Investment Planning Archives

Special Update: How $100 Oil and the Middle East Conflict Affect Investors

Blog, Business Owner Planning, Estate Planning, Financial Planning, Investing, Investment Planning, Markets, Risk Management

K. Brad Tedrick, CFA®, CFP® The ongoing conflict in Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz have pushed oil prices sharply higher. Both Brent crude and WTI have jumped from around $70 per barrel to around $100 in just a few…

Monthly Market Update for February: Supreme Court Tariff Ruling, AI, and Iran

Blog, Business Owner Planning, Estate Planning, Financial Planning, Investing, Investment Planning, Markets, Retirement Income Planning, Risk Management, Tax Planning

K. Brad Tedrick, CFA®, CFP® February is a reminder to investors that markets never move in a straight line. After January's positive momentum carried major indices to new all-time highs, the mood shifted due to a landmark Supreme Court…

Special Update: Iran and Long-Term Investing

Blog, Investing, Investment Planning, Markets, Risk Management

K. Brad Tedrick, CFA®, CFP® As you have seen in the news, the U.S. and Israel have launched military strikes against Iran, targeting its leadership, military assets, and nuclear infrastructure. Iran's Supreme Leader is confirmed to have…

Supreme Court Tariff Ruling: Key Takeaways for Investors

Blog, Business Owner Planning, Estate Planning, Financial Planning, Investment Planning, Retirement Income Planning

K. Brad Tedrick, CFA®, CFP® After nearly a year of trade policy uncertainty, the Supreme Court's ruling that recent tariffs are unconstitutional has reset the policy landscape. Yet, as is often the case in Washington, when one chapter closes,…

Jobs, Inflation, and Growth: Is the Economy Healthy?

Blog, Business Owner Planning, Financial Planning, Investing, Investment Planning, Markets, Risk Management

K. Brad Tedrick, CFA®, CFP® The health of the economy is important to long-term investors because it drives their portfolios and their financial plans. Recent economic data points have sent mixed signals, leaving some investors unsure of…

Managing New Tax Changes to Optimize Your Financial Plan

Blog, Business Owner Planning, Estate Planning, Financial Planning, Investment Planning, Retirement Income Planning, Tax Planning

K. Brad Tedrick, CFA®, CFP® As former Senator Max Baucus once observed, "tax complexity itself is a kind of tax." While this is the case every year, this is especially true in 2026 as many significant tax policy changes create new tax and…

Monthly Market Update for January: Geopolitics, the Fed, and Precious Metals

Blog, Business Owner Planning, Estate Planning, Financial Planning, Investing, Investment Planning, Markets, Retirement Income Planning, Risk Management, Tax Planning

K. Brad Tedrick, CFA®, CFP® The start of the year was positive for stocks and bonds, continuing the rally from recent years. This might be surprising to some investors since there were several periods of volatility driven by geopolitics…

Special Update: Venezuela, Oil, and the Impact on Portfolios

Blog, Investing, Investment Planning, Markets, Risk Management

K. Brad Tedrick, CFA®, CFP® The arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces represents an unexpected and significant geopolitical event. As has been widely reported, the U.S. military successfully conducted an operation…

2025 Year in Review: A Historic Market Year for Investors

Blog, Business Owner Planning, Estate Planning, Financial Planning, Investing, Investment Planning, Markets, News, Retirement Income Planning, Risk Management, Tax Planning

K. Brad Tedrick, CFA®, CFP® 2025 was a historically strong year for markets despite the many events that took place along the way. The past year delivered no shortage of headlines including April's tariff announcements, ongoing developments…

3 Tax Planning Opportunities Before December 31