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Understanding Social Security Strategies

As you age, the question of when to collect Social Security (SS) retirement benefits will likely come to mind. There is no one size fits all age; your unique circumstances and goals will dictate the appropriate time for you to take...

Common Factors Affecting Retirement Income

When it comes to planning for your retirement income, it's easy to overlook some of the common factors that can affect how much you'll have available to spend. If you don't consider how your retirement income can be impacted by...

Financial Mistakes to Avoid in 2023

Could you be losing money because of simple monetary mistakes? Avoid these money-wasting habits in 2023 to have more cash when you need it—or save it for a rainy day.

Planning For Unexpected Costs Before You Retire

Your retirement planning needs to incorporate more than just investments  Your open heart and your relatives can combine to threaten your retirement savings – savings you soon may need. Learn the true cost to your...

5 Ways a Financial Professional Could Be a Small-Business Owner's Best Friend

As a business owner, you may assume you do not need professional financial advice until you hit certain milestones such as $1 million in sales, having ten employees, or some other tangible measure. However, financial professionals may...

Top 10 Provisions in SECURE 2.0

Congress passed SECURE 2.0 as part of the fiscal 2023 spending package. This bipartisan retirement security legislation could present opportunities for your retirement savings strategy.

An Annual Financial 'To-Do' List to Help Keep Your Finances on Track

Each year, many of us focus on our financial health by resetting goals and checking off items on our financial to-do list. Attempting to implement everything at once can be overwhelming but a month-by-month approach may help you plan...

2022/2023 Tax Season at a Glance

Use this guide to help you this tax season.

Ten Charts That Defined Capital Markets In 2022

Most investors would like to put 2022 behind them. Before we close the book on the year, we’ve assembled 10 charts that defined the year—the year in pictures. Not surprisingly, most of the charts remind us of how difficult...

IRS Increases 401(k) Limit By Record Amounts

As inflation soars, you can now save a lot more for your retirement. On October 21st, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that the amount individuals can contribute to their 401(k) plans in 2023 has increased to $22,500,...

The 12 Days of Year-End Planning: Things to Consider Going into “The New Year"

At the end of the year, it is necessary to reflect on your financial picture, review the last 12 months, and plan for the future. With all that is involved, it can seem overwhelming. Consider breaking up the responsibilities over...

LPL Financial Research Outlook 2023: Finding Balance

 Through all the challenges, newfound opportunities, and every high and low we’ve experienced during the last couple of years, it’s no surprise why we might be striving for more balance. Whether it’s about the...

Preparing for Year-End and 2022/2023 Tax Season

Year-end is approaching and being prepared is the best way to make this tax season your easiest yet. Following are important information and tools to help you get ready. As always, meeting with us early and often will ensure your...

What the Mid-Terms Might Do to the Stock Market

The S&P 500 does best when one party controls Congress and the WH too.The 2022 Midterm Elections will feature hundreds of hotly contested races at the state and local level and will decide whether the Democrats maintain – or the...

A Year-End Wealth Planning Guide

As we approach the end of the year, you may want to review areas that may impact your wealth and estate planning next year. In this year-end planning guide, we examine four critical areas to consider that may affect your finances:1....

Designating a Beneficiary for Life Insurance

A beneficiary is the person or entity you name (i.e., designate) to receive the death benefits of a life insurance policy. Some states require that your beneficiary have an insurable interest in your life or be related to you (at least...

Six Potential 401(k) Rollover Pitfalls

You're about to receive a distribution from your 401(k) plan, and you're considering a rollover to a traditional IRA. While these transactions are normally straightforward and trouble-free, there are some pitfalls you'll want to avoid...

Inflation Reduction Act: What You Should Know

The Inflation Reduction Act includes health-care and energy-related provisions, a new corporate alternative minimum tax, and an excise tax on certain corporate repurchases of stock.The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law on August...

Assessing Your Retirement Resources

How resourceful can you be during your retirement? Determining where your retirement money will come from is an integral part of planning for retirement. Most people draw on three main sources of income: Social Security,...

Could Inflation Be Entering A New World Order?

Goods versus ServicesBefore we think about the new world order that global inflation may enter, let’s start with the good news within the United States. The Federal Reserve’s (Fed) preferred measure of inflation, the core...

Midyear Outlook 2022: Navigating Turbulence

Markets rarely give us clear skies, and there are always threats to watch for on the horizon, but the right preparation, context, and support can help us navigate anything that may lie ahead. So far, this year hasn’t seen a...

Lessons from the Great Recession of 2007 – 2009

Before the next recession hits, make sure you are preparedAfter the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009 hit, far too many Americans found themselves without any savings to get through the hardships of unemployment, falling house prices,...

Six Things To Know About Bear Markets

It has been a historically bad year so far for stocks, with many names in bear markets. Thus far though, the S&P 500 Index has avoided a bear market (classified as a 20% decline from recent highs), as it was down 18.1% as of last week...

Six Uses for Life Insurance You May Not Know About

When people think of life insurance, what usually comes to mind is settling the deceased's final expenses and providing financial support for their beneficiaries. Although these are the most common uses of life insurance, cash value,...

Data breaches are inevitable – here’s how to protect yourself anyway

It’s tempting to give up on data security altogether, with all the billions of pieces of personal data – Social Security numbers, credit cards, home addresses, phone numbers, passwords and much more – breached and...

