How Expectations Around the Fed, Banks, and the Economy Affect Investors
When it comes to markets, day-to-day price swings are often more about what investors expect than the underlying facts. This is because markets are designed to anticipate future events and assign them a price today. This gap between reality and expectations has driven stock and bond market volatility in recent days due to the Fed's latest announcement and headlines in the banking sector. What should investors know about these developments...
What History Says About Markets Reaching All-Time Highs
The author Fyodor Dostoevsky once wrote that “man only likes to count his troubles; he doesn’t calculate his happiness.” The idea that the glass is always half empty perfectly captures how many investors feel about the economy and financial markets, especially over the past few years. During recessions and bear markets, investors worry that the situation will never improve. When the economy and markets do recover, investors worry that it...
Philanthropy and Finance: Understanding Charitable Giving as a Wealth Management Strategy
Charitable giving is a topic that’s commonly covered in financial planning. Find out how to understand it as both a fulfilling, generous action and a tax-efficient wealth management strategy. Charitable giving is a key component of wealth management for lots of people. Beyond its role in securing tax benefits, philanthropy is a long-term commitment that can align with personal values – individually or as a family, sometimes for multiple generations. In this...
What the SEC’s Bitcoin ETF Approval Means for Investors
The S&P 500 has reached a new all-time high, coming full circle in just two years, despite growing uncertainty around the economy, the path of Fed rate cuts, and rising interest rates. Outside of traditional asset classes, Bitcoin also reached its highest level in two years recently following last year's run up. This has been fueled by the broader rally in risk assets and the recent approval of Bitcoin ETFs...