Geoff Wells featured in Market Watch article!
Market Watch recently released an article focusing on the confusion and stress felt by 401(k) savers. Investors feel the 401(k) options offered are too confusing and they don’t know what to do! Rockbridge financial planner, Geoff Wells, shared his feelings on how investors can eliminate that stress. Read the full article here (Market Watch Article)
Are You Prepared? New York State Estate Tax
Now that we are halfway through 2013 and the federal estate tax debate is far behind us, it is a good time to remember that as New York State residents, we are still subject to the state estate tax. A common phrase is, “Estate tax, I’m not wealthy enough to have to worry about that!” […]
Auto Insurance: When Was The Last Time You Got A New Quote?
This is a topic that has been relevant in my life and also a recently asked question by a family member. Am I paying too much for auto insurance? If you haven’t received a new quote online recently, the answer is probably YES. When I moved down to Texas, I found out auto insurance rates […]
Golf and Investing
I know this might be hard to imagine for most of us golfers, but which of the following scenarios would you rather choose: 1. Shooting par every time you go out and play a round of golf. 2. Shooting below par 25% of the time you play and failing to reach par the remaining 75% […]
2013 Rockbridge Survey and Company Updates
First and foremost, we would like to thank everyone who participated in our 2013 Client Survey. We are constantly looking for ways to improve our business and services, and we greatly value your feedback. For those of you who didn’t get an opportunity to take the survey, I will summarize the results of each of […]
How Bad Was This Quarter for Bond Investors?
The benchmark bond index that we follow, Barclays U.S. Government/Credit Index, lost 2.5%, the worst quarter since 1994. In fact the quarterly result has only been worse 8 times in the past 40+ years (162 quarters). The Barclays U.S. TIPS Index had its worst quarter ever losing 7.1% (data only goes back to 1997). Markets […]
Market Commentary July 2013
Volatility returned this quarter in both stocks and bonds as fears about the central-bank actions across the globe made investors nervous about the future. Large Cap U.S. stocks, represented by the S&P 500 Index, returned 2.9% in the second quarter, bringing the year-to-date return up to a lofty 14.0%. By contrast, the EAFE Index, a […]
Are You A Financial Expert?
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is currently running a study on the financial savviness of the US population. While a majority of people feel they have a good grasp of financial topics, the study shows that is not actually the case. Below are a few of the study highlights: 1 in 5 people are […]
A Dozen Benefits of Financial Planners
Recently, I read a blog article by a Bob Seawright titled, “Financial Advice: A Top Ten List”. The article describes how financial planners provide clients with a far greater benefit than just investment returns. Bob provided an excellent list of ancillary benefits. His list is spot-on and a worthy read by anyone considering a financial […]
Control Costs: They Matter!
You get what you pay for, right? Actually, when it comes to investing, it’s what you don’t pay for that really counts. Vanguard’s latest ad’s have all revolved around “at-cost” investing for this very reason. Check out the link below where Vanguard explains “at-cost” investing and how it can help investors reach financial success over time. Vanguard’s At-Cost […]