Financial Planning Tips for Small Business Owners

When you're a small business owner, you need to pay extra careful attention to both your business and personal finances. Your financial planning strategies should simultaneously encourage the success of your business while also working...

How Secure Is Social Security

No matter what the future holds for Social Security, your financial future is still in your hands. If you're paying attention to the news, you've probably come across story after story on the health of Social Security. And depending on...

Remember What Happened from 1996 – 2009?

March 9, 2009 – the market closed at its lowest level since 1996 and then… You probably are not aware that March 9, 2022 marks the 13th anniversary of what many call “The End of the Lost Decade” for the stock...

Asset Allocation

Asset allocation is a common strategy that you can use to construct an investment portfolio. Asset allocation isn't about picking individual securities. Instead, you focus on broad categories of investments, mixing them together in the...

If Russia Invades Ukraine, What Should You Do?

Wall Street has little recent history to go from, but two things are very likely. Starting in late 2021 and throughout all of 2022, Wall Street has debated what markets might do if Russia invades Ukraine.

Tips for Navigating a Volatile Retirement

Retirement Plan Limits on the Rise in 2022

Many IRA and retirement plan limits are indexed for inflation each year. Although the amount you can contribute to IRAs remains the same in 2022, other key numbers will increase, including how much you can contribute to a work-based...

Tips for Organizing Your Financial Documents

Five Wealth-Building New Year's Resolutions

A Season of Giving: 5 Different Ways To Give During the Holidays

With the holidays here, now is the time to get into the giving spirit and help to change others' lives for the better. Whether you are looking to make a difference in a specific person's life or the life of many, there are many ways to...

Preparing for Year-End & The 2021/2022 Tax Season

Year-end is approaching and being prepared is the best way to make this tax season your easiest yet. Following are important information and tools to help you get ready. As always, meeting with your financial professional early and...

As Stock Markets Peak, Check Your Emotions

Emotions often drive investors to make poor decisions and underperform. Dynamic investing and overall fitness can often come down to discipline (and planning). Why aren’t you reaping the investment returns you read about in the...

Appropriate Checklists for Year-End Tax Planning

What are appropriate checklists for year-end tax planning? Tax planners often develop checklists to guide taxpayers toward year-end strategies that might help reduce taxes. Typically, suggestions are grouped into several different...

Inflation Concerns Persist

The characterization of inflation as ”transitory” by Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell—which has been the subject of debate for months—is likely to come under renewed pressure after the most recent...

Understanding the Estate Planning Process

A well-structured estate plan can be invaluable to you and your family It is common for people to put off planning their estates. After all, no one wants to anticipate his or her own death. In addition, many people may believe that...

The Most Important Chart In The World

And just like that, the calendar turned to October and volatility picked up in a big way, with three consecutive 1% moves for the S&P 500 Index to start the month. As we noted in our October preview, this month gets a bad rap for...

Leading Indicators Forecasting Continued Growth

With increased concerns about the Delta variant, high inflation, and recent misses on economic data, it can be easy to forget that we’re still in the middle of a robust economic recovery and leading indicators continue to support...

Here Comes Friday The 13th

“Friday the 13th is still better than Monday the whatever.” No known person to cite, but LPL Research can’t disagree. Tomorrow, August 13, will be the first Friday the 13th since November 2020. For most people, this...

Labor Day 2021: The Pandemic's Impact

2020 was one of the most disruptive years ever for the U.S. job market, almost as significant as the unemployment during the Great Depression in 1933 and surpassing joblessness during the Great Recession from 2006 to 2008. Many...

The Krispy Kreme Indicator

Stocks are choppy in typical year two fashion. Yet, many worries are creeping in, with the recent Krispy Kreme IPO near the top of the list. Year Two Mess Year two of bull markets is usually strong, but it can also be quite messy. Ryan...

June Jobs Report Beats Expectations, But Answers Few Questions

Nonfarm payrolls rebounded in a big way in June, following relatively disappointing numbers the prior two months. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ June employment report revealed that the domestic economy added 850,000 jobs...

May Payrolls Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold

Before diving into today’s jobs report for May, it will be a useful exercise to recall the curveball that April’s report threw at investors. One of the more hotly contested topics investors have been debating recently is...

The Amount of Negative Yielding Debt Is Trending Lower

The amount of negative yielding debt is shrinking and that’s a good sign that the global economic recovery is well underway. While negative yielding debt became prevalent in many non-U.S. countries after the Global Financial...

Measuring Inflation and the Fed’s Reaction to Higher Prices

Inflation is one of the primary risks to bondholders. Rising consumer prices erodes the “real” value of principal and interest payments making them worth less. However, the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) reaction to...

April Jobs Data Disappoints Lofty Expectations

Investors betting on a continued acceleration in U.S. payrolls in April following March’s impressive numbers received an unwelcome reminder of just how choppy the data can be month-to-month. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics...

Market Signals: Some Pros and Cons

This week on the LPL Research Market Signals podcast, Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick discusses some recent potential market worries, but also several long-term signals that suggest any weakness may be a buying opportunity. Jeff...

Leading Indicators Suggest an Accelerating U.S. Economy

The economic reacceleration is underway in the U.S., as the expanding vaccination campaign, lifting of mobility restrictions, and infusion of fiscal stimulus combined to lift the Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI) in...