The Price of Loyalty: When to Rethink Your Financial Advisor
Loyalty is a valued trait in many aspects of life, but an unquestioned allegiance to particular financial advisors may be a costly mistake. Why? This advisor will influence or control your financial decisions that can impact when and how you live during retirement. It is important to make the right decisions. It can also be very costly if you select the wrong financial advisor. Consider this: The most expensive commodity on earth is bad financial advice. We meet with people […]
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Date: April 15, 2024
Is Your Retirement Safe in Today’s Bond Market?
Between higher interest rates, inflation, and a tumbling stock market, it may feel like your retirement savings are in danger. So, is this a good time to get (or keep) invested in bonds? The short answer is “Not without doing your homework first.” Let’s take a look at the state of the bond market. Once we have a working knowledge of the pros and cons, you can decide from there if bonds are still a safe investment for your retirement. […]
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Date: November 7, 2022
Getting a Second Opinion – 6 Reasons You Owe It to Yourself
No one blinks when you ask for a second medical opinion. After all, it’s your health and well-being. You can’t be too careful. So why don’t more people seek second opinions on their finances? It’s their financial health and well-being after all. There are many motives for seeking a second financial opinion, and they don’t necessarily imply that you are currently getting bad advice, just like you may not be receiving bad medical advice either. However, if you are, changing […]
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Date: October 26, 2021
Investing in Volatile Markets: Heritage Capital Addresses Concerns
Market volatility is constant, yet it’s common for investors to forget during strong bull markets. We all got a reminder in 2020. With a new year upon us, investors are now asking: What if another 2020 happens? How do long-term investors prepare for volatility? As founder and president of Heritage Capital, I’ve been helping investors since 1988. Volatility fluctuates over time, providing opportunities and challenges for investors who tend to feel more uncertain during highly volatile markets. It is like […]
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Date: January 4, 2021
New Year’s Resolutions: Using What We Learned From 2020 (And 1986)
The year 2020 will not soon be forgotten. For some, the market created significant new wealth. But for many folks, the year was terrible in terms of health and finances. Even so, it’s an ill wind that blows no good, so we would do well to pay attention to the year’s hard-learned lessons. Perhaps the best way to do this is to apply some new wisdom to our 2021 New Year’s resolutions. Another year worth studying is 1986, leading up […]
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Date: December 14, 2020
Does Your Retirement Plan Cover You for Life?
One factor that can complicate your retirement planning is not knowing how many years your retirement will last. While no one can know for sure, if you haven’t considered your realistic life expectancy, you risk shortchanging your later years or even running out of money. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average length of retirement is 18 years. People retire at age 63 on average, and a general life expectancy is 81 years. That means a typical retirement plan […]
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Date: December 7, 2020
5 Reasons Baby Boomers Need a Financial Advisor
Nearly 20 percent of Americans are Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964. Many Boomers have already retired, while the remainder have reached or are approaching retirement age. The common challenge shared by most Boomers is how to adequately fund their retirements so that they don’t outlive their money. At Heritage Capital, we work with clients at all stages of their financial journey. And, while just about everyone can benefit from working with a financial advisor, Baby Boomers have specific […]
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Date: October 19, 2020
How to Test Drive Your Retirement: Addressing Retirees’ 3 Biggest Fears
Are you a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty type of person? Whichever camp you belong to, it’s realistic to have concerns about your retirement life. The changes that retirement brings deserve serious thought, and more importantly, action. It’s even better if you can test drive your retirement to see if the plans you put forth really work for you. The team at Heritage Capital has been helping people retire with confidence for more than 30 years. In that time, we’ve identified the […]
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Date: September 28, 2020
How to Retire Without Your Spouse: Investment Strategies for the Divorced or Widowed
Divorce has become increasingly common in the United States over the past few decades, and roughly 25 percent of people 65 or older are widowed. Despite this, however, approximately two-thirds of married couples don’t have a financial plan set up in the case of divorce or widowhood. What happens if you do become divorced or widowed either when retirement is imminent or once you’re retired? Are there investment strategies that can help in either scenario? In our more than 30 […]
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Date: September 14, 2020
Common Questions About a SEP IRA
Your standard IRAs and 401(k)s hog a lot of the attention when it comes to defined contribution retirement plans. While these can be terrific vehicles for creating a long-term nest egg, we don’t want to discount another effective option, the SEP IRA. At Heritage Capital, we’re often asked about the SEP IRA, which can be a low-cost alternative to other employee retirement plans. Can I convert a SEP IRA to a Roth IRA? Can I roll a SEP IRA into […]
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Date: August 17, 2020
