Insights, Advice & a Whole Lot More
The Strengthening Dollar and What It Means
Put aside inflation, the price of oil over the last year, and interest rates – something else has been on the rise… the strength of the U.S. dollar. I’m sure most of you have seen a headline referring to the strength of the dollar at least once over the last few months, particula
Sarah IrvingAug 9, 2022
What’s in an Index?
As much as I try to avoid the noise and focus on what matters to our clients and the investments we hold, I still find myself getting frustrated when I see the financial (and many other) news outlets reporting on the levels of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (aka The Dow or DJIA
Nathan GilbertAug 3, 2022
Words from the Wise
If you’ve turned on the TV, seen a newspaper, been on social media at all–or followed this blog–you are already aware that it has been a rough year so far in the markets. In fact, it has been historically awful. The challenge in times like these is to stay focused and clearheaded
Sarah YakelJul 26, 2022What does it mean to be vested?
Vesting… you’ve heard the term, but do you know what it means? No, not that kind of vest This term typically applies to employer-sponsored retirement plans (such as 401(k)s, 403(b)s, etc.). While all of the money you personally contribute to these accounts is yours to invest, kee
Sarah YakelJul 19, 2022
Yield Curve Inversion
Recently the yield curve inverted for the first time since August 2019 and today that curve steepened ever further (which means that interest rates on 10 year treasury bonds have dropped below rates for 2 year treasury bonds). So why does this matter and why do we pay attention t
Sarah IrvingJul 12, 2022
What’s a Recession Anyway?
Unfortunately, there has been a lot of talk about a looming recession sometime in 2022, and the market has certainly priced some (if not all) of that in so far this year. A recent Wall Street Journal survey of economists says there’s a 44% chance of a recession. But, what exactly
Nathan GilbertJul 5, 2022
The Value of Planning
Market news has continued to be painful to watch, with bonds, stocks, and now commodities falling this year. The Meridian team has written about opportunities that we see in previous blogs (like this one or this one), and we continue to talk to our clients about the unfolding eco
Sarah YakelJun 29, 2022
You Are My Sunshine – My Only Sunshine
Happy Summer Solstice! I just returned from a wonderful week at Lake Michigan with my family. I love them dearly and a great way to look after them is to make sure I have beneficiaries named on my accounts. Beneficiary designations are the way that certain types of assets are pas
Sarah YakelJun 21, 2022
Chart(s) Worth a Thousand Words
As we addressed in our market volatility update yesterday, sometimes taking a break from all the news is good for our mental health and can be enough to give some perspective. There is a lot of information being thrown out at us and that can be stressful and overwhelming – either
Sarah IrvingJun 14, 2022
Get Paid to Wait
Stock market decline, and how much lower for how much longer remain among the top questions we are getting from clients lately. All you have to do is look at our recent blog posts to see that! This is despite an S&P 500 return of +6.6% for the last week of May. Granted, we are […
Nathan GilbertJun 7, 2022
Following Up
Lucy and Tyler’s blog last week on the financial implications of installing solar panels triggered quite a few follow up questions from our loyal readers! (Thank you to all of you who take the time to read our posts—we appreciate your feedback and questions!!!) So, we wanted to t
Sarah YakelMay 31, 2022
Bright Sunshine Day
Are solar panels worth it? This week’s blog features a client request on how to calculate if it’s a wise decision to have solar panels installed at your home. Yellow ribbon back home at the yellow barn after earning the last score for our USDF Bronze Medal! Most of us are aware o
Sarah YakelMay 25, 2022