Investment Management
Luck vs. Skill
In the spirit of the recent St. Patrick’s Day holiday, luck has been on my mind as to how it affects our financial journey both through financial planning and investment management. Luck is defined as success or failure brought by chance rather than through one’s actions with a r
Sarah IrvingMar 20, 2024
Like a ROTH to a Flame
I apologize for the lame title to this post, but it seemed a little more attention grabbing than ‘help your kid open a ROTH IRA.’ If you have a child who is earning income, he is eligible to open a ROTH IRA (in Virginia, the minimum working age is 14), and you should probably hel
Nathan GilbertMar 12, 2024
The “Cash Trap”
With the Federal Reserve’s campaign to tame inflation pushing short term interest rates higher, cash yields have become more and more enticing. Frankly, we’ve never bought more CDs and Treasury bonds for our clients than over the past year. It’s been a welcome sight to see Treasu
Sarah YakelFeb 27, 2024
Learning New Things @ Exchange
Gaining Industry Insights at the Exchange Conference Yes, finding an excuse to go to a conference in Miami in February is generally a good idea. As is the case with most events like these, we are still spending the lion’s share of our time inside conference rooms, but it’s still
Nathan GilbertFeb 13, 2024
Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) – Worth It?
Happy New Year to you and your families! That is, if it is still appropriate to wish people a Happy New Year this far into January. I always enjoy the debate around how far into the year you can still say that. I tend to land on through the end of January. I think Seinfeld […]
Nathan GilbertJan 16, 2024
2023: In Review
The Rise of the Magnificent 7: 2023’s Market Leaders At Meridian, we are putting the finishing touches on our year-end letter that is included with our annual client statements. While 2023 was a crazy year of news, the stock market had one main story…“The Magnificent 7”. The S&P
Sarah YakelJan 9, 2024
“Shaken, Not Stirred” – James Bond(s)
Bonds have been grabbing a lot of headlines, lately. Up until recently, all of those headlines were generally bad and involved declining (shaken AND stirred?) prices. It has been a frustrating last year and a half for conservative bond investors not used to seeing their account v
Nathan GilbertDec 12, 2023
CDs – Still Not a Good Long-Term Investment Strategy
When a client has accumulated savings that they don’t plan to use in the near future, they often wonder what they should do with their money to make it work harder for them (aka grow more). One of the first questions we ask is, what is the likely timeframe for the money? If it’s
Nathan GilbertAug 29, 2023
A Tale of Two Markets
We just got back from a quick trip to the beach. Melanie had wanted to take her good friends to the beach, and they had a wonderful time making memories as they close out their junior year of high school together. (Melanie’s version) While their trip was filled with sleeping in,
Sarah YakelMay 31, 2023
The Conversation Hasn’t Changed
We have been very fortunate to add some wonderful people to our team since starting Meridian in 2015 (!), and as they advance their careers and knowledge base, they have started to enter the regular blog rotation (shout out to Kira Topeka for next week!). It is nice to not only a
Nathan GilbertMar 29, 2023
Everything, Everywhere Not All At Once
Other than the Oscars, the failure of Silicon Valley Bank has been dominating the headlines. However, the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve have moved swiftly to address potential risks to the financial system. We also believe the turmoil will relieve some pressure on the Fed
Sarah YakelMar 14, 2023
Happy 30th Birthday to the First ETF
The very first ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) was created almost exactly 30 years ago on January 29, 1993, in the form of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (symbol: SPY). It was originally listed on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) which was acquired by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 200
Nathan GilbertFeb 1, 2023