Last year Congress passed changes to Social Security law that affects commonly practiced retirement strategies.   Recently, a number of people have contacted me and asked me to clarify for them some of these changes, specifically the difference between “File and Suspend” and “Restricted Application.” 

I've been meaning to share this New York Times article about Federal Student Loan Repayment Plans that should (emphasis on "should") make understanding repayment options easier for most borrowers.  Of course, as it is mentioned in the article, it would be better if the whole process were easier, but let's take what we can get for the moment.  There are some resources listed at the end of the article worth sharing with clients that may help better explain the repayment options available to them. 

I wanted to share this feature I recently found in Business Insider.  So much has been written about fees, both hidden and disclosed, that I found this article particularly interesting.  It’s about a socially conscious investing firm that allows the investor to determine his fees.  You would think that investors would elect to pay no fees whatsoever, but that is not the case.  A link to the original article as well as the entire article is below:

I am happy to announce that I’ve added a location in the Baltimore, MD Area for my CFP® Certification Professional Education Program.

This past Fall, a number of changes were made to FAFSA for the 2017-18 application process. 

Now that we’ve hit Spring and are entrenched in the college application and selection process, I thought it would be a good time to review.

The question I've been getting most frequently recently is, "Which candidate will be best for the economy?"  

You’ve done everything right as a financial advisor: You’ve stayed in touch; reviewed and discussed short, mid and long-term goals, did a risk tolerance survey, made appropriate adjustments to a balanced portfolio along the way; and then BAM!   2016 rolls and the stock market drops, oil prices plummet, China’s in trouble, European Banks falter and Donald trump and Bernie Sanders lead the polls!!!!

This appeared on FinancialPlanning.com Feb. 2.  Thought it was worth sharing, especially since we discussed it during last week's CFP Ethics Webinar.

The SEC is moving on two fronts to beef up its examinations of investment advisors.

Read this today's Wall Street Journal and had to share.  So who here is focusing on a niche market and how has your experience so far?  Feel free to comment below.

Financial Advisers Focus on Niches to Grow

More than half of advisers in a survey said they plan to add new niches as part of their growth strategy

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season and is busy wrapping up end-of-year business so you can take a little time off before the New Year. 

I tried to touch on a few year-end essentials in my recent InSights blog and Linkedin posts.  If you haven’t read them yet, here are the links:

Pages