What is Investing on Margin?   This year, investors are making record-high margin investments against their accumulated assets. According to FINRA, margin debt had reached $847 billion by the end of April.1 Much of this activity…

College Savings   Congress is known for passing enormous bills with lots of little-known provisions that are not entirely central to the key objectives of the bill. Alas, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations…

Roth vs. Traditional IRA: Retirement and Estate-Planning Advantages   It would be nice if the Roth IRA had been around long as the traditional IRA. Imagine the long-term benefits of tax-free growth throughout a 40-year…

Reshoring: What’s the Future for Products and Services Made in America?   According to a recent survey of supply chain professionals, the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted 98% of global supply chains. Among the most disruptive supply…

Midyear Market Outlooks   In its midyear review, market analysts at Charles Schwab say that economic growth in the United States may have peaked in the second quarter of this year, and it believes China…

Putting Inflation Expectations in Perspective   Historically, inflation has been highly correlated with unemployment levels. When more people were out of a job, inflation was lower. As more people got jobs, inflation increased. From an…

Retirement Withdrawal Strategies   As hard as retirement saving and investing may seem, that’s the easy part. The real challenge is figuring out how to make your accumulated savings last throughout your and your spouse’s…

Demographics Differing on Retirement Plans   According to PwC’s recent Retirement in America report, the median retirement savings among people ages 55 to 64 is $120,000. Unfortunately, that likely would provide less than $1,000 per…

All About RMDs   There really is a purpose behind required minimum distributions (RMD) of tax-advantaged retirement accounts. IRAs and employer-sponsored retirement plans feature tax-deferred income contributions and earnings growth throughout the lifetime of the…

How Infrastructure Spending Affects Municipal Bonds   According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, the 10-year tab to meet the country’s basic infrastructure needs is about $6 trillion. The report, published in March, includes…