Target Date Funds

Every prospect is different. They have different interests, different decision timelines, and different levels of engagement. Treating them all the same because your CRM can't segment effectively is leaving money on the table.

A recently passed law in Indiana now requires some state retirement plans to allow participants to invest in cryptocurrency, setting the stage for broader crypto adoption by public funds.

Inflation fears are not new, but the current path is beyond alarming. The U.S. is spending its way into a rampant inflation catastrophe. That is why gold and commodities are being bid up in price and will likely continue to be bid up.

Breakeven real rates can inform us how much of a total return portfolio’s realized risk premium would be required merely to catch up to the benefits of delayed claiming, arguably an inefficient use of the equity risk premium.

In this article, I present a framework for investment models that integrates personal risk tolerance with academic lifetime investing theory that guides risk as the investor ages.

The most-read articles on Advisor Perspectives for February covered an eclectic mix of interesting topics, ranging from whether money can buy happiness to what a depreciating dollar could mean for investors.

A picture is worth a thousand words. What follows, instead of 7,000 words, are seven illustrated examples of what could go wrong with the U.S. stock market or the economy.

Unfortunately, most people still don’t start thinking about their retirement until they are in their forties. Better late than never, but I believe there is a massive missed opportunity here.

In order to develop prudent spending plans for clients that are consistent with their spending goals, advisors should employ reasonable client-specific LPP assumptions. The three-step process and tools highlighted in this article can help advisors get started.

Nominal thinking in investing, a form of the "money illusion" bias, is the failure to account for inflation's erosion of purchasing power. The primary problems with this approach are overestimating real returns, misjudging true wealth, and making poor long-term investment decisions based on misleading nominal figures.

It’s a brave new world for educational savers — and none too soon. In 2025, lawmakers outdid themselves by expanding ways families can help their children or grandchildren obtain a degree or certificate.

IRMAA (Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts) acts as a penalty on prosperity, lightly touching the truly wealthy and passing over the poor and those doing okay. It is a dagger aimed at the heart of affluent professionals who diligently saved for retirement and are now drawing down their ample 401(k) funds.

We’ve reached the 100-year milestone for our dataset that we began collecting in the 1970s. We'll review key data from the prior century to gain perspective on that period and consider what it could mean for the future.

I’ve been reading a lot lately that the stock market is priced just right because earnings growth is expected to be high, growing at double digits. But earnings growth is not the sole determinant of stock price.

I’ve been a retirement economist for my entire adult life, and yet I am continually amazed at how America continues to get retirement saving so wrong. Now, finally, the world’s largest issuer of mutual funds is showing signs that it recognizes a major flaw in the system.

The widespread issue of "Boomerang Parenting" is posing a serious financial threat to Gen X's retirement plans, as they spend an average of $1,384 a month supporting their adult children. Caught between this generosity and their own lagging retirement savings (median balance of only $40k–$50k), Gen X is running out of time to course-correct.

Three powerful demographic shifts — rising wealth, forward-thinking attitudes, and longer lifespans — are reshaping retirement. The emerging financial force of the future is women, and advisors who adapt now will lead tomorrow’s client relationships.

No matter how long you delay taking Social Security, it likely won’t cover all your living expenses. But that doesn't mean you should take it early.

Those who have defaulted into TDFs need to un-default and take back risk control over their lifetime savings. Safe assets include Treasury bills and short-to-intermediate TIPS, even though their returns are low. The price of safety is low, but reliable, returns.

Health savings accounts (HSAs) are increasingly being considered by individuals looking to offset healthcare costs, which are set to rise significantly in 2026. But some HSAs also offer investment options that can simultaneously help savers grow their retirement income, financial experts share.

To invest or not to invest in alternatives; that is the question for anyone involved in the business of retirement planning. FAs can help clients navigate the brave new world of customized alternatives, but this is easier said than done.

This article details personalization with a strong caution against trying to personalize what cannot be personalized because it’s not nice to fool mother nature with a 'managed' account that is not actually managed.

More than a generation ago, financial historian Peter Bernstein wrote about investors’ 'memory banks,' the market experience that accumulates in their hippocampi over their investing lives and molds their investment strategy. As he put it, looking back on the 1990s: 'Most of the new participants in the market had no memory of what a bear market was like.'

There have been no innovations to TDFs in their entire 19-year history, until now. It’s time. This article introduces trailblazing innovations that improve participant results.

Buybacks raise important questions. Foremost amongst them are whether, and how much, buybacks push up stock prices, and whether they create other distortions relevant to investors and public finances. This article explores these questions by drawing on economic theory and broadly held views of real-world investor behavior.

The fastest way to embed yourself locally is a series of small, consistent actions that compound over time. Here are seven micro-moves we’ve used to position ourselves as the go-to financial planner.

Something changed this year. This year, diversification beyond U.S. stocks has added value, as can be seen in the performances of portfolios.

When the next crash comes, inevitably there will be an uproar. Baby boomers must not wait for that uproar. They need to get out of their TDFs now and move to the safety of T-bills and TIPS, following the guidance of academic theory. That’s just the smart thing to do.

Financial planners perform a valuable service by discussing with married clients what will happen if the income of one of them disappears upon death. But the focus should be on the adequacy of the remaining income to the spending needs of the survivor — not the change in tax rate from married to single.

Content marketing isn’t a short-term play; it’s a system that compounds over time. By building a consistent, strategic content plan, you position your firm to attract, nurture, and convert more of your ideal clients year after year.

As a growing portion of the advisor workforce reaches retirement age, professionals will need to establish a plan — either training up the next generation to take over their business or positioning the company to attract the right buyers.

The U.S. population of 340 million people is only 4% of the world, yet its $62 trillion stock market is about half of the world’s total for equities. The U.S. is the tail that is wagging the world’s economic dog. Global economics are dynamic, so the current situation will change even though it may feel like the U.S. is invincible. It’s not.

Until this year, U.S. stocks had consistently been the best-performing asset class over the past 15 years, so diversification did not work. And as a result of that runup, the U.S. stock market became very expensive. However, this year, diversification outside the U.S. into foreign stocks has added value, and gold is shining very brightly.

In today's rapidly evolving financial landscape, new and young financial advisors face both tremendous opportunities and significant challenges. This guide outlines the core strategies that new advisors should prioritize to build successful practices and thrive in this competitive environment.

In this article, I’ll share three mistakes advisors make when it comes to the intersection of early retirement and health insurance, and what to do instead.

I am a retail advisor and an investment writer, and I have built and managed public funds. Therefore, I see this from multiple angles. But the only angle that matters is that of the retail investor. Let’s evaluate private markets based on liquidity, returns, transparency, and measurement standards.

Is President Trump correct in his assertion that interest rates need to come down? Let’s look at the 99-year history of capital market returns spanning 1926–2024 as our

I encourage you not just to make your prospects feel understood, but to lean into what makes you unique. Ultimately, this blended approach will attract the clients who are right for you.

Bond investors are accepting the smallest compensation in years in return for taking default risk, as a potent combination of economic optimism and too much cash chasing too few securities skews costs.

At the risk of assaulting an already deceased equine, happy talk about decreased spending in retirement strikes us as the whistling-past-the-graveyard rationalization of those who fear they haven’t saved enough. In plain English, the average retiree spends less than while working because they have to, not because they want to. Advisors and prospective retirees should take care not to confuse the two.