Featured Articles
Back to School: Repayments Resume
During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal student loan payments were suspended, interest rates were temporarily set to zero, and lenders were advised to halt collections on defaulted loans. However, the recent bipartisan debt ceiling has put an end to student loan relief from Covid-era rules.
U.S. Housing Market Crossroads
Conflicting trends in recent months appear to indicate that the overall U.S. housing market is at a crossroads. In May 2023, median U.S. home prices fell slightly, down 3.1% year over year to $396,100. In addition, the number of homes for sale in the U.S. fell by 7.1% year over year to 1.4 million as of May, the lowest level since 2012. In June, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously owned homes are down 23.2% since last spring.
ChatGPT and Beyond
ChatGPT, an advanced language model developed by OpenAI, has revolutionized the field of artificial intelligence (“AI”) with its remarkable ability to understand and generate human-like responses in natural language conversations. This groundbreaking technology has captured widespread attention and ignited interest in the capabilities of AI, due especially to three breakthroughs
The First Half of 2023 is Officially Over
Well that went quickly! The first half of 2023 is officially over, and with it, certain concerns seem to have abated, while other topics seem to occupy a great deal of our mind-space. One governmental institution that constantly captures media attention due to its fascinating evolution and present-day significance, is the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, commonly known as the Fed. In this piece, we aim to provide a concise overview of its evolution, significant milestones, and unwavering commitment to combating inflation. Established over a century ago in 1913, the Fed was created with the objective of establishing a stable monetary framework and safeguarding against financial crises. Throughout its history, the Fed has implemented diverse monetary policies to ensure price stability, eventually adopting a "dual mandate" of maintaining both price stability and full employment.
The Strength of our Custodians
Our clients custody their investment assets through either Charles Schwab & Co., Inc (“Schwab”) or LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (“LPL”). Considering recent events, we thought that we should highlight the custodial relationship, as well as the strengths of our firm’s two custodial partners.
Client Interview
As a firm, we have many diverse long-term clients, so we thought instead of just highlighting what are sometimes abstract economic ideas, we would harness the knowledge and firsthand experience of those we know. Below is an excerpt from a late March 2023 interview with one Los Angeles-based jewelry manufacturer.
SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 Retirement Savings Expansion
Major retirement plan changes resulted from the passage of the SECURE 2.0 Act last year, and starting January 1st of 2023, there are 92 new provisions that went into effect. We have selected several of the more significant changes that will shape the savings and retirement landscape of employers and employees alike.
Don Vernon turns 90 years old
My father-in-law, Don Vernon, turns 90 years old this month. Happy birthday, Don! Among many accomplishments, Don was married to his wife Kathleen for over 60 years and had three daughters (a doctor, a lawyer, and, my favorite, an engineer—my wife—Ellen Hatch!). Don also served this country on an aircraft carrier in the Navy and had a brilliant career in the defense sector most recently as an executive with SAIC. In thinking about this birthday, I couldn’t help but be reminded of what's happened in the world during the last 9 to 12 months is not all that dissimilar from the trials and tribulations over the past 90 years.
A New Home for Mom
At some point, most of us will no longer be able to live independently. Having recently helped my mom get placed in a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC), I have learned a great deal about this topic. While by no means a complete list, here are some things to consider, as well as some takeaways:
Good-bye and good riddance to 2022
Goodbye and good riddance to 2022, and welcome to 2023! I say good riddance because both personally and professionally, I am glad to leave the many challenges of 2022 behind — and I have heard from many of you who feel the same. While we cannot change what happened, we can learn and grow from it and move forward, exactly what we intend to do here at Sterling Financial Group.
Should I Consider I Bonds?
If you have extra cash at the bank, shorter-term investment options such as money market funds and CDs, now provide more interesting returns than they did last year. If you have some funds you won’t need for at least one year, you might also consider Series I Savings Bonds (“I Bonds”).
Reframing Risk
Risk tolerance and time horizons are central topics to both financial planning and investment management. In volatile market periods risk tolerance is put to the test, like a ship’s captain during a big storm. Over the last decade, liberal use of both fiscal and monetary policies by our federal government have suppressed market volatility. Though these efforts were positive for equity markets (if you focus on the above average returns during that period), the decreased volatility in risk assets has unfortunately “insulated” many investors. As a result of investors’ notoriously short-term memories, their risk tolerance may be out of balance with their current portfolio.