6 Reasons You Should Consult Your Advisor During Major Life Changes
Published September 25, 2014 6269 Views
Many of us have a picture of what we think our life will be like, where we'll go, and exactly how it will progress. Yet, as a financial advisor, I have the opportunity to appreciate the many pivotal moments where each of us realizes that life is never quite what we expect, and does not happen in the...
Retiring soon? Consider paying off your mortgage first.
Published September 24, 2014 5643 Views
If you're currently retired or considering retirement in the near future, you may want to take a long, hard look at your mortgage. I'll admit that, it may make sense to continue making mortgage payments into retirement; one benefit, for instance, would be that you may be able to deduct mortgage inte...
BABA Black Sheep, Have You Any Wool?
Published September 23, 2014 6526 Views
On Friday, China's e-commerce giant Alibaba became the largest U.S.-listed initial public offering (IPO) in history; the company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "BABA". Alibaba is an online marketplace, similar to eBay and Amazon, only much larger. Transactions o...
Spin-Offs: What they mean and why they occur
Published September 18, 2014 6272 Views
Rochester is no newbie to the spin-off game. Many of us remember when Kodak spun off Eastman Chemical in 1994; a company which has since become a highly successful Fortune 500 firm. Even more, Kodak spun off Carestream Health and ITT Exelis, and both are now highly successful corporations, originall...
A Tale of Two Anniversaries
Published September 17, 2014 6240 Views
Over the past week, we have faced the anniversaries of two mid-September events that have defined our most recent decade. Last Thursday marked the 13th anniversary of September 11th, a day which led to the deaths of nearly 3,000 people, where heroic efforts will never be forgotten, and a day that ch...
The Wealth Gap--or is it the Stock Gap?
Published September 9, 2014 5946 Views
Despite improved economic conditions, the Federal Reserve recently announced that the gap between America's rich and poor has widened. According to the Fed's Survey of Consumer Finances the average pretax income for the wealthiest 10% of U.S. families rose 10% in 2013 from 2010, but families in the...
How do you like them apples?
Published September 8, 2014 6154 Views
There has been quite a lot of hype about Apple recently. The biggest hype perhaps is the potential unveiling of the new iPhone 6 and possibly even an "iWatch" in Northern California. This will mark the first time new CEO Tim Cook has completely overseen a new Apple product from start to finish. Alt...
Team Brighton to Run in Support of Ovarian Cancer 5k on Sept 7th
Published September 4, 2014 6164 Views
Brighton Securities, a local and independently owned financial services firm, announced today that it will be co-sponsoring this year's 7th Annual Ovarian & Gynecologic Cancer 5k. Cancer Wellness Connections is a local non-profit organization that provides free outpatient activities to over 12,000 p...
Burger King and Tim Hortons--Just another Tax Strategy?
Published September 2, 2014 5857 Views
The trend of U.S. Companies buying foreign companies and moving their legal home overseas continued last week when Burger King announced the purchase of Tim Hortons for $11.5 billion. Low interest rates have made it cheaper for companies to make acquisitions leading to a flurry of acquisition activi...
Is your 401k as healthy as you are?
Published August 28, 2014 5902 Views
One thing we can all control (to a reasonable extent) is our choices pertaining to personal health. On a basic level we generally choose what we eat, if and when we exercise, and how much sleep we get at night. A recent study by the Olin Business School at Washington University found that people w...