Thoughts from the Ledge

Attractive Sectors/Geographies for Investment Opportunities in 2024

Manish Sharma speaks to the sectors and geographical opportunities we see in 2024 for our clients.  His discussion looks at the medium to long-term outlook.

What was Old, is New Again; The Resurgence of Cash Balance