Healthcare Reform

There has been a lot of talk by political pundits, economists, and everyone in between about the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” and its constitutionality.  According to reports, the Supreme Court is releasing its verdict as to the act’s conformity with the constitution (or lack thereof) on Thursday morning.  This debate is only one of many that the country will face in the coming years as citizens both young and old, retired and working, attempt to solve the healthcare puzzle without breaking the bank. 

Oppose the Investment Advisor Act of 2012 - HR 4624

Payne Wealth Partners is against the Investment Advisor Act of 2012 – HR 4624.  This bill will hurt small business owners who provide sound financial planning to consumers and who put their clients' interests first.  We believe that if enacted into law this bill would allow the foxes to rule the henhouse.

HR 4264 would strip advisor examination and oversight from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a government entity that has worked with registered fiduciary advisors for 70 years, and place them with a non-government organization called FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority), who oversees the Wall Street stockbrokers who in the past created products so confusing and with such outrageous commissions that consumers had little idea what they were being sold.

May 2012 Market and Planning Update

WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE: INSPIRATION OR DESPERATION?

Taking action that will truly have a long-term impact on one’s financial situation often requires inspiration or desperation. Typically over time, poor decisions will lead you toward a point of desperation. Taking the easy way out of decisions along the way (spending too much, retiring too early, missing planning and investing opportunities, etc.) will begin to send your financial plan down a hill like a snowball toward a cliff. Desperation is the last-minute reaction that forces those individuals to take drastic steps to avoid falling off the cliff. READ MORE

MARKET COMMENTS & OBSERVATIONS

Although still positive for the year, the S&P 500 index declined 6% during the month of May as tensions increased over European debt problems. Both developed international and emerging markets stock indexes declined sharply in May and they have both experienced a more than 20% decline in the past 12 months. Many emerging countries (China for example) are very dependent upon selling their exports to Europe, so concerns about further economic weakness across Europe has led to the decline in stock prices. Just as we saw in April, out of the five financial market indices represented below, only the two bond indexes posted positive gains for the month.  READ MORE