Uncertainty Rages On
With the month of March comes the beginning of Spring. There’s never any uncertainty about when Spring will arrive. The trees will begin to bud, the flowers begin to bloom, and the days become a little warmer, lighter, and usually a bit more wet. Considering the times we are living in now, we could use a some more certainty….
Caregiving Costs: What does it mean to care for a loved one?
We always advise clients that the financial plans we sit down and create with them are documents that guide and help us understand the strengths and weaknesses of your financial situation. Analyzing them and keeping them going throughout retirement is essential. One of the key areas where most people have not adequately prepared for is caregiving.
NFTs: A New Market On the Rise?
NFTs. What are they? Why has there been a growing obsession with them? Are they a potential new market on the rise? Click to read and find out!
ESG Investing: Moving Beyond the “ESG”
ESG investing has created a strong niche for anyone who wants to invest money without investing in areas or companies that diverge from one’s moral compass. It has provided that opportunity for many people who wish to become more environmentally or socially conscious. It is now even providing opportunities for those whose religious morals have given them pause before investing in every company in certain indices.
Cryptocurrency’s Fall: A Blip or a Warning?
2021 was very kind to cryptocurrencies. Cryptos like Bitcoin saw a rise of nearly 18% in the year, and with all the inflation the country and world had been seeing, many began to look at cryptocurrency as a potential hedge against inflation, perhaps replacing the long-heralded inflation-proof commodities such as gold and silver. Yet 2022 has been less kind. With the new year still in its adolescence, there is much ambiguity as to what 2022 will bring, with issues like inflation still plaguing working families as well as a continued pandemic and international tensions rising in Eastern Europe…
The Metaverse is Here
You may have missed this piece of information on the internet, but it turns out that a house on Mars was sold for five hundred thousand dollars. If you were wondering, after all the news of Facebook changing its name to Meta and spending billions of dollars on the metaverse, how individuals or businesses can make money on the metaverse, this is one great example of how…
Phase Trials and What to Know About Them
Investing in the Biotech industry can be trick, and knowing about “Pipelines” and what they are could help make the process easier.
New Year, New Space: Does Space Belong in Your Investment Portfolio?
If you had to guess which government spent the most on space programs, and you guessed the United States, you’d be absolutely correct. In 2020, the United States spent 47 billion dollars, with China coming in at a distant second, at 8 billion.
What is the difference between a Biotech company and a Pharmaceutical company?
There’s a lot of gray area when we try to classify companies, especially when they are as tangled as the medical industry. As companies try to incorporate different products, services, and therapies into their pipelines, the traditional distinctions make less sense. There are some key points in mind that investors use to identify all the different types of companies.
The Four Step Goal Process
Goals. When it comes to the end of the year, we start with all sorts of goal-based ideas for what we want to do. New Years Resolutions abound and usually they are based in some self-improvement desire. We want to improve our health, we want to improve our social life, we want to improve our organization to better our lives. Some important things that we often forget to organize, or tend to put off, are our financial goals. Having a step-by-step process can make it easier to get those financial goals lined up and give us a good sense of what needs to get done to realize those goals.
Lead Times in Investing: Understanding Biotech Investing
Not all sectors are made equally. That’s one of the first aspects of investing in the real world that’s different from the investing world. Conceptually, for instance, you can understand investing as different sets of strategies, for instance, high yield, growth, dividend etc. Realistically, a company can be a manufacturing company at any stage, high yield, growth, and given time, can even become a dividend aristocrat.
The Achilles Heel of Amazon
One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. Thomas Edison’s quote is fascinating to me because one of the most interesting statistics I’ve seen about investing history is that there was a point in the early 2000s when Amazon, the biggest giant in retail today, was down 90%…
Update: Medicare “Part B” Premium On The Rise In 2022
At this point, what isn’t going up in price? It seems every day we learn of something new that has increased in price dramatically or will do so in the coming year. It appears Medicare will be no different.
Covid-19 Is Forcing Early Retirements: What It Might Mean
Let’s be honest: Covid-19 has had a drastic impact on our lives. It has changed much of how we work and live. It has affected our businesses and our jobs. And now, it is even affecting retirement. What might that mean going forward?
Bug Bites: Gold, Crypto, and Currency in the times of Inflation
You’ve probably seen those commercials about people who own gold and try to convince you to invest in gold as well. Why is that? And why hold gold? Gold’s uses are limited, other than jewelry and some machinery, and yet it seems to be a commodity that garners a tremendous amount of attention from investors.
Social Security Is Being Raised in 2022- That Might Not Enough
Social Security recipients will receive a 5.9% increase in payments next year. That’s the good news. The bad news? That might not be enough to combat rising inflation.
Social Security Benefits and Inflation: 4 Key Points
Social Security increases with inflation, which protects a lot of retired folks from the effects of inflation on their later years. Living an additional 20-30 years without an increase in income would be devastating when food and gas are increasing faster than they have in a long time. There are drawbacks, however, to the increase of benefits that retirees should know about, especially when incorporating this information into their retirement and financial plans.
Why a Potential Tax on Unrealized Capital Gains Could Be Disastrous
An “unrealized capital gains tax” in an individuals’ Roth and Traditional IRAs could be disastrous for the average American, especially those attempting to save for retirement.
How the New Tax Proposal Might Affect Roth IRA Conversions
Waiting for a bill to pass Congress in today’s political climate is akin to waiting for a child to do his or her chores. There’s a good chance it won’t happen, and if it does, it isn’t going to look as good as you hoped. It’s already up-in-the-air as to whether the new $3.5 trillion dollar Build Back Better Act will actually pass both the House and the Senate, and even if it did, it would be the same as it is now. However, speaking for the present, if the bill were to pass as it is today, it could have a serious impact on Roth IRA conversions….
Imagination and Reality: Fire-testing the Financial Plan
Financial plans, when we take them up here at Emergent Financial Services, is a matter of testing a person’s financial life in simulation for the same reason: so that when they live their life, they can do so without worry and without failing to save or plan enough.