Blog

Are You Really Diversified?

Investors who own stocks through an index fund like the S&P 500 or bonds via bond index funds often assume their portfolios are diversified and constant. Market dynamics and the construction of indexes can lead to concentration in...

The Elections Are Over, so, Now What?

Key Takeaways With the election fog (mostly) lifted, stock markets celebrated the best of both worlds, a Biden presidency and split Congress. While markets are influenced by elections in the short term, it’s important to...

New College Cost Data for 2020-2021 School Year

Every year, the College Board releases updated college cost data and trends in its annual report. Although costs can vary significantly depending on region of the country and college, the College Board publishes average cost figures,...

IRA & Retirement Plan Limits for 2021

Many IRA and retirement plan limits are indexed for inflation each year. While some of the limits remain unchanged for 2021, other key numbers have increased. See attached for what has or hasn't changed.

Elections & Markets: Will higher taxes sink stocks?

Key Takeaways Despite the assumption many have that increasing tax rates would sink stocks, historically, markets have produced better-than-average returns in the wake of tax increases. Other economic factors, such as ongoing stimulus...

Election 2020: Political Uncertainty Creates Potential for Market Swings

There are clear differences between President Donald Trump and Former Vice President Joe Biden (and the political parties they represent) when it comes to tax policies, spending priorities, and overall economic strategies. For this...

How to Interview an Estate Planning Attorney

Implications of Fed’s average inflation targeting

Key Takeaways The Fed recently changed its inflation-targeting stance, a move that may appear trivial but could have significant implications for investors. This new policy means that the Fed will likely hold off on raising short-term...

Elections and Markets

Historically, a bear market and a recession have not served the incumbent party well during elections. Markets don’t see red or blue but simply green. Since 1933, the markets, over the long-term, have gone up regardless of party...

Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) Explained

June 30, 2020, marked the implementation date of regulations passed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) more than a year ago. Called "Regulation Best Interest" or "Reg BI," the rules include a new standard of care for...

Brooke Napiwocki Promoted to Dir. of Financial Planning

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 24, 2020 Brooke Napiwocki Promoted To Director of Financial Planning at Crescendo Wealth Management Crescendo Wealth Management announces the promotion of Brooke Napiwocki CFP®, MBA to Director of...

Tech boom despite the economic gloom?

Key Takeaways The stock market rally in 2020 has been led by a handful of stocks in the technology sector. The concentrated returns in a select handful of stocks have also impacted the divergence in US and International stock...

Addressing the Income Challenge

Addressing the Income Challenge Key Takeaways Low interest rates are likely to persist, limiting the income and return from cash and government bonds. Investors need to remain flexible on ways to address the income challenge by...

Market Update - June 2020

The Square Root Recovery Jerry Chafkin, Chief Investment Officer, AssetMark Summary The stock market rebounded sharply in Q2, rising almost as quickly as it fell in Q1, returning 18.2% for the first two months of the second quarter....

Crescendo Notes - Special Needs

Crescendo Notes - Special Needs

Watch Out for Corona Virus Scams!

April Markets vs Economy

Key Takeaways Fear of a COVID-19 led recession sent US stocks into the fastest bear market in history in March 2020. The stock market is typically a leading indicator, it tends to fall before the start of an economic recession and...

Understanding the CARES Act - a Valuable Checklist

At Crescendo we emphasize the importance of providing good communication to our clients. More specifically we want to educate our clients on all aspects of their financial well-being. With the recent passage of the CARES Act –...

Six Planning Ideas In Response To COVID-19

Six Planning Ideas in response to COVID-19 COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) is a pandemic that will have a lasting impact due to health and mortality implications in our nation and across the globe. The virus has also created financial...

Coronavirus Concerns? Consider Past Health Crisis

We understand that there has been a lot of market volatility due to several factors, one of those being the Coronovirus. At Crescendo, we do our best to communicate to our clients about the importance of staying calm and trying to keep...

Special Needs Financial Planning -

Join Crescendo's Kathleen Oberneder @ Portal, Inc. in Grafton on Thursday March 5 to learn more about 529 ABLE Savings Accounts and how they help with Special Needs Financial Planning Coffee House Flyer

Wisconsin 529 College Savings Plan Tax Updates

Brooke Napiwocki Contributes to Real Simple Magazine Article

Check out a couple Brooke's usefull tips for saving money in Real Simple Magazine: https://www.realsimple.com/work-life/money/saving/how-to-save-more-money

Brooke Napiwocki Contributes to Health Magazine Article

Brooke gives her expert tips on dealing with financial stress in this Health Magazine article: https://www.health.com/stress/manage-financial-stress

Four Tax Planning Questions to Ask Before Year - End...

Please click on the highlighted text to see my video blog: Four Tax Planning Questions to Ask Before Year-End...

Six Investing Questions Every Mid-Career Woman Needs to Ask…

Six Investing Questions Every Mid-Career Woman Needs to Ask… By the time most professional women reach mid-career (self-defined as mid 30’s to mid-50’s) they have started to accumulate an eclectic mix of investment...

Be a Severance Superhero with Financial Planning

Enjoy this series on video here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 Be a Severance Superhero with Financial Planning Senior to executive-level professionals often face job loss at some point during their professional lives. This employment...

Eight Steps to Start Living Your Ideal Financial Life in 2019!

Eight Steps to Start Living Your Ideal Financial Life in 2019! January is the time of year we declare year-long goals and put our ambition to the test. More than one-third of Americans make a Financial Resolution with the top three...

Wisconsin 529 College Savings Plan Tax Updates

Wisconsin 529 College Savings Plan Tax Updates: Wisconsin residents can still reduce their 2018 state-taxable income, dollar-for-dollar, up to $3,200 per beneficiary by contributing to a Wisconsin 529 College Savings Plan. You do not...

A Smart Woman Plans...

I am often asked to describe my ideal client. Two demographics that I truly enjoy working with are mid-career professional women and couples. What I like about this stage of life are the multitude of financial priorities these...

Proud Parent of a Financially Confident Kid

It is almost impossible not be proud of the many accomplishments of our children – honor roll, athletics, acts of kindness. This pride continues when young adult children approach their college years and report impressive ACT/SAT...

Achieving Financial Wellness: 7 Questions to Ask

What is Financial Wellness? Financial Wellness parallels other areas of wellness such as emotional or physical. Before attempting to commit to our own health, we often begin with a “Reason Why”? This reason may have a deep...

Saving for college: It's not just about the numbers

Investing and saving recommendations are typically based on economic and financial calculations, research and theories. However, despite what a time value of money calculation may tell you, I've found that the best savings plan for...