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Annuities. Often considered a dirty word to both financial planners and consumers alike. As financial planners, we have seen many annuities sold to people who later regret the purchase. Whether they are high in fees, inflexible, or just not quite what they thought it was, many times these purchases come with buyers' remorse. Like any tool in a toolbox, an annuity is just another weapon in a financial planner's arsenal when it comes to crafting a complete financial plan. However, you have to understand what the annuity will and will not do. Annuities certainly have their uses, but we find they are often too broadly recommended, or incorrectly avoided, based on preconceived notions about the product. Here's what to consider when deciding whether to buy an annuity or not.

Unless you've been living under a rock, the fact that there is an election this year is bombarding you. Cable news, radio ads, social media . . . it's impossible to escape it. A common question we get as financial advisors is if our clients should do anything different with their investments during an election year, especially in one as tumultuous as this. Here's a few of our thoughts on what you should (or should not) do with your investments during an election year.

If you're like many Americans, the stock market has been the least of your concerns recently. Between a global pandemic and extreme economic uncertainty, there are much more important matters to be concerned with. In fact, many of you are likely avoiding looking at your investment statements because the decline (which isn't a bad idea). For those who have been watching the stock market, you may have noticed that stocks increased fairly substantially in April, with the S&P 500 up over 14%. But what exactly does this mean? Are we out of the woods, at least financially? Should you alter your investment strategy? These are important questions many investors are asking right now.

Health and finances are likely the only two topics on most people's minds these days. How can you keep yourself and your loved ones safe and healthy through this pandemic? And what should you do with your investments during this recent market drop? Managing your investments prudently and resisting the urge to sell stocks while the market is down are certainly important financial planning considerations. However, as financial advisors, we wanted to highlight other crucial financial planning areas that often don't get as much attention in the news media.

If you've been watching the news recently most of the information about the stock market has been dismal. You've probably read headlines that scream intense verbiage like "Stocks Collapse!", "Stocks Get Punished!", "Stocks in Free-Fall!" or something of the like. You've probably heard financial jargon thrown around such as "bear market", "volatility" or "recession" as well. Your retirement account has almost certainly lost value and with all this negative news and you may be worried and considering selling your investments too. Before you pull the trigger. . .STOP.

If you've watched the stock market at all over the past couple weeks there have been some relatively large movements, both up and down. Much of this has to do with the uncertainty of the global economy. Some stock analysts are even going as far as predicting no earnings growth for 2020.1 As financial advisors we are not in the business of predicting where the stock market will go in the short-term, and encourage our clients to focus on the things that they can control. That's why last week we wrote a post about what you can do to prepare for disasters, and why NOT to panic about the recent stock market volatility. We believe financial planning should be focused on the long-term.