Blog

Two Tales of 2020 Bond Returns

US investment-grade bonds had a solid 2020 despite a tumultuous year overall. The broad Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index had a total return of 7.5%—not as strong as 2019’s 8.7% but its fifth-best year in the last...

Three Fed Takeaways from an Extraordinary Year

2020 was an extraordinary year for the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed responded swiftly and decisively to the rapidly accelerating financial and economic uncertainty brought on by efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The current...

Getting a Jump on January Tax Season

From pandemic-related stimulus payments to job losses and furloughs, for many taxpayers, next spring's tax season may be more complex than usual. With the end of 2020 rapidly approaching, you should take some time to review your tax...

4 More Years of Dollar Weakness?

Back in July, we wrote in our July 23 LPL Research blog that dollar weakness may continue, highlighting a short-term bearish technical case for the US dollar. Since then, the Bloomberg US Dollar Index and the US Dollar Index (DXY) are...

Creating a Business Plan for Small Businesses

Your business plan is an important part of creating a business and a critical tool for drawing in lenders and investors. If you're thinking about launching a small business or if you want to take your small business in a new direction,...

OUTLOOK 2021: Powering Forward

More than most years , it’s hard to look ahead to the next year, to 2021, without looking back at 2020. A global pandemic, a massive economic collapse, a bear market, a surprisingly sharp reversal, a hotly contested election...

Contributing to a Charity When You Have More Time Than Money to Give

If giving to charity is important to you but you have more time than money, you may wonder whether your donation of manpower will be as valuable as cash. For many charities, the answer is an unequivocal yes. Below are some tips and...

Corporate Bonds Tilting Toward Expensive

Not surprisingly, corporate credit spreads widened dramatically back in March 2020, making corporate bonds cheap relative to historical averages. (Credit spreads are the extra yield corporate bonds offer versus similarly dated...

30,000 Reasons To Be Thankful

As 2020 winds down, it has been an extremely tough year on all of us. Still, there are many reasons to be thankful and today we will share some reasons investors should be thankful. Stocks have had one of the largest reversals ever in...

Benefits of HSA and FSA Accounts

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) are designed to help you save money on medical costs by giving you access to a special savings account with tax benefits. Although these plans are very similar, they...

Charitable Giving: How it Affects You Financially as Well as Personally

The holiday season is just around the corner and many charitable organizations are in desperate need of donations to help provide the vital services needed in the community. You are most often inundated with a number of charitable...

2 Reasons Long-Term Rates Could Continue to Rise

Fixed income investors aren’t used to having to deal with the volatility of stocks, but in the year that is 2020, that is exactly what has happened thus far. Unfortunately, while we don’t see the volatility of Q1 2020...

Prepare for Long-Term Care Before The Need

Long-term care (LTC) keeps you functioning in the face of devastating illnesses, disabilities and prolonged disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. LTC kicks in when you lose the ability to care for yourself and can no longer do...

End of Year Planning: Set Goals and Reduce Taxes

By the last third of the calendar year, you're likely to have a pretty good idea of what your annual income will be and whether any major expenses or big life changes await you. This can allow you to engage in more robust tax planning,...

2 Post-Election Charts You Need to See

The election is over, but the questions are mounting. We don’t know who will be the next president as of Wednesday morning, but we do know that stocks tend to do well the final two months of an election year. “Once the...

The Best Day Of The Year Is This Week

With the election only six days away and earnings season in full swing, stocks have bucked the usual October weakness during election years so far in 2020 (Monday’s losses notwithstanding). The good news is this could continue,...

Investing in an Election Year

The world's events always affect the markets, and making smart investment choices requires you to look at what's happening around the world. But what about during an election year? How should you invest while the country is deciding...

Enrolling in Medicare Advantage: What You Need to Know

Now that you have decided that Medicare Advantage is an option worth exploring, you may be wondering what the next steps are to signing up. While the steps for signing up are simple, there are a few key points to remember during the...

