Cost of Living Adjustments 2025
The IRS recently released the Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA) for 2025 related to 401(k) and Health Saving Accounts. This table provides these and other limits that are of interest to many plan sponsors and their participants. If you would like more information please call us at 440-808-1500. Highland Consulting Associates, Inc. was founded in 1993 with the…
Read MoreOctober 2024
Summary Markets gave back gains in October with most major indexes finishing the month in the red. Bond yields moved higher as September’s rate cut euphoria wore off in emphatic fashion. Stocks tumbled with markets keying in on a toss-up U.S. presidential election. U.S. GDP growth slowed in the third quarter but remained respectable at…
Read MoreIn Memoriam: Marc S. Williams, CFA
It is with deep sadness that Highland announces the passing of our cherished friend and colleague, Marc S. Williams, CFA. On Wednesday, October 9, 2024, Marc passed away at home surrounded by his loving family after a courageous 4-year battle with ALS. A memorial service and interment was held at St. Joseph Church and Cemetery…
Read MoreThe Elusive 5%: Is It Making a Comeback?
photo credit: Pixabay For over a decade, we lived in a world of near-zero interest rates, making it incredibly challenging for plan sponsors and corporate asset managers to create low-risk portfolios yielding 5%. But as market dynamics shift, the landscape is changing, bringing new opportunities—and new decisions—to the forefront. The Challenge of the Last Decade…
Read MoreTimes Are Changing – Should You?
photo credit: Pixabay In recent years, cash has enjoyed a period of higher yields, thanks to recent central banks’ aggressive interest rate hikes aimed at curbing inflation. This has made cash and cash-equivalents—such as savings accounts, money market funds, and short-term government securities—more attractive than they have been in over a decade. However, with rate…
Read MoreClients Ask: What Is a Yield Curve Dis-inversion?
Photo credit: Pixabay Clients Ask What is a Yield Curve Dis-inversion? Will Fed Rate Cuts Help a Slowing Economy? Or Will Fed Rate Cuts Re-ignite Inflation? Highland Responds After an extended period of inversion, the U.S. yield curve has recently undergone a significant change by dis-inverting. Our Highland clients have wanted to know what this…
Read MoreSeptember 2024
Summary Markets rallied across the board in September as the Federal Reserve made good on a well-telegraphed rate cut, trimming the Fed Funds rate by 50 basis points. The 2-year Treasury rate dipped below the 10-year yield for the first time since the summer of 2022, U.S. stocks marched higher, and the dollar weakened, providing…
Read MoreAugust 2024
Summary August typically brings calmer markets and light trading volumes, with investor interests skewed more towards wrapping up the last of summer vacations. In this sense, August 2024 was anything but typical. Surprise activity from the Bank of Japan thrust global markets briefly into chaos before a just-as-abrupt rebound. Cooler inflation and negative jobs revisions…
Read MoreBuckle Up: A Wild Ride Part 2
Photo credit: Unsplash Unprecedented Movements in the Market: What’s Happening? In early August 2024 stock markets around the world declined precipitously, ending what seemed to be a never-ending low volatility trading environment. From peak to trough, the S&P 500 index declined approximately 10% in a handful of trading days; the volatility index as measured by…
Read MoreWhat’s the Cure for Fed Fatigue: Would You Believe Math?
photo credit: Unsplash How fixed income investing can alleviate interest rate stress and how you can forecast fixed income returns. Do you suffer from Fed Fatigue? The Federal Reserve Bank has dominated financial headlines lately. Will they, or won’t they? Do they dare drop rates? Will stubborn inflation take rates higher? It’s tiring to predict…
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