Top 3: Benefits of Independent Financial Advisors, Fed Reserve Discusses Quantitative Tightening, & Your Emergency Expenses

In case you missed it, here are three things you should know this week...

1. 1.) 5 Key Benefits of Independent Financial Advisors

    "The right investment advisor does what's right for you," notes Schwab in Five Key Benefits of Independent Financial Advisors. 
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   Investors with complex needs are increasingly seeking out personalized advice – and one way to ensure you’re getting that is to work with an independent financial advisor. 
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   Benefits of working with an independent financial advisor include:  
   1. Customized guidance
   2. Responsive, attentive, personal relationships
   3. Simple & transparent fee structure
   4. High level of expertise supporting your complex financial needs
   5. Money is held by an independent custodian, not the advisor firm
4. To read the full article, you can download the PDF or visit Schwab's website.  

   
   

    Download the PDF →                    Visit Schwab's Website →
   
   
   

5. 2.) Fed Reserve Meets to Discuss Changes in Quantitative Tightening

    This week, the Federal Reserve meets to discuss changes in quantitative tightening. Net results could mean less volatility.
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7. Read the Full Article on The Wall Street Journal →
   
    
   
   

8. 3.) Are you ready for life's emergencies?  

9. According to the Federal Reserve’s most recent study of consumer finances in 2017, four in 10 Americans would have difficulty meeting a $400 emergency expense—far less than any household’s monthly outlays when no money is coming in.  
   
   
10. Although most Americans feel more financially secure than they did five years ago, many are struggling to set aside any type of savings.
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    About 40 percent of adults said that if faced with a $400 unexpected expense, they would either not be able to pay it or would do so by selling something or borrowing money, according to the Federal Reserve's Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2017.
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    Are you ready for life's unexpected emergencies? Have you started saving? And, are you on-track to retire at your target age?
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    Make sure you're prepared for the unexpected, the long-term, and everything in-between, by utilizing some, or all, of the following tactics...
    • Make saving a habit
    • Allocate an amount of each paycheck to a savings and/or retirement account
    • Set up direct deposit and payroll deductions to automate your savings so it happens first, before you realize you're even putting anything aside
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