Insights

Chances are good we’ve all felt a bit like Rachel on “Friends” when she peruses her first paycheck in bewilderment and says, “Who’s FICA? And why’s he taking all my money?”

Ryan Yamada, CFP®, Senior Wealth Planner We’ve all heard the conventional wisdom when it comes to claiming Social Security: you should wait as long as you can before claiming benefits. Wait right up to age 70, if possible. After all, that’s when you would get the greatest monthly benefit.

By Craig Lemoine, Ph.D., CFP®, Director of Consumer Investment Research “How much do I need for retirement?” It’s a question I often hear, and one that seems straightforward enough to tackle. Unfortunately, the answer isn’t quite so simple.

By Ryan Yamada, Senior Wealth Planner    When putting away for retirement, we often dream about all the things we’ll be able to do with that money – traveling, going out to eat, maybe trying new hobbies. 

By Jamie Hopkins, Managing Director, Wealth Services  Sonu Varghese, Director, Investment Platforms; and Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist, contributed to this report.    Senate Democrats have reached a general agreement on a bill to address climate change, taxes, health care, inflation …

By Scott Kubie, Senior Investment Strategist    The first half of the year proved challenging for even the most hardened of investors. High inflation. Continual losses in the S&P 500. Bear market. Fed rate hikes. It all added up to the third most volatile market in 25 years.  

By Craig Lemoine, Ph.D., CFP®, Director of Consumer Investment Research At their most basic level, executive compensation plans are designed to attract, retain and motivate top talent and leadership. But truly successful plans are designed to be much more than providing a high salary to a k …

By Craig Lemoine, Ph.D., CFP®, Director of Consumer Investment Research  We speak a secret language in financial planning. So much of our world is filled with abbreviations surrounding insurance and investment products, processes, education and accomplishments.  I could say “Tammy, a CLU an …

Tom Fridrich, Senior Wealth Planner    Once upon a time, people would put money in their 401(k) or IRA accounts and know that – should their retirement savings outlive them – their loved ones would inherit the rest and all would essentially be well. 

It’s almost impossible not to feel anxious at the dips and dives the stock market has been taking recently, compounded by relentless inflation-focused headlines. That’s why you might be surprised to learn there’s a lot of positive news to be had, despite the market uncertainty.