Blog

3 Reasons Women in Medicine Overpay in Taxes

Are you a woman in medicine worried about your tax bill? Make sure you’re not overpaying with these 3 tips.

Why I Became a Financial Advisor

Choosing a career is no easy decision. Here’s how Sima’s childhood experiences spurred her on to become a financial advisor.

COVID-19 Heroes of San Diego: Interview with Bill Littlejohn of Sharp Healthcare Foundation

Sima Alefi, Wealth Management Advisor of Serenity Financial Planning, and Bill Littlejohn, SVP and CEO at Sharp Healthcare Foundation, discuss why this not-for-profit healthcare organization needs your support now, more than ever, in...

COVID-19 Heroes of San Diego: Interview with Bob Morris of Promises2Kids

Sima Alefi, Wealth Management Advisor of Serenity Financial Planning, and Bob Morris, Development Officer at Promises2Kids, discuss how you can help this leading nonprofit organization in continuing to provide shelter, protection, and...

COVID-19 Heroes of San Diego: Interview with Maureen Polimadei of Second Chance

Sima Alefi, Wealth Management Advisor of Serenity Financial Planning, and Maureen Polimadei, Director of Development at Second Chance, discuss how you can support this San Diego nonprofit organization in helping men, women, and youth...

COVID-19 Heroes of San Diego: Interview with Jim Flores of San Diego Food Bank

Sima Alefi, Wealth Management Advisor of Serenity Financial Planning, and Jim Flores, President & CEO at San Diego Food Bank, discuss why this hunger-relief organization needs your help now, more than ever, in continuing to provide...

Understanding the Secure Act

Your membership to Social Security

Retirement and Expected Tax Obligations

Market Volatility Stresses Liquidity

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented volatility in recent weeks that has investors and traders scrambling to assess the economic and market impact of the aggressive containment measures. This past week the CBOE Volatility...

How Quickly Can Stocks Recover From COVID-19?

The market volatility continues, as the S&P 500 Index has closed either up or down 4% or more for a record 7 consecutive days. With the S&P 500 Index down 30% from the highs, it has officially moved into a bear market. Yesterday, we...

Low Valuations Imply Better Long-Term Performance

The dizzying volatility over the past few weeks has left all of our heads spinning as we wait for containment efforts in the United States and elsewhere to help slow new cases of COVID-19 (coronavirus). Public health is of course our...

A Financial Literacy Guide for Women

While millennial women are breaking cultural norms and diving into entrepreneurship headfirst, baby boomers are often more reluctant to take the risks of their younger colleagues. In fact, on a whole, women invest 40 percent less[1]...

Becoming a Financially Savvy Single Parent

Raising children without a partner can be challenging—emotionally, physically, and financially. Challenged by the work involved in earning a living and caring for children, single parents can sometimes feel that they may never...

Stocks Down in January and February Have Bulls Worried

The hits keep coming, as the Federal Reserve (Fed) did an intra-meeting cut yesterday, causing stocks to sell off hard on concerns the economy is on more fragile footing than most think. Read First Emergency Rate Cut By the Fed Since...

Financial Considerations for Single Women

If you’re divorced or separated, money management will become an important part of your life. While it may be true that money can’t buy or ensure happiness, your ability to manage your finances can play a large role in your...

Women: Make a Financial Plan -- the Secret of Your Success

Financial planning is more than just a good idea. Research has consistently shown that people who have financial plans -- and who work with financial advisors -- save and invest far more and are nearly twice as likely to feel on track...

Coronavirus Pullback Continues

The global equity weakness continued yesterday, with consecutive 3% drops for the S&P 500 Index for the first time since August 2015. It might be hard to believe, but exactly one week ago today the S&P 500 was making a new all-time...

Earnings Season Observations

The recent news that technology giant Apple would miss its fourth quarter 2020 revenue targets has understandably increased investor anxiety surrounding the potential economic impact of the coronavirus (now called COVID-19). Lost in...

Closer Look At February

A late month selloff in January saw the S&P 500 Index close marginally lower for the month. But stocks have taken off in February, with the S&P 500 up nearly 4% this month, as US economic data remains strong and fears over the...

Manufacturing on the Mend

Monday’s strong manufacturing report caught our attention, even as the coronavirus outbreak dominated the financial media. At 50.9, the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing purchasing managers’ index...

