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 of 10 day forecasts being close

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. I think […]

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 surprised that many of their

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 while, […]

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 players came out into the stands to

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 for the entire weekend. Central […]

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 attendees coming to hear some of the

…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 kids into work […]

Every year, New Year resolutions stories pop up everywhere—we resolve to lose weight, quit smoking, build a budget, join a gym, eat healthy….etc.  By February, 80% of resolutions have failed according to a US News article….leading to a cold and gray February filled with guilt and anxiety. More recent studies