Under-the-Radar Signal That Rates May Head Higher

The 10-year Treasury yield has stayed in a narrow range since April 2020, helped by a supportive Federal Reserve and ongoing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. As shown in LPL’s Chart of the Day, the 10-year Treasury yield...

12 Estate Planning Must-Dos

Many of you already have estate documents, probably executed many years ago. You need an estate attorney to look over your documents every 10 years or so. Here are a dozen points to review. 1. Do you have a will and powers of attorney...

Stocks and the Election Don’t Mix

As concern over the upcoming election continues to build, one of the questions we’re getting is whether investors should sell ahead of the election for fear the party they don’t want to win takes over the White House. As...

Planning for Retirement? Don't Forget About Long-Term Care

Your plans for retirement may include travel, home improvements, and more time spent with family. Few people enter retirement with the expectation (or even the thought) that they soon may be unable to live independently. However, this...

How Corporate Bond Spreads Respond to Equity Market Volatility

An old Wall Street adage says bond markets are smarter than equity markets, so when stocks encounter volatility, investors often look to the bond market for clues about the potential severity of equity market weakness. The...

5 Real-Time Data Charts To Track the Recovery

We check in again today on some of the real-time economic data that LPL Research is monitoring to provide timely and valuable insights into the state of the US economy. Traditional economic data is often reported too slowly to pick up...

Three Things to Know Before Buying a Home

Whether you're a first-time home buyer or are re-entering the real estate market after a hiatus, it's important to educate yourself on the most up-to-date tips and tricks for purchasing a home. Doing so can help save you thousands or...

Central Banks Speak

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) and Bank of Japan (BoJ) both meet this week, while the European Central Bank (ECB) met last week. When central bankers talk— markets listen. “The global economy has been steadying faster than...

What to Do with Your Retirement Plan During Lay-Offs or Furloughs

In an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the government has shut down numerous businesses throughout the country, and others have drastically cut hours. As a result, over 10 million workers filed for unemployment in March...

National Life Insurance Awareness Month

September is National Life Insurance Awareness month. And while most of us likely recognize that life insurance provides us peace of mind and security, there may be a few things you don’t know. Life Insurance is Not Just for the...

Analyzing the Jobs Report

The jobs market remains strong, as the August nonfarm payrolls came in at a solid 1.37 million jobs created, right in line with expectations. This was the fourth consecutive month of gains, up 10.6 million over this time frame. In...

Dealing with Life’s Transitional Moments

Some life transitions, such as a career change or marriage, are planned, but a job loss or divorce can be sudden and unexpected. One common thread that accompanies all transitions, however, is the concern about whether there will be...

3 Charts To Watch If You Are Bullish

The S&P 500 Index just closed the door on its best August since 1986, making new all-time highs along the way, while also closing up five months in a row. First things first, make no mistake about it; this is a new bull market. That of...

Income Inequality and Its Impact on Women's Retirement

Here are the facts. Generally speaking, women earn less than men, live longer than men, and often take time out of the workforce to have children and/or to care for an aging parent or sick loved one. The potential consequence of these...

Low Treasury Yields Present a Challenge as Inflation Expectations Rise

As the COVID-19-related economic weakness that characterized the first half of the year subsides, growth has begun to return as trillions in fiscal stimulus have helped to stabilize consumer spending. Against a backdrop of improving...

History of Social Security

Over 63 million people in the United States receive Social Security benefits every month. While most of these people are retirees, about 20% are disabled or the surviving children or spouses of workers. Some people rely on these...

3 Mistakes to Avoid Before Taking Required Minimum Distributions

Uncle Sam wants your money. He has bills to pay, just like you. And he's been waiting patiently for decades for you to hand over his share of your tax-deferred retirement dollars. He expects some folks to be stubborn about it, so he...

Bond Returns and Congress

As election season heats up, we are often presented with questions regarding market returns based on the political party composition of the White House and Congress. In our Election Preview Weekly Market Commentary, we took a closer...