Women and Retirement Planning

Women often face special challenges when planning for retirement. Because their careers may be interrupted more often to care for children or elderly parents, women may spend less time in the workforce and earn less money than men in...

Women: Moving Forward Financially after the Loss of a Spouse

The loss of a spouse can be a devastating, life-changing event. Due to longer life expectancies, women are more likely to face this situation. Becoming a widow at any age can be one of the most difficult challenges a woman must face....

New Spending Package Includes Sweeping Retirement Plan Changes

The $1.4 trillion spending package enacted on December 20, 2019, included the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, which had overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives in the spring of 2019, but...

Viral Outbreak Ends Period of Market Calm

Fears that the deadly coronavirus would spread further around the globe intensified Monday and led to the biggest one-day drop in the S&P 500 Index since October 8, 2019. In fact, it was the first time the index moved 1% in either...

Q4 Earnings Season is All About 2020

Fourth quarter earnings season kicked off this week with 24 S&P 500 Index companies slated to report results. Our expectations are for a marginal increase in S&P 500 earnings per share (EPS) on a year-over-year basis, based on current...

10 Ways the Secure Act Will Impact Your Retirement Savings

With the decline of traditional pensions, most of us are now responsible for squirrelling away money for our own retirement. In today's do-it-yourself retirement savings world, we rely largely on 401(k) plans and IRAs. However, there...

Why The First Five Days Of 2020 Could Have Bulls Smiling

The first five days of 2020 are in the books. Although the headlines have been quite scary, equities have picked up right where they left off last year. In fact, after the first five trading days of the new year, the S&SP 500 Index is...

Put Savings (and Yourself) First with a Budget

Americans, it seems, are spenders. Personal savings rates are low and many people spend beyond their means. If you're among those Americans who can't seem to save, it might be time to create a budget. A budget allows you to understand...

Market Update - Don’t Fear the Repo

The fourth quarter is winding down, and investors are getting nervous that volatility in the short-term lending market could flare up once again. Rates on repurchase agreements (repos) jumped in September 2019 amid a shortage of cash...

Compensation Strategies for Small Business Owners

Deciding how much to pay employees is an important part of your company’s competitive strategy. Paying workers too much may cut into profitability, but insufficient compensation can result in high turnover and poor morale....

Market Update - Consumer Inflation Hovers Around Cycle High

The core Consumer Price Index (CPI), which excludes food and energy prices, rose 2.3% year over year in November, just below a cycle high of 2.4% growth last reached in September 2019. Inflationary pressures have recovered noticeably...

Market Update - Reasons We Still Believe In December

It has been a rough start to the most wonderful month of them all, with the S&P 500 Index down each of the first two days of December. Don’t stop believing just yet, though. Everyone knows December has usually been a good month...

What are the tax benefits of charitable trusts?

Charitable remainder trust Americans give freely to support the causes they value, from churches, education, and the arts to medical research. Fortunately, current tax laws encourage and even reward philanthropy. Beyond the basic tax...

Creative Ways to Lower the Cost of College

Even with all of your savvy college shopping and research about financial aid, college costs may still be prohibitive. At these prices, you expect you'll need to make substantial financial sacrifices to send your child to college. Or...

Fed Feeling Upbeat

An upbeat economic outlook may be edging out elevated downside risks in the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) decision-making. Minutes from the Fed’s October meeting showed policymakers discussed both dynamics at length, as they have...

The Sandwich Generation: Juggling Family Responsibilities

At a time when your career is reaching a peak and you are looking ahead to your own retirement, you may find yourself in the position of having to help your children with college expenses while at the same time looking after the needs...

Market Insights: Steady Services Activity

The U.S. services sector has steadily expanded this year, even as trade fears drag down manufacturing. The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) non-manufacturing (services) Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) climbed to 54...

2019 MAY BE ONE OF THE BEST YEARS EVER

“Everything is awesome, when you’re living out a dream.” The Lego Movie As the S&P 500 Index continues to flirt with new record highs, something under the surface is taking place that is making 2019 extremely special...

Estate Planning Checklist

Because you've worked hard to create a secure and comfortable lifestyle for your family and loved ones, you'll want to ensure that you have a sound financial plan that includes trust and estate planning. With some forethought, you may...

7 Steps to Your Financial Future

Sometimes, even highly-compensated individuals may find it difficult to achieve long-term success when it comes to managing their personal finances. Although they may attain a comfortable level of income, their focus may be on career...

