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The news that Prime Minister Teresa May’s Brexit deal was rejected by Parliament was not particularly surprising to anyone, including PM May. But ‘rejected’ doesn’t begin to put the loss in context – the result was the largest parliamentary loss in more than 100 years. This is an incredible outcome given the time and resources that were spent negotiating this deal and the political capital spent by PM May to gain the approval of lawmakers. Given the magnitude of the loss, it is no surprise that PM May immediately faced a second no confidence vote (which she survived). Last week I published a piece about where I thought the chips...

Daniel Satchkov

17 Jan 2019

Case Study: Selecting and Monitoring Target Date Funds

Target Date Funds or TDFs, became a big part of the retirement process. At this point, TDFs represent around 20% of all 401(k) plan assets and approximately 50% of all new 401(k) contributions are directed into TDFs. There are different reasons why TDFs are so popular among the retirement professionals and participants, and why it is a new trend in the retirement business. It is easy to understand what a TDF fund is, for both, retirement professionals and participants. For example, Fidelity Freedom® 2035 Fund (FFTHX) by its name points out that it is a suitable fund to invest for people who plan to retire around that date. However, there...

Daniel Satchkov

16 Jan 2019

New Portfolio Crash Test Scenario: 2019 Long Term Government Shutdown

A scenario where there is a long-lasting shutdown, where the President does not declare a state of emergency, and the two sides don’t give in would have the biggest impact on your client’s portfolios. Economic effects of shorter shutdowns are generally minor and made up for once Federal workers (and contractors) receive back-pay. But a long shutdown, say into April, is uncharted territory and would have broader consequences for the economy. This would affect the stock and bond markets particularly if conversations about the debt ceiling are hampered as a result. The already jittery equity markets would fall about 20% from current levels, US 10 Year interest rates would rise about 50bps...

Daniel Satchkov

15 Jan 2019

How can Plan Advisors Grow their 401(k) Practice in 2019?

With a new year, we have new challenges and ways to grow businesses. Changing political trends, regulations, and new technology could make navigating the 401(k) space challenging. However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be ways to succeed. Here are a few things we came up with that might just help you get ahead in 2019. A bird in the hand, is worth two in the bush. In 2019, a large part of growing your business may in fact be just protecting your existing clients. After a long smooth bull run on the market, it is in these tumultuous times that people start to worry. Plans may begin to start accepting...

Daniel Satchkov

15 Jan 2019

3 Scenarios in the Trump Government Shutdown: How will it Impact Markets?

Trump vs. The Democrats: A Fight for the Ages! Americans love a good fight as evidenced by the popularity of the Kardashians, Real Housewives of Wherever, the Bachelor(ette), the UFC and many other forms of entertainment. The government shutdown pitting Trump vs. the Democrats is not one of those fights, and I don’t think America is loving it. From the latest episode: Trump: Fund the wall Democrats: No. Open the Government Trump: No. Fund the Wall Democrats: No. Open the Government Trump: No. Fund the Wall You get the idea. Not very compelling and real people are being hurt. And as the government shutdown enters record breaking territory, there is...