What’s in the news: Startling statistics from the March edition of the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s survey: 50% of American workers reported to have less than $25,000 saved for retirement 18% of American workers feel very confident about retiring, and six out of ten American workers feel very or somewhat confident about having enough... Read more »
CIP Quips
It's Hard to Unwind
Published on May 9, 2017
What’s in the news: In an effort to alleviate the effects of the 2008 financial crisis the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing program was introduced to drive down longer termed interest rates. The idea was to encourage people to spend more, and the program ultimately more than tripled the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet. Almost a decade later... Read more »
Potentially Lower for Longer?
Published on Apr 25, 2017
Whats in the news: In March the Federal Reserve began the process of normalizing interest rates. In a statement, Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen said, “The simple message is the economy is doing well … we have confidence in the robustness of the economy and its resilience to shocks” Since Yellen made that statement, expectations for a June... Read more »
ETFs & Fixed Income
Published on Apr 11, 2017
Did you know… In recent years, fixed income ETFs have become increasingly more popular as a simple way to get exposure to the fixed income market without having to pay for the active management fee. But did you know that in bond indexes that are weighted by market capitalizations, the issuer is weighted according to their debt appetite. Investors... Read more »
Passive Bond Strategies
Published on Mar 28, 2017
What’s in the News: According to research published by Morningstar last week, “it is much harder to get good results from portfolios built with passive ETFs in the fixed-income field than it is in equities”. The study replicated actively managed fixed income funds with portfolios comprised of passive ETF funds over five years. As shown below,... Read more »
Rates Cause Pain
Published on Mar 14, 2017
What’s in the news: It should not come as a shock that retirees are having difficulty planning for retirement. Historically, traditional retirement vehicles like CDs were their bread and butter. However, a one-year CD hasn’t paid more than 1% since 2009, according to Bankrate.com. So what is a retiree to do? In an effort to circumvent an... Read more »
Volatility in Bond Issuance
Published on Mar 1, 2017
What's in the news: With President Trump in office now for a little over a month, many are waiting anxiously for news relating to his promise of tax reform and what may come of the proposal drafted last summer by House Republicans. The proposal focuses on: Eliminating the tax on foreign income and only taxing US companies on goods imported to the... Read more »
Are Directions Worth the Wait?
Published on Feb 14, 2017
The scenario: The US 10 Year Treasury yield has moved below its one year high. President Trump has been in office now for a few weeks and has written a slew of executive orders intending to put U.S. interests first. The expectation: Less regulation, tax cuts, increased infrastructure spending, changes in trade policy and any other pro-business... Read more »
Current Views and Opinions
News and Recognition
- February 2021 Memorial Business Journal: "Financial Market Update: What Will 2021 Bring?" by John Roscoe
- Jason Benowitz Featured in TD Ameritrade Network "On the State of the Economic Recovery"
- "Reddit Mania Overshadows Outstanding Earnings Season for Tech" Jason Benowitz's commentary featured in Bloomberg