First Quarter 2016 Newsletter
Dear Participant,

You may have felt like you were getting off a roller coaster during the first quarter of 2016.  After a dismal start to January and February, stocks have rebounded, with the S&P 500 Index erasing a 6% drop to get back into positive territory for the year.

At the start of 2016 there were continued concerns about China's outlook and the
Video on the 1Q 2016
trajectory of the global economy weighed on sentiment causing a steep drop in global risk assets during the first few weeks. Government bonds and gold benefited from the risk-off environment.

However, the tone reversed sharply mid-quarter amid the steady U.S. economy and easier global monetary policy, including the Federal Reserve (Fed) softening its rate-hiking stance. The worst performers in 2015-emerging-market equities, commodities, and non-U.S. currencies-suffered further losses in the first several weeks of 2016, before rebounding to finish with Q1 gains. We expect global economic stabilization will provide favorable support for equities, but elevated volatility is likely to continue.  

Below you will find three Life Stages you may encounter during your accumulation phase to retirement. In each of the Life Stages we will provide articles, calculators and resources to help you save, save more and retire on your own terms! 
It doesn't matter where you are in life now is the time to take action and save. This is where you can get some sense that whatever action you do take now will put you on track to be able to eventually retire.

Typically, at this stage, your life has gotten more complicated. This is also the time to check if you need a mid-course adjustment to be able to have the retirement paycheck you desire.

 

Congratulations! You are almost there!  This is the stage to conduct a financial plan to be able to understand what you will actually need in retirement and fine tune your plan to ensure you get there
F Finding a Footing
Are you confident that your savings rate and investment strategy will allow for you to retire in 40, 30, 20, or 10 years from now?
B Building a Nest Egg 
Do you need to take make any mid-course adjustments to keep you on track?
C Closing in on Retirement 
Have you looked at your overall strategy to ensure that you get there? Contact Heffernan Retirement Services for an Overall Financial Review today!