Many advisory firms talk about their array of tools and resources. Every firm that is worth talking to
has them. The difference, however, is what the advisor does with them. Do they have the insight to use
them properly? How well do they apply them to help you? ACG’s insights may help provide a sense of
our ability to help you achieve success, as you define that term.
“Most kitchens have the same spices in the spice rack. That does not mean everyone is a good cook.”
– anonymous
The U.S. created 850,000 new jobs in June, considerably more than the 680,000 expected and confirming the labor market recovery from the pandemic is progressing in line with the Federal Reserve’s plan for economic growth...
The U.S. created 850,000 new jobs in June, considerably more than the 680,000 expected and confirming the labor market recovery from the pandemic is progressing. Historically, 95,000 new jobs per month are required to maintain a stable unemployment rate and keep up with population growth, and last month’s figure of 850,000 was the largest gain in 10 months. The economy lost about 21 million jobs in the pandemic. Total employment in ..
From the perspective of a financial professional, the window of opportunity to act before taxes are hiked is about to close. The plan to end the step-up in basis on inheritances is perhaps the most significant change. Other tax proposals President Biden campaigned on include a sharp reduction in the favorable treatment on profits from investments, a new top tax rate of 39.6%, and an expansion of the 12.4% Social Security tax on tax-filers who ear..
Tax hikes are an accident waiting to happen. The likelihood of higher tax rates suddenly makes converting traditional IRA investments into Roth IRAs more important. Higher taxes are widely anticipated, and our job as financial professionals is to alert you to what’s ahead. Before the tax wreck of 2021, please brace yourself by planning now. The IRS is hiring more tax auditors and President Biden has proposed tax hikes on high income and h..
The investment outlook is clouded by surging inflation. Will inflation revert to its tame rate, as the Federal Reserve expects? By early 2022, the Federal Reserve Bank’s forecast of inflation will be coming true or not. Until then, U.S. stock prices could be highly volatile as speculators and investors with near-term cash needs cash in or out of the stock market. Despite the Covid economic recession, disposable per..
The political standoff in Washington, D.C., has complicated tax planning enormously. No one knows exactly how it will shake out but what we do know is that there are four possibilities to be prepared for. 1. The estate tax exemption is expected to be slashed dramatically, from $11.6 million, to $3.5 million per person, most likely. In addition, the estate tax rate could be stiffened. 2. Capital gain taxes could be hiked in a couple of ways. The c..
What does the political standoff in Washington mean to you? -- not in terms of your politics but in terms of your bottom line – your after-tax income and your family’s wealth...
Stock market speculators and other “hot money” investors were unhappy last week and stocks dropped sharply but the economic news gave long-term investors plenty to smile about. Economic data released this week gave investors something to smile about, but stocks still dropped sharply. Economic data released this week was great: Retail sales dropped slightly in May but remains astronomically high. Housing starts in May were up slightly in..
Five years ago in financial economic history, the situation was a lot like today. The stock market was fully valued by traditional measures, making stocks more susceptible to a correction, but the economy was accelerating. Five years ago, the stock market looked risky. Stocks had gained 77% in 2012, 2013 and 2014, before taking a breather in 2015 and 2016. Stock valuations had climbed sharply from their lows in The Great Recessi..
The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index closed at a record high 4247.44 today. Which begs the question: What do you expect from stocks for the rest of 2021? Here are three scenarios for how the rest of 2021 could look, as inflation uncertainty grows and a booming expansion is about to begin. To understand the current financial economic situation, picture Americans sitting on a mountain of cash. As a matter of fact, the cash was financed..
For the past decade, monetary easing measures implemented by the U.S. Federal Reserve expanded the monetary base but not the money supply. The surge in money supply, aka M2, is a major financial change currently unfolding now. M2, currency held by the public, plus checking, savings and money market accounts, skyrocketed like never before following the $5.5 trillion unprecedented US stimulus and aid payments in response to the pandemi..
Today’s jobs situation report confirmed the recovery is on track and stocks closed a fraction from their all-time high. Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 559,000 in May, and the unemployment rate declined three-tenths of 1% to 5.8%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In May, the number of unemployed persons fell by 496,000 to 9.3 million. The unemployment rate and the number of unemployed are consi..
To say current financial economic conditions are unprecedented understates things: The United States, the world’s largest economy, by far, is transitioning economically from a once in a hundred-year public health crisis. Americans are also experiencing personal financial transitions, magnified by valleys and spikes in the economy as it recovers from the Coronavirus crisis. The economy is in transition and causing difficult personal finan..
It’s looking like the months ahead could be a real nail-biter for making financial decisions, with the rate of inflation that U.S. monetary policy is pegged against more than doubling in the past two months,..
If you want to get your kids started on the road to financial independence, here are 5 ways to get them going fast! 1. Automated Investing Accounts. Need a quick, cheap, automated, and simple way to get your kids on the road to savings? Look no further than index investing through an automated service! Often referred to as "robo" investing, these automated accounts offer basic access to the power of the markets and have very low minimums. SHA..
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