Insights, Advice & a Whole Lot More
Risk On
Irrational investor behavior is nothing new, but as Sarah Yakel pointed out in her blog last week, the sheer volume of data (both good and bad) and wanna-be-stock analysts has increased dramatically in recent years. Some have made headlines touting huge short-term gains, but most
Nathan GilbertMar 2, 2021
Information Overload
Reddit’s Impact on Investing Investing has been front and center this past month with the ongoing Reddit/GameStop/Robinhood saga all over the news: In a Yahoo Finance poll, 28% of investors polled admitted to buying one of the stocks in the news—AMC was the most purchased stock,
Sarah YakelFeb 23, 2021
Yours, Mine, and Ours: Financial Planning Together
It’s February. It’s the month of love, Valentine’s Day. With love comes marriage, and marriage is a beautiful thing. But, what a lot of people forget to talk about is there is a business side to marriage, in the midst of the honeymoon phase. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the di
Sarah YakelFeb 16, 2021
Stocking Up on Employer Stock
The groundhog really was not joking with his appearance implying 6 more weeks of winter. While the snow can be beautiful, snow days lose a little bit of their magic when you actually have to go somewhere and shovel it. My one year old has the right idea about snow days, particula
Sarah IrvingFeb 9, 2021
How Is the Stock Market Still Going Up?
Global stock markets keep going up and up. Some things have indeed improved since the dark days of March 2020. But other conditions have worsened. Yet, it almost seems no matter what the news is, investors remain bullish. Clearly the collective market wisdom is that the pandemic
Nathan GilbertFeb 2, 2021
Lessons From A 10 Year Old Stockbroker
This is Ben. He is my 10-year-old and littlest child, and he is the best helper. Over Christmas break, Ben was helping me assemble a million new client packets, and he noticed the risk tolerance questionnaire that we include for every prospect to complete. Ben was excited to find
Sarah YakelJan 26, 2021
How To Tell Good Debt Versus Bad Debt
It might sound strange, but not all debt is “bad.” Certain types of debt can actually provide opportunities to improve your financial future. To make smart decisions about if, when, and how much to borrow, you need to understand the difference between “good” and “bad” debt and ho
Sarah YakelJan 19, 2021
Refi, Should I?
Happy 2021! Per Nathan’s last blog, I only have a couple of more weeks to say that, so I’m soaking it up. Cheers to everyone who has set their goals or resolutions for this year whether they be physical, mental, or financial in nature. From a financial perspective, it is exciting
Sarah IrvingJan 12, 2021
Happy New Year! (And when do we stop saying that?)
I hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday season and your new year is off to a great start. Despite not being able to see most family as usual, our young children made the season very exciting/exhausting as always! As our children get older, I have found that the number of Chr
Nathan GilbertJan 5, 2021
Little Bits of Joy
My recently received edition of Entertainment Weekly started with this glum opening editor’s note: “Nobody with a lick of sense should wax nostalgic about 2020. Should some future soul discover this letter many decades hence, when humanity lives in climate-controlled domed cites
Sarah YakelDec 22, 2020
What is an independent RIA (Registered Investment Advisor)?
As the year comes to a close, the team here at Meridian has been collaborating together on our individual and firm key objectives for 2021. We take this opportunity every year to revisit the values, philosophy, and mission as a company as well as to set goals for ourselves and a
Sarah IrvingDec 15, 2020
Do I Even Need a Trust?
We at Meridian often get a lot of questions around trusts and what they can and can’t do. While we are not attorneys and do not draft wills or trusts, we do need to be aware of what estate planning options are available to our clients. “Do I even need a trust?” is probably the […
Nathan GilbertDec 8, 2020