Insights, Advice & a Whole Lot More
Spring Break
Now that taxes are done, many of us are opening our first quarter statements from our investment accounts, 401k accounts, or IRAs and seeing nice positive growth…which is certainly a relief from the end of 2018’s dizzying market drop. In the first quarter of 2019, the US stock ma
Sarah YakelApr 23, 2019
The Benefits of Re-balancing (and having a friend with a great tractor)
Recently, Vanguard put out a great whitepaper (fancy term for “compliance-approved informative article”) on the benefits of rebalancing your portfolio on a regular basis. There was a lot of good information in the article, but I was particularly interested in the two charts that
Nathan GilbertApr 16, 20198,000 Days
I write this from a soccer field in Winchester watching Melanie’s soccer team compete for first place in her conference: Right now, life is fractioned between Meridian, moving, family, clients…all at the same time it feels. Clients and friends older and wiser than me have advised
Sarah YakelApr 9, 2019
Can You Dodge the Tax Axe?
I may be creeping into CPA-land here, but we are getting a lot of questions from our clients about what they can (or can’t) do to reduce their tax bill. All of us are still digesting the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and for some it has caused an unexpected bill or a lower […]
Nathan GilbertApr 2, 2019Spring Forecast
Spring in Virginia is here—which usually means wildly unpredictable weather…and pollen…lots and lots of pollen: As weathermen attempt precise and accurate forecasts, daily things change—determining the weather more than 7 days out is an exercise in futility, with only about half
Sarah YakelMar 26, 2019
Another March Madness Article!
Okay – I am going for the low-hanging fruit here and using March Madness as a tie in for this week’s blog. Yes, it might be a bit lazy, but there are some good comparisons to be drawn between filling out your bracket (assuming you do such a thing) and investment decision making.
Nathan GilbertMar 19, 2019Doing Well by Doing Good
At Meridian, we are starting to hear from our clients and friends about how the 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is actually impacting their returns. For the most part, we’ve not heard a lot of favorable news. For some, refunds have been slightly improved, but many folks were sharply s
Nathan GilbertMar 12, 2019
Ugh, Snow Days AND Tax Season
As mentioned in a previous post, snow days continue to upend the best laid plans for getting any work done for parents. Most recently, it was my wife’s turn to shoulder the load, and she took our kids to her office. Like many things with 3 children under 10, it was fun for a whil
Nathan GilbertMar 5, 2019
Rooting for the (Mason) Patriots
This past weekend, we went with friends to a George Mason Patriots women’s basketball game—it was a very exciting game, with the Patriots winning with a last minute buzzer beater shot. Melanie and the boys really enjoyed being so close to the action, and after the game, the playe
Sarah YakelFeb 26, 2019A President’s Retreat
A few weeks ago, my brother and two buddies took a short camping trip to the Shenandoah National Park. While it was very cold for the first night in our wood-stove-heated cabin, we were treated to some beautiful views of the Rapidan River and had the hiking trails to ourselves fo
Nathan GilbertFeb 19, 2019
LIVE from Inside ETFs 2019
This week, Nathan and I are in Hollywood, Florida attending my favorite conference ever…Inside ETFs Once a niche conference designed to help advisors use newfangled ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds….as opposed to the mutual funds of yore), this conference has grown to over 2,300 atten
Sarah YakelFeb 12, 2019Best January Ever
…or, at least the best in a long time! If you have school-aged children and live on the east coast, you (like me) have likely been scrambling to figure out child care and the litany of other school-cancellation issues. As a last resort, sometimes the only option is to bring the k
Nathan GilbertFeb 5, 2019