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Here's What to Do

If you have a credit report (and most of us do), there's a good chance that you were one of the estimated 143 million Americans affected by the recent data breach at Equifax, one of the three largest American credit agencies. If you have been affected, it's important to be proactive to protect your credit and identity now.

You may have heard in the news that on June 9th, the Department of Labor issued new rules, which are expected to significantly impact how people save for retirement. The main goal of the DOL’s ruling is to protect investors from biased retirement advice.

Every other day we hear about online security breaches experienced by major companies, from Yahoo to JP Morgan Chase, and even the IRS. Because we rely so heavily on the Internet to conduct financial transactions and manage our accounts, we can expect these events to continue. In fact, reported data breaches in 2016 increased 40% from 2015, with over 1000 instances disclosed.

For most people, it can be difficult to find the time and resources to build and manage their wealth confidently, let alone enjoy managing the minute details of their finances. It can be even harder to know how to integrate your financial circumstances and life goals into a financial plan and stay on track for the long-term.

By Ted Rich

When I was growing up, baseball was important in my life. I loved playing the game and the camaraderie of the team effort. After playing throughout high school and college, I ended up in the minor leagues. But when my career came to an abrupt end, I knew it was time to find another profession.

A little over a year ago, the S&P 500 was trading down over 14% from its November highs. The primary price trend was clearly down, global recession discussions were happening daily due to the collapse of oil prices, and investor feelings were decidedly pessimistic. A year later, conditions could hardly be more different.

A new Presidential Era began last Friday with Donald Trump's inauguration, and the stock market reaction was far more restrained than its response to his election. For weeks after the presidential election, we saw equity markets defy expectations and post significant gains. In fact, the Dow grew by over 1,500 points between November 8 and December 12.

On Friday, December 9, all three major U.S. stock indexes ended at record highs. For the first time in five years, they each posted gains every day of the trading week. The S&P 500 was up 3.08%, the Dow added 3.06%, and NASDAQ increased 3.59%.

Of course, we never like to see the global markets go down. However, when you look beneath the surface, the U.S. economy is still doing far better than what this week's performance implies. Behind the losses and ongoing election exhaustion, there are a number of strong indicators that the economy is growing.