Happy New Year!  

If you’re like me, you had certainly heard the words “blockchain” and “Bitcoin” before, but until recently had considered it a thing only for tech geeks and anti-government conspiracy theorists.  Then suddenly, Bitcoin blows up and returns a whopping 817% over the last 12 months.  Congratulations geeks, you have my attention.

     Obamacare is pretty bad - so bad that many Oklahomans saw marketplace premiums go up by 67% this year.

Most people are surprised to learn that I do not like roller coasters.  Not at all.  So much, that I’ve been known to bring a book along to a group trip to Frontier City or Six Flags.  Even though my mind knows they’re safe, my stomach often disagrees, so I generally prefer to skip the lines and relax in the sunshine.  

As this bizarre investment year comes to a close, disciplined equity investors are kicked back enjoying their well-deserved double-digit returns.  This is quite the change from the investing environment of early 2016, when fears about China, US rate hikes, and steadily plummeting oil prices caused the S&P 500 to fall 9% in the first six weeks of trading. 

After last night’s surprise election results, many of you may be worried about what this means for your portfolio.  We have been closely monitoring the situation throughout the night and this morning in preparation for this morning's market open.

Investors continue to be successful going into the fourth quarter, with all major asset classes posting positive returns YTD.  Yes, you read that right…all of them, but we’ve still got a couple sharp turns to navigate before year end.

#1 Interest Rates

Read the full article here: Older boomers face IRA withdrawals or a 50% tax

As we move into the fall, it's time to start thinking about Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from IRAs.  A few things to keep in mind: