful.
Simply click on one of the general financial topics below and you'll find a selection of easy-to-understand information sheets about related financial concepts and strategies. This information is updated regularly to reflect the latest facts, figures, legislation, and economic trends.
Market Commentary
- Weekly Market Commentary | May 16, 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | May 9, 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | May 2, 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | April 25, 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | April 18, 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | April 11, 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | April 4, 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | March 21, 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | March 14, 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | March 7, 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | February 28, 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | February 22, 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | February 14, 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | February 7, 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | January 31, 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | January 24, 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | January 18, 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | January 10, 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | December 27, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | December 20, 2021
- Outlook 2022 | Executive Summary
- Outlook 2022 | Client Letter
- Weekly Market Commentary | December 13, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | December 6, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | November 22, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | A Peek at Peak Inflation | Nov. 15, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | A Peek at Peak Inflation | Nov. 15, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | November 15, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | November 8, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | November 1, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | Oct. 25, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | Oct. 11, 2021 | Answering Top Debt Ceiling Questions
- Weekly Market Commentary | Oct. 4, 2021 | Early Thoughts on 2022
- Weekly Market Commentary | Oct. 18, 2021 | Q3 Earnings Preview: Less Upside
- Weekly Market Commentary | September 13, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | Sept. 27, 2021 | To Z Or Not To Z
- Weekly Market Commentary | August 30, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary - September 20, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | August 23, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | August 16, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | August 9, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | August 2, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | July 26, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | Midyear Outlook 2021: Picking Up Speed
- Midyear Outlook 2021 - Client Letter
- Midyear Outlook 2021 - Picking Up Speed
- Weekly Market Commentary | July 12, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | June 28, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | June 21, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | June 14, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | June 7, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | May 24, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | May 24, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | May 17, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | May 10, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary May 3, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | April 26, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | April 19, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | April 12, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | April 5, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | March 29, 2021
- Outlook 2021: Powering Forward
- Weekly Market Commentary | March 22, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | March 15, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | March 8, 2021
- Weekly Market Commentary | March 1, 2021
- Outlook 2022: Passing the Baton
Estates & Trusts
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What Key Estate Planning Tools Should I Know About?
Wills and trusts allow you to spell out how you would like your property distributed, but they also go beyond that.
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How Can a Living Trust Help Me Control My Estate?
A living trust can help control the distribution of your estate upon death.
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How Can My Gift Benefit Me and the Charity?
To retain the tax advantages associated with charitable giving, your gift must be made to a qualified organization.
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How Can I Benefit from a Charitable Lead Trust?
Charitable lead trusts are designed for people who would like to benefit a charity now rather than later.
Retirement
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What Is a SIMPLE?
The SIMPLE plan may appeal to small business owners as it is easy to set up, administer, and allows for a tax deduction.
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Why Do People Buy Annuities?
Annuities, an insurance-based financial vehicle, can provide many benefits that retirement investors might want.
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How Much Do I Need to Save?
Many realize it’s important to save for retirement, but knowing exactly how much to save is another issue altogether.
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Don’t Bank Your Retirement on Your Business
Allocating too much of your retirement investments to one company, even your own, can be a risky proposition.
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What Is a Self-Employed Retirement Plan?
Tax-deferred retirement plans for self-employed individuals have higher contribution limits than IRAs.
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What Is an Indexed Annuity?
An indexed annuity may provide some upside potential and downside protection.
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What Is a Traditional IRA?
If you do not participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, you might consider a traditional IRA.
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What Is a 401(k) Plan?
401(k) employer-sponsored retirement plans have many benefits, including that the funds accumulate tax-deferred.
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Save Now or Save Later?
If you start saving for retirement sooner, the more money you are likely to accumulate and possibly retire sooner.
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What Is a Roth IRA?
Qualified Roth IRA distributions in retirement are free of federal income tax and aren’t included in gross income.
Tax Planning
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What Is a Required Minimum Distribution?
Required minimum distribution is the annual amount that must be withdrawn from a qualified retirement plan/account.
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What Happens If I Withdraw Money from My Tax-Deferred Investments Before Age 59½
Tax-deferred retirement account withdrawals before age 59½ generally triggers a 10% federal income tax penalty.
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What Is Tax Deferral?
There can be a substantial benefit to deferring taxes as long as possible.
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How Can I Benefit from Tax-Advantaged Investments?
Many traditional tax-advantaged investment strategies have gone away, but there are still some alternatives.
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What Tax Deductions Are Still Available to Me?
Changes to the tax code have left a few key deductions for itemizers, like medical, dental and some business expenses.
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What Tax-Advantaged Alternatives Do I Have?
While stable, CDs can create an income tax bill. Fixed annuities and municipal bonds can offer tax advantages.
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What Is the Most Tax-Efficient Way to Take a Distribution From a Retirement Plan
Consider a trustee-to-trustee transfer to an IRA versus a lump-sum distribution from a workplace retirement plan.
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Is There Such a Thing as a Tax-Free Investment?
It's important to understand tax-exempt vehicles when establishing a comprehensive tax planning strategy.
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How Can I Keep More of My Mutual Fund Profits?
Want to keep more of your mutual fund profits? You may be interested in strategies to help lower your tax liability.
Investing
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What Is an Exchange-Traded Fund?
ETFs have unique attributes and attempt to track all types of indexes, industries, or commodities.
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Growth Stocks vs. Value Stocks
The labels growth and value reflect different approaches that can be used when making investment decisions.
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What Are Zero-Coupon Bonds?
Zero-coupon bonds represent a type of bond that does not pay interest during the life of the bond.
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What Is Diversification?
An important element to successful investing is to manage investment risk while maintaining the potential for growth.
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What Types of Bonds Are Available?
Bonds are issued by many entities and share many characteristics, each type of bond has certain benefits and risks.
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How Do Mutual Funds and Stocks Differ?
The difference between purchasing an individual stock versus shares in a mutual fund to potentially earn dividends.
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What Is an Annuity?
An annuity is a flexible financial vehicle that can help protect against the risk of living a long time because it provides an option for a lifetime income.
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What Is the Difference Between a Fixed Annuity and a Variable Annuity?
Both fixed and variable annuities could be appropriate options for an individual interested in purchasing an annuity.
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What Investment Risks Should I Know About?
Understanding different types of investment risk can help investors manage their money more effectively.
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What Is Dollar-Cost Averaging?
Dollar-cost averaging involves investing a set amount of money on a regular basis, regardless of market conditions.
Cash Management
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How Long Will It Take to Double My Money?
Before making investment decisions, it is helpful to determine the real rate of return on the investment.
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What Advantages Does a Biweekly Mortgage Offer?
Biweekly mortgage payments can have a dramatic effect on the amount of interest homeowners have to pay.
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What About Financial Aid for College?
It's important to understand the options, such as financial aid grant programs, when having to pay for college.
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Is a Home Equity Loan or Line of Credit Right for Me?
Shifting some debt to a home equity loan, which typically allows interest payments to be tax deductible, could have its advantages.
Risk Management
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Why Purchase Life Insurance?
If you have a family who relies on your income, it is important to have life insurance protection.
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Why Are Annuities Considered an Insurance Product?
An annuity is a contract between you and an insurance company to pay you future income in exchange for premiums you pay.
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Do I Need a Business Owner Policy?
A business owner policy is an insurance package that assembles the basic coverages required by a business owner in one bundle.
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Life Insurance for Business Owners
Company-owned life insurance is one way to help protect a business from financial problems caused by the death of a key employee.
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What Is Term Life Insurance?
Term life insurance differs from permanent forms of life insurance in that it offers temporary protection.
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What Is Universal Life Insurance?
Consider a universal life insurance policy if you want the flexibility to change your premium or death benefit.
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What Is Variable Life Insurance?
Variable life insurance gives you the control to allocate your account value among a variety of investment options.
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How Can I Insure My Future?
To help you choose insurance wisely, determine how much coverage and what kind of policy is best for your situation.
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What Types of Health Coverage Are Available?
There are three basic types of medical insurance plans: fee-for-service, managed care, and high-deductible health plan.
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Am I Prepared for Long-Term Care Expenses?
The odds of needing long-term care increase as you age. Prior planning can help protect you from financial ruin.
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What Does Medicare Cover?
Medicare is the federal health insurance program for those persons age 65 and over. But what does it cover?
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What Are the Basic Types of Life Insurance?
When selecting a life insurance policy, examine all your options, as well as the positives and negatives of each type.