The Worst Years for Treasuries Don’t Look Like This…Except One

The 10-year Treasury yield is historically low, so low that it could climb a full 1% before the end of the year and still be the lowest year-end yield on record, with room to spare. Historically low rates come with a genuine concern...

Preparing For Your Next 401(k) Open Enrollment

Open enrollment season is one of the shortest—in most cases, employees have only a few weeks to research their options and make a decision on things like their 401(k) contributions, health and dental insurance, disability...

High-Frequency Data Reflects Pause in Recovery

After carving out the first part of a “V-shaped” recovery, the US economy has leveled off somewhat in response to the latest wave of COVID-19 infections. In this week’s Weekly Market Commentary: Stalling Economic...

The Sandwich Generation: Juggling Family Responsibilities

At a time when your career is reaching a peak and you are looking ahead to your own retirement, you may find yourself in the position of having to help your children with college expenses while at the same time looking after the needs...

Let’s Get Real About Yields

While the 10-year Treasury yield has traded in a narrow range since early April, the equivalent real yield, represented by the yield on 10-year Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS), has continued to fall and could go lower....

Midyear Outlook 2020: The Trail Ahead

AT THE MIDPOINT of 2020, we’re mindful that it’s been an extremely challenging year so far in the United States and around the globe. We’re in the midst of a pandemic that continues to impact all of us, our...

How to Make Savings Last Longer in Retirement

Whether you dream of a travel-filled retirement or would prefer to relax and enjoy spending more time at home, you're probably wondering what you can do to make your golden years as stress-free as possible. For many who have spent the...

Paying for College and the Impact of COVID-19

With the coronavirus shutting done educational institutions and moving classes online, the face of education across the country has changed. While the focus has been primarily on completing the educational requirements to get K through...

Economically Sensitive Fixed Income Sectors Lead in Second Quarter

The Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index posted a solid total return of 2.9% in the second quarter of 2020, its eighth consecutive quarterly gain, and a relatively strong quarter for the broad investment-grade bond index...

Ten Things You Must Know About Medicare

Heading into your retirement years brings a slew of new topics to grapple with, and one of the most maddening may be Medicare. Figuring out when to enroll, what to enroll in and what coverage will be best for you can be daunting. To...

The Best Quarter Since 1998

What a quarter the second quarter was, with the S&P 500 Index adding 20.0%, for the best quarter since 1998 and the best second quarter since 1938. Of course, stocks fell 20% in the first quarter, so what we really have is a bad case...

IRS Offers Relief to Retirement Plan Participants

On June 19, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service announced new guidelines to help those affected by COVID-19 gain more access to retirement plan distributions and loans. The IRS expanded the categories of those eligible, called qualified...

Coupon Clipping for Investment Income

What can we learn about investment income opportunities from coupon-clipping environments? From 1977 to 2019, the price of the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index rose in 22 calendar years and fell in 21 years, but, adding in...

Green Shoots in Real-Time Economic Data

Real-time data continues to provide valuable insight into the current state of the US economy even as traditional economic data is too slow to pick up changes that are occurring. Today we revisit some of the real-time data points that...

Women, Wealth, and Legacy Planning

Women play a central role in establishing and preserving family wealth -- whether nurturing the values of children, fulfilling charitable goals, or making investment decisions that affect the financial security of themselves or their...

It’s Official, We’re In A Recession

In probably one of the least surprising economic calls of all time, the Nation Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) officially declared an end to the longest expansion ever and the start of a new recession. As shown in the LPL Chart of...

Socially Responsible Investing

Investing with an eye toward promoting social, political, or environmental concerns (or at least not supporting activities you feel are harmful) doesn't mean you have to forgo pursuing a return on your money. Socially responsible...

Companies are Saying Goodbye to Dividends

The COVID-19 crisis has forced companies around the world to suspend dividend payouts to their investors. In fact, through the first quarter of 2020 alone, over 500 companies worldwide have suspended or reduced their dividends this...

