As we start the new year, we are seeing more evidence of cyber- hacking in our world. Commonwealth Financial Network ® , our RIA–broker/dealer, has detected an increase in this area, as shared in our first article. Hopefully you will find it helpful, and as always, give us a call if you would like to discuss this advice further.

Many of our clients successfully run their own businesses, and we often are asked to sit at their planning table to help develop advanced retirement plans with them.  Our second article outlines some popular options you may find interesting.

This month's "What's Happening Now" section shares interesting stories on which generation has the highest credit scores and what they should pay attention to, why sustainable investing is surging, and how China's global luxury-market share has doubled amid the pandemic.

Commonwealth Financial Network ® , our RIA–broker/dealer, has detected an increase in cyber-hacking attempts over the holiday period. Please be especially vigilant against suspicious emails, texts, and websites.

With the increase in online shopping, scammers will use many techniques to fool potential victims, including phishing emails or text messages, in order to obtain sensitive personal information. Please remember to be especially leery of emails or text messages that indicate a problem or question regarding a client’s financial account information, as these scams may include hyperlinks that direct to fraudulent websites in an effort to obtain client identification or personal account data.

For Small Business Owners Only:
Advanced Retirement Plan Options

You’re a small business owner. What are you more constantly thinking about? Sales or profits? Both are critical. One provides the lifeblood to your business. The other provides the lifeblood to your, well, living.

It’s a tough decision. If you’re like most small business owners, this is a constant pushmi-pullyu struggle. But something more important is left out of this equation. What is it?

You.

Your business represents a mere means to an end. And that end is your retirement. As you get closer to retirement, that “end” starts to consume more of your attention. As well it should.

Strong December caps off solid year for markets
Markets continued to rally in the final month of 2020. The Nasdaq Composite led the way with a 5.71 percent gain for the month. The S&P 500 gained 3.84 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose by 3.41 percent. These results contributed to a strong quarter for markets. The Nasdaq once again led with a 15.63 percent quarterly return. The S&P 500 gained 12.15 percent while the DJIA managed a 10.73 percent return. Despite the market volatility in March and April, all three major indices finished the year in positive territory. The DJIA gained 9.72 percent for the year, and the S&P 500 returned 18.40 percent. The Nasdaq, with its heavy technology weighting, ended the year with a 44.92 percent gain.
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Signs of pandemic progress
We saw signs of progress on the public health front during the month. New cases per day showed improvement at month-end, although it's likely the holidays contributed to a lull in reporting that may have distorted the data. If case growth is in fact slowing, we could see a peak in the next few weeks.
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