Author Archives: Robert Fragasso

Higher Taxes Won’t Affect the Stock Market, But Will Affect Your Financial Goals

Definitive historical research demonstrates that higher tax rates do not disrupt the stock market, but they may unsettle your financial goals if you don’t have proper financial management. Higher tax rates directly impact earnings meant for investment. Let’s look back … Continue reading

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Advising for life, not just assets

I’ve been fortunate to have some diverse and substantive conversations with a number of different media about the financial landscape recently, including Investment News, which wrote an interesting piece about financial advisors providing employment-related advice to clients who had lost … Continue reading

Posted in Advisor, Recession, Unemployment, retirement | Comments Off

Politics Will Largely Determine the Economic Course for 2012

I recently had the privilege of sharing my outlook for 2012 with the Pittsburgh Business Times. Although the last several years have been very challenging economically, we are slowly recovering. In fact, the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report … Continue reading

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Financial Planning for Our Four-Legged Friends

We all know the importance of financial planning for the future of our family, but what about financial planning for our pets? For many of us, our pets are family. As a long time supporter and board member of Animal … Continue reading

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Bob Fragasso meets with Congress members

In May 2011, 20 members of the Financial Advisor Council from the Financial Services Institute went to Washington to advocate for changing the new Department of Labor (DOL) rules that would redefine fiduciary definitions in the management of retirement plans. … Continue reading

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How would I design a portfolio to generate income from a $500,000 nest egg?

This was exactly the question posed to me in an interview for Bankrate.com: How would I design a portfolio to generate income for a 70-year-old retiree with a nest egg of $500,000, and no other source of income? As a … Continue reading

Posted in CFP, Financial Advisor, Financial Planning, Investing, certified financial planner | Comments Off

Estate Planning: How to Avoid Dreaded Inheritance Feuds

In my 39 years as a financial advisor, I have seen more than my fair share of family inheritance feuds, and I am sure I haven’t seen my last. This is a complex time for families who are dealing with … Continue reading

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Fragasso Founder and Chief Executive Officer Interviewed on the recent Dow Jones Industrial Average surge

There is no denying the psychological effect the recession of the past few year’s has had on our nation. It seemed like every time we turned on the news, it was to hear about stock market downturns, layoffs, and bleak … Continue reading

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Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad … Bear?

The stock market downturn of late 2007 until early 2009 has wreaked havoc on portfolio values.  Even though the markets have recovered significantly since that low point in March of 2009, many investors fear another downturn.  While historic data is … Continue reading

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Looking Through the Curve on the Financial Road

There is a lesson taught in motorcycle and biking safety courses that if you look at an obstacle while riding you will steer toward it.  So if you concentrate at a person coming toward you, you will steer toward that … Continue reading

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