Corporate Bond Spreads Decline as Fed Increases ETF Purchases

The Federal Reserve (Fed) increased its bond exchange-traded funds (ETF) purchases in the week ending May 20 (the most recent data available), adding another $1.5 billion in bond ETFs to its balance sheet, bringing the total holding to...

Women, Money, and Today's Retirement

Despite all of the other advances made in our society in recent generations, women continue to face unique challenges when it comes to preparing for their financial futures. Recognizing the Shortfalls For starters, women on average...

Fed Says No to Negative Rates

There’re plenty of people who think negative interest rates are a good policy. But we don’t really think so at the Federal Reserve. And I think it’s an area of real uncertainty in the central banking world. -Fed Chair...

The Inflationary Impact of COVID-19 Stimulus

The coronavirus outbreak, which was first detected in China, has infected millions of people in hundreds of countries and has left global governments, businesses, families and individuals around the world counting the costs. In the U.S...

COVID-19 & The Idea of Sell in May and Go Away

One of the oldest stock market strategies is to “Sell in May and Go Away.” If you factor in this seasonal “strategy,” COVID-19 might make you think twice about employing. Especially on the heels of the best...

Why Gold Will Continue To Shine

Gold has done quite well so far in 2020, up more than 12% year to date versus the S&P 500 Index which is down about 10%. We started to warm to the yellow metal late last year and continue to think it can serve as a potential hedge in a...

Women: Make a Financial Plan -- the Secret of Your Success

Financial planning is more than just a good idea. Research has consistently shown that people who have financial plans -- and who work with financial advisors -- save and invest far more and are nearly twice as likely to feel on track...

Remembering the Flash Crash

One of the most historic market crashes ever took place 10 years ago today, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index plunging more than 1,000 points, or 9%, within minutes, only to regain most of the losses by the end of the day....

Have Stay-At-Home Growth Stocks Peaked?

Over the past couple of weeks, we have thankfully witnessed new cases of COVID-19 in the US trending lower. Increasingly, we are also seeing governors implementing plans to re-open their state economies in phases. If the US economy...

Balancing Working from Home and E-Learning: A Parent's Guide

If the coronavirus crisis has led you to recently join the more than 5 million U.S. workers who work from home, you may still be settling into a routine.1 Adding homeschooling (or e-learning) into the mix can introduce additional...

When Will The Recession Officially Start?

With 22 million jobs lost in the past four weeks, a record drop in retail sales, and huge drops in industrial production and housing starts, it is safe to say we are likely in a recession. Even the Federal Reserve (Fed) in the recent...

Can Stocks Close Higher In 2020?

What a ride 2020 has been for investors. The fastest bear market ever, now one of the steepest recoveries ever. After being down more than 30% for the year on March 23, this recovery is extremely impressive. In fact, before yesterday,...

Retirement Assistance Within the CARES Act

In late March 2020, as the number of novel coronavirus cases in the U.S. surged past 100,000, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed into law. The CARES Act provides around $2.2 trillion in aid to...

Big Annual Declines Are Rare

Stocks have rallied nicely off the March 23 lows on the back of a bold policy response from the Federal Reserve (Fed) and lawmakers in Washington, DC, which was followed by signs that a peak in growth of COVID-19 cases may come soon....

April is Financial Literacy Month

April is National Financial Literacy Month – an entire month dedicated to underscoring the importance of learning, establishing and maintaining healthy financial habits. But ask yourself this: what have you learned about anything...

The CARES Act Key Components

Market Update: Wed, Apr 1, 2020

More weakness. After wrapping up one of the worst quarters ever for stocks, stocks sold off globally this morning after a somber warning from President Trump. Trump said the United States is facing potentially its toughest two weeks...

9 Facts About Social Security

Tip: How Much? Check your Social Security earnings and see an estimate of your benefits on the website, www.ssa.gov. Social Security’s been a fact of retirement life ever since it was established in 1935. We all think we know how...