…easily quantified than things like expertise and quality and the care of consulting that we deliver together. When cost is the primary driver, benchmarking is a pretty straightforward quantitative analysis. When you’re prospecting it’s an offensive strategy as you invite employers to look at potential…
When it comes to retirement plans, there are many ways to distribute a company’s profit sharing contribution. It may be as straightforward as a proportional, or “pro rata,” share to each eligible participant or it can be based on a formula that considers age or…
A frequently asked question by small business owners who sponsor savings incentive match plans for employees (SIMPLE) IRA plans is, “Can I terminate my SIMPLE IRA plan and start a 401(k) plan mid-year?” It’s a straightforward question that, currently, has a problematic answer due to…
The role and visibility of the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) has significantly expanded from its original charge as (a) an implementer of monetary policy and (b) a stabilizer of the banking system. It has become a large scale investment entity and bond market participant…
A blog by Frederic P. Slade, CFA, Director of Investments As the first wave of baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1950) attain “normal” retirement at age 65, an important question has been raised: will all these present and future boomer retirees depress the…
The US economic headlines on July 30th were quite ugly. Second quarter 2020 US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined by 32.9% on an annualized basis and confirmed that we are in a recession this year. This decline was driven by an annual drop of nearly…
Over the past several years, US growth stocks have left US value stocks in the dust from a return standpoint, outperforming value stocks by wide margins. However, this has not always been the case and, recently, value stocks have begun staging a comeback. Growth stocks…
After creating relatively little concern for the financial markets over the past decade, the “I” word, or inflation, has recently been escalated to headline status. There has been wide agreement that the world’s economies have experienced a low rate of inflation over the past 10…
Now that the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021(ARP) stimulus bill has been signed into law, one of next priorities for the Biden administration is passage of a major infrastructure bill. Although a bill, if passed, is not expected until at least the…
Record stock market highs have made it tempting for investors to allow their portfolio to “ride” the trend of these returns without adjusting their asset mix. How can investors keep their portfolio allocations from drifting too far from their desired target allocations and potentially increasing…
In my February 2018 Current Thinking post What is Bitcoin?, I reviewed Bitcoin, one of the original virtual currencies, which are commonly known as cryptocurrencies. Since then, the rise of cryptocurrencies as a virtual means of exchange and as an investment vehicle has focused attention…