P.R. Curtman Investments

Lately, financial pundits seem to be constantly warning that a bear market is coming, arguing over whether one has begun or predicting when one will end. It’s less common for them to actually define one. From their ominous tone, you can tell it’s less appealing than its counterpart, a bull market. But what is it…

If you’re a parent, the start of a new school year may have you considering how much you’re able to set aside for your child’s college fund.  Average annual tuition in the U.S. is $38,185 for private college and $10,338 for public college.1 And those numbers may rise by 2%–3% in the coming school year.2…

The charitable remainder trust (CRT) is a popular retirement- and estate-planning tool. It can be a convenient way to create a stream of lifetime income for yourself and others or donate to a charity while minimizing and deferring taxes. But there are many choices to make when establishing a CRT and, in some cases, these…

Bonds play an important role in a diverse investment portfolio. As fixed-income securities, they can provide a stable return until they mature. As with any investment, bonds are subject to a certain amount of risk. Interest rate risk, for one, is the possibility that interest rates will rise after an investor buys bonds, causing them…

Markets go up and down in ways that are not entirely predictable. For long-term investors, what the market is doing in the present isn’t that troubling; they’ve got a long time to ride out potential downturns. But for recent retirees, an ill-timed market downturn can have a negative impact on their nest egg, increasing the…

Talking with loved ones about estate planning and inheritance can be challenging, especially as it centers around two taboo topics – money and death. But talking with your adult children about their inheritance can provide signature advantages for you and them. It can help your heirs better prepare for the future and give you a…

Sometimes stock prices drop across the entire market at once triggered by a range of things, such as a natural disaster, political turmoil, concerns over rising interest rates, a global health crisis, or problems within a single sector that cause a domino effect across the market.  A decline in stock prices of 10% from their…

A concentrated position in a single stock can happen to investors for many reasons. They may receive company stock as part of their employee compensation package or they may have bought shares of a single company, hoping to choose a big winner.  However, it’s unlikely that a single stock will outperform the market as a…

Retirement planning requires forethought, discipline, and the juggling of many moving parts. Staying on track to meet financial goals can be tricky for anyone, but it can be especially hard for women, who face a number of financial headwinds.  Women face unique challenges when it comes to employment, income, and caregiving; as a result, they…