Perspectives & News

Is the Santa Rally only a coincidence because it happens to fall in the month of December – which has historically been the best month for the equity markets?

Minimizing income taxes is a powerful way to potentially add years to your portfolio, with no need to outguess the markets. If your portfolio is upside-down from a tax perspective, turning it around it could significantly strengthen your retirement.

The Federal Reserve, once the institution that rarely spoke, sure seems to find itself in the news a lot this year.

Traditional banks are haunted by financial technology – fintech – firms. Challengers such as mobile-first banks Chime in the US, Monzo in the UK and Germany’s N26 have been around for a number of years now, but big global and regional banks are still struggling to deal with the competition. While fintechs experience a goldrush of investment – US$39.6 billion in 2018, up from 120% from 20171 – banking CEOs find themselves under increasing pressure from shareholders alarmed at the slow rate of change taking place.

Marvel’s gambit to propel “Avengers: Endgame” to become the top-grossing movie of all time finally paid off. The studio re-released the final film in its “Avengers” series earlier this month with extra footage and a post-credit tribute in an effort to pass James Cameron’s 2009 film “Avatar” as the world box office record holder.

Qualified savings, money held in retirement plans, such as 401(k)s and IRAs, are a large part of most families’ plans for their retirement years. Legislation that has passed the House and is currently in debate in the Senate, called the SECURE Act, proposes some changes to retirement savings, both during your working years and during retirement.1