Market Update - Policy Uncertainty Intensifies

Geopolitical matters have complicated the tug-of-war between fiscal2 and monetary3 policies and contributed to investor concerns about increased policy uncertainty. Policy uncertainty will likely persist, but we think financial markets...

Financial Planning: Helping You See the Big Picture

Do you picture yourself owning a new home, starting a business, or retiring comfortably? These are a few of the financial goals that may be important to you, and each comes with a price tag attached. That's where financial planning...

Retirement Planning Is So Vital for Women

They face a heightened retirement savings challenge. How critical is it for women to build retirement savings? At least as critical as it is for men, perhaps more so because of two factors. Women have a longer life expectancy than men....

When Should You Collect Social Security?

A growing number of Americans have been forced to delay their planned retirement date due to job and savings losses suffered during the past recession. Postponing retirement not only means working longer but also delaying when you...

Life Insurance: Is It Missing From Your Plan?

Life insurance may be a cornerstone of a sound financial plan, providing potential financial stability to a surviving spouse, children, or other family members in the event of your untimely death. Sadly, many Americans have no life...

Buying Life Insurance: What Kind and How Much?

Conventional wisdom says that life insurance is sold, not purchased. In other words, some people are reluctant to discuss the importance of owning life insurance, and others are simply unaware of the need to have life insurance....

9 Facts About Retirement

Retirement can have many meanings. For some, it will be a time to travel and spend time with family members. For others, it will be a time to start a new business or begin a charitable...

Social Security: Maximizing Benefits

Most understand that waiting to claim Social Security benefits can result in higher monthly payments. However, many don’t know that there are other ways to maximize their benefits, some of which depend on their marital status....

The Charitable IRA Transfer

If you are age 70½ or older and charitably minded, you may wish to consider tapping your individual retirement account (IRA). The qualified charitable distribution (QCD), also known as an IRA charitable rollover, allows you to...

Income Inequality and Its Impact on Women's Retirement

Here are the facts. Generally speaking, women earn less than men, live longer than men, and often take time out of the workforce to have children and/or to care for an aging parent or sick loved one. The potential consequence of these...

Estimating Your Retirement Income Needs

You know how important it is to plan for your retirement, but where do you begin? One of your first steps should be to estimate how much income you'll need to fund your retirement. That's not as easy as it sounds, because retirement...

Making a Charitable Choice

What does giving to charity mean to you? Perhaps you think of dropping your change into a can at a local shop or placing a few dollars into a Salvation Army kettle during the holidays. Maybe you've bought Girl Scout cookies or donated...

Medical Professionals: A Prescription for Your Financial Health

The demands on medical practitioners today can seem overwhelming. It's no secret that health-care delivery is changing, and those changes are reflected in the financial issues that health-care professionals face every day. You must...

Understanding Social Security

Approximately 67 million people today receive some form of Social Security benefits, including retirement, disability, survivor, and family benefits. (Source: Fast Facts & Figures About Social Security, 2018) Although most people...

Midyear Outlook 2019

We are pleased to announce the release of the LPL Research Midyear Outlook 2019: FUNDAMENTAL: How to Focus on What Really Matters in the Markets, with investment insights and market guidance through the end of 2019. LPL Research...

Socially Responsible Investing

Investing with an eye toward promoting social, political, or environmental concerns (or at least not supporting activities you feel are harmful) doesn't mean you have to forgo pursuing a return on your money. Socially responsible...

Estate Planning: An Introduction

By definition, estate planning is a process designed to help you manage and preserve your assets while you are alive, and to conserve and control their distribution after your death according to your goals and objectives. But what...

Market Update - Trade Tensions and Tariffs

Trade tensions have interrupted an unusually calm year in U.S. stocks. In May, the S&P 500 Index fell from an April 30 record high as the United States and China failed to reach a trade deal and escalated tariff tensions. The United...

Choosing a Beneficiary for Your IRA or 401(k)

Selecting beneficiaries for retirement benefits is different from choosing beneficiaries for other assets such as life insurance. With retirement benefits, you need to know the impact of income tax and estate tax laws in order to...

A Retirement Income Roadmap for Women

More women are working and taking charge of their own retirement planning than ever before. What does retirement mean to you? Do you dream of traveling? Pursuing a hobby? Volunteering your time, or starting a new career or business?...