Advisors

David Dee Delgado | Getty Images News | Getty Images The bond market is flashing a warning sign for the U.S. economy. That harbinger is called an “inverted yield curve.” These inversions in the bond market have been reliable predictors of past recessions. Part of the yield curve inverted on Monday. An economic downturn isn’t

Manusapon Kasosod | Moment | Getty Images Investors for the last two years poured money into environmental, social and corporate governance investment strategies. In 2020, net new assets into ESG funds jumped to $51.1 billion — more than double the year before. And last year, these funds attracted nearly $70 billion in new assets, according

Getty Images Having an emergency savings fund should be a top goal in order to be able to cushion an unexpected financial blow without going broke, according to experts. Still, many people are falling short. A Bankrate study found just 44% of people are prepared to pay for an unexpected $1,000 expense with cash. More

The IRS has already issued more than 45 million refunds this year, at an average $3,352 each. That’s over $500 more than last year, when the average refund was just over $2,800. For most Americans, a lump-sum payment of this size is rare and fewer people want to squander it. Now, nearly half — or 46%

Ridvan_celik | E+ | Getty Images The current stock market, highly volatile and trending lower this year, makes this a daunting time for individual investors seeking to identify companies with reasonable risk and good long-term growth potential. Concerns about overall market performance — as of mid-March, the S&P 500 Index had had the fifth-worst start

In this article SPGI dowell | Moment | Getty Images If you own an investment fund that’s “actively managed,” odds are that your returns lagged in 2021. Those chances are even worse over a multiyear time frame. Mutual and exchange-traded funds are generally “actively” or “passively” managed. In the former, a fund manager selects the

Poba | E+ | Getty Images Getting financial advice online is easier than ever before. Even so, many investors are likely to discover that there is no substitute for a human financial advisor. The problem, however, is selecting the right one. One thing an investor should consider is the advisor’s investing acumen. Low-cost funds that

Bill Oxford | E+ | Getty Images The IRS has issued more than 45 million tax refunds worth almost $152 billion in total, as of March 11, the agency reported Friday. Nearly half of Americans expect refunds this season, according to a Capital One report, providing a needed financial boost for a large percentage of

andresr | E+ | Getty Images It’s not uncommon to discover that retirement isn’t the ideal existence you thought it would be. If you are a retiree on Medicare who’s rejoining the workforce, be aware that you might have choices when it comes to your health-care coverage. Depending on where you work, you may be

Making more money is great, but it doesn’t mean as much if you are having a harder time making ends meet. Although wages are rising, the prices consumers must pay for goods and services are rising faster — notching a new 40-year high in February. As a result, real inflation-adjusted average hourly earnings for the

Getty Images As inflation rises, many Americans are shifting life milestones, including retirement. Some 13% of Gen Xers and baby boomers say they have postponed or considered delaying plans to leave the workforce due to soaring costs. That’s according to a survey from the Nationwide Retirement Institute, showing a cross-generational wave of Americans canceling or

Westend61 | Getty Images The now-volatile stock market may not be the ideal starting point for new investors, but it’s always a good time to begin investing. Millennial Americans — ranging in age from 22 to 40 — are famously wary of the financial markets. Market collapses like the dotcom bust of 2002 to 2004

High gas prices at stations in Garden Grove, California, on Monday, March 7, 2022. Jeff Gritchen | Medianews Group | Getty Images Inflation has continued to increase amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict and ongoing supply chain issues. But certain retirees may not feel the brunt of rising costs, financial experts say. Annual inflation rose by 7.9%

A “now hiring” sign is posted in the window of a restaurant in Los Angeles on Jan. 28, 2022. Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images The pandemic-era phenomenon known as the Great Resignation remained a hallmark of the labor market in early 2022, according to federal data issued Wednesday. Nearly 4.3 million people

In this article LC As daily life gets more expensive, workers are having a harder time making ends meet. While wage growth is high by historical standards, it isn’t keeping up with the increased cost of living, which is growing at the fastest annual pace in about four decades. “Wages are up 5.1% over the past year,

Getty Images If you’re considering a Roth conversion, your timing and yearly planning can significantly reduce the tax bite, financial experts say.  The popular retirement savings strategy allows higher earners to skirt the income limits for Roth individual retirement account contributions. While the maneuver may kickstart tax-free growth, you’ll owe levies on pretax deposits. And

DusanManic | iStock | Getty Images When it comes to handling money, couples have a choice: combine all of their accounts, keep them entirely separate or strive for something in between. But what is normal? About 43% of couples who are married, in a civil partnership or living together have joint assets, according to a

Thomas M. Barwick | Getty Images Social Security benefits make up about 30% of elderly Americans’ incomes, according to the Social Security Administration. For some beneficiaries, it can be 90% or more. Yet many people do not think of those earned benefits, and the monthly checks that come with them, as a personal financial asset,

Pascal Broze | Getty Images One of the pain points of early retirement is limited access to your nest egg before age 59½ without incurring a 10% penalty. While a new IRS rule makes it easier to tap more penalty-free money, you still need to weigh your options, financial experts say. Generally, early pre-tax 401(k)

andresr | E+ | Getty Images A recently introduced bill in Congress has its sights set on preventing a cost that some new Medicare beneficiaries face: late-enrollment penalties. The bipartisan measure, introduced in the Senate, would require the federal government to provide individuals with information about Medicare enrollment rules before they reach the Medicare-eligible age