The Meridian blog

Insights, Advice & a Whole Lot More

Welcome to the official blog of Meridian Financial Partners. We'd love to hear your comments as well as your questions. Oh, and our attorneys want you to read these disclosures.
A woman shielding the guinea pigs from the dog
Family & Life Events

Basic Instincts

It’s tough to fight against an innate instinct. Nature is filled with examples of instincts at work—animals have extremely strong predator or prey behaviors, as anyone who has ever been dragged by their dog chasing a squirrel can attest… …or attempted to shield the family guinea

Sarah YakelSarah YakelAug 13, 2019
Investing & Markets

DOUBLE OUCH!

Yesterday gave us another unfriendly reminder that stocks can be volatile. Investors continue to focus on the US-China trade war, which escalated even further on Monday. As a result, the S&P 500 lost about 3% of its value. That’s the largest one-day point drop since December of l

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertAug 6, 2019
Planning Basics

Wellness Checks

It’s the week of doctor’s visits at the Yakel household…these two handsome guys just had birthdays and have each had wellness checks to be sure they were growing up healthy: The birthday boys: Milo and Ethan While annual checkups are just a part of life, they can be a little pain

Sarah YakelSarah YakelJul 30, 2019
Investing & Markets

More Daisy (and maybe more stocks?)

As you are probably already aware, stocks have had a strong rally since a very difficult end to 2018. Not surprisingly, this spooked a lot of retail investors (the average investor) and equity (stocks) fund outflows have been sharply negative since the beginning of the year. And,

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertJul 23, 2019
Estate & Legacy

“The Talk”

The Yakel household is very quiet this week, as I’ve just returned from visiting my parents in Williamsburg, and leaving my kids down there with my parents. That was on purpose and prearranged…God bless my folks…they are in for a busy week… It was good to visit my parents and to

Sarah YakelSarah YakelJul 16, 2019
Dog Days of Summer
Family & Life Events

Dog Days of Summer

Recently for our family, the dog days term is quite literal. After minimal consultation with yours truly, our family entered the world of dog ownership. We welcomed little Daisy to our world this past Saturday. She is a French Bulldog and has already created some unwanted stains

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertJul 9, 2019
Planning Basics

Independence Day

The 4th of July is upon us, and it reminds me of birthdays…my husband’s birthday, my best friend’s birthday…oh and also America’s birthday. It’s a big party day for sure! 😊 Besides birthdays, the 4th of July reminds us of independence and is a celebration of freedom—both importa

Sarah YakelSarah YakelJul 2, 2019
A young girl holding a garland
Investing & Markets

Home Bias

A quick disclaimer: I am on vacation this week, but we have committed to a weekly blog, and I want to stick with that schedule. However, we didn’t commit to a LONG weekly blog, so I am mailing this one in a bit. Doesn’t that encourage you to read on? 😊 Home Bias in Investing […]

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertJun 25, 2019
Investing & Markets

Halfway Point

It’s hard to believe but we are almost to the halfway point of 2019—to be exact, July 1st is the actual midpoint. And so far, it has been an interesting year in the market. Just a quick checkpoint/recap… Rebounding from fears of recession, the market shot up in January 2019, only

Sarah YakelSarah YakelJun 18, 2019
Retirement Planning

A ROTH for Molly?

My partner Sarah wrote a great blog last week that addressed the difficulties that parents face when trying to access medical information for their almost-grown children. In that same vein of graduate advice, I would like to touch on the somewhat more pleasant topic of retirement

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertJun 11, 2019
Planning Basics

Graduates

Congrats, Graduates!!! (….now please sign this….) This weekend, we went to one of several graduation parties we were invited to—several of the folks we talked to were graduation party hopping, trying to fit quick stops at multiple parties. It is definitely the season of emancipat

Sarah YakelSarah YakelJun 4, 2019
three kids smiling
Family & Life Events

National 529 Day

I have to admit, until my partner Sarah Yakel forwarded me an article on the topic, I had no idea that tomorrow (5/29!) is officially National 529 day. I suspect at this point, pretty much every date on the calendar represents ‘National Something Day,’ but it does give me some go

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertMay 28, 2019