Insights, Advice & a Whole Lot More
Borrow or Use Cash?
Thank you to one of our loyal readers for the suggestion of this topic! It’s a good question and one we get a lot from people, especially those nearing or in retirement. And, it usually involves whether or not to pay off the mortgage on a primary residence (or use saved money to
Nathan GilbertFeb 4, 2020
Can the Market Shake the Flu?
This week, Nathan and I are attending one of our favorite conferences Inside ETFs—the conference is filled with all kinds of exciting sessions such as “The Non-transparent ETF Revolution and the Inevitable Adoption” and “Beyond the FAANGs: Understanding Technology Subsectors”—it’
Sarah YakelJan 28, 2020
A Positive Influence
Last week, my son was fortunate enough to get to practice with two Washington Capitals hockey players at the Capitals’ practice facility in Arlington. The entire Piedmont Predators under 10 group was able to participate, and I think it’s safe to say they all had a great time (and
Nathan GilbertJan 21, 2020A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words
So, let’s count this blog post as 3,000 words long since I have three great pictures… We are busy with writing our client letter and assembling our quarterly economic review, instead of a lengthy blog post this week, we wanted to share three really interesting charts and infograp
Nathan GilbertJan 14, 2020
SECURE?
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement act (SECURE act) has been receiving a lot of press lately, and deservedly so. The act does make some significant changes to the rules around IRA contributions and distributions, and the House and Senate waited till the las
Nathan GilbertJan 7, 2020
Twixtmas
The week between Christmas and the New Year is a little disorienting—internet memes abound: 2019 Recap & 2020 Preview On this last day of 2019, we are caught in a little bit of Twixtmas too—we could look back and write about how amazing 2019 has been for investors… Pretty fantast
Sarah YakelDec 31, 2019Elf
To follow up on Nathan’s post from last week, I hate the Elf on a Shelf. Ours arrived a few years back and was especially clever, hanging paper snowflakes in the kids rooms, staging elaborate battles with other stuffed animals, and making snow angels out of flour…now, ages later,
Sarah YakelDec 17, 2019
US Labor & Elf on the Shelf
Both hard at work! Anyone with Santa-believing-aged children is likely familiar with Elf on the Shelf™. It’s yet another invention that I’m mad about not thinking of first! If you are not familiar, the elf is simply a small elfin-looking doll dressed in a Santa outfit. The short
Nathan GilbertDec 10, 2019Harvest time is not over yet!
Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, and we’ve crossed the mark of December 1st, it is the official Christmas season now. We went this weekend to cut down our tree, the house is decorated, and the first Christmas party has come and gone… BUT, at Meridian, we are still in the middl
Sarah YakelDec 3, 2019
Your Investment Time Horizon is Longer Than You Think
Recently, my wife’s grandmother (my grandmother-in-law?), affectionately known as Ging, celebrated her 94th birthday. While she has had some medical complications along her journey, her quality of life has mostly been very good if not excellent. She is certainly lucky to have a l
Nathan GilbertNov 26, 2019Best of…
37 days until Christmas. Holiday decorations are starting to creep through our neighborhood—the stores are decked out with full Christmas regalia and sale signage—and our calendar is starting to fill with kids Christmas concerts and parties. Although I will allow a little Christm
Sarah YakelNov 19, 2019
Smart vs. Dumb
News flash: Predicting when markets go up or down can be almost impossible. Some people can get it right some of the time, but no one can get it right all the time. We’ve shown plenty of evidence of this in many of our blog posts, but I reacquainted myself with an interesting cha
Nathan GilbertNov 12, 2019