Market Commentary: S&P 500 Finishes Second Year of Pandemic 28.7% Higher Than It Started
2021 was a very happy year for U.S. stock investors. The S&P 500 finished the second year of a pandemic 28.7% higher than it started the year. Other countries did not do as well. The MSCI ACWI, which includes U.S. stocks, rose 18.5% in 2021. Those returns are still very impressive, but …
Market Commentary: Inflation Continues to Challenge U.S. Economy as Key Indicators Rise
The PCE price deflator confirmed inflation remains a strong challenge for the U.S. economy, rising 0.6% last month and 5.7% in the last 12 months. The annual increase was the highest since 1982. Core PCE inflation rose 0.5%, suggesting food and energy prices rose only slightly more than bro …
Market Commentary: Fed Addresses Inflation Concerns, Doubles its Pace to Reduce Bond Purchases
The Federal Reserve announced last week it would reduce its bond purchases faster than expected and signaled it intended to raise interest rates up to three times next year. The purchases were being reduced by $15 billion per month and will now accelerate to $30 billion per month, and the p …
Any Time is Tax-Loss Harvesting Time
Published by Kevin Oleszewski As the end of the year approaches, we start to think more and more about our tax picture. What boxes can we check to reduce our taxable income? Tax-loss harvesting is one such approach. A tax-efficient way to rebalance your portfolio, tax-loss harvesting can he …
Market Commentary: Consumer Prices Continue to Climb; Annual Inflation Rises to 6.8%
Consumer prices continued their rapid climb in the U.S. The Consumer Price Index surged 0.8% in November and is now 6.8% higher than one year ago. Big increases in food and energy prices accounted for nearly half the gains in the monthly and annual numbers. Core inflation, which excludes th …
10 End-Of-Year Tax Planning Tips
Watch this webinar hosted by Carson’s Managing Partner, Wealth Solutions, Jamie Hopkins, and Senior Wealth Planner, Kevin Oleszewski, as they cover 10 tips for end of year tax planning.
Market Commentary: Jobs Data Sends Mixed Signals as Omicron Variant Begins to Appear in U.S.
The U.S. employment report continued to send contradictory signals as the fallout from the Omicron variant began to show up in data releases. The jobs report, based on research from a few weeks ago, indicated the U.S. only added 210,000 jobs compared to forecasted gains of 530,000. The hous …
Areas of Focus for End-of-Year Tax Planning
Many people have the idea that tax planning is only about paying less money right now, and that’s not the case. Tax planning is about paying less money over time. There are many avenues to do that. As we’re nearing the end of 2021, it’s prime time to get your finances in order for the …
Market Commentary: Concerns About New Covid Variant Pushed Markets Lower; Core Inflation Rose 0.4%
Concerns about the Omicron variant raised the risk of additional lockdowns and contributed to a decline of more than 2% in the S&P 500 on the day after Thanksgiving. The COVID-19 variant, first detected in South Africa, triggered travel restrictions in the U.S. and Europe.
Expand Your Charitable Reach
As a kid, Zachary Conway’s financial advisor father tried to instill good savings and charitable habits. Conway, founder and CEO of Seeds Investor, recently told the Framework podcast team about how that worked. When he got his monthly allowance, he divided it up among several containers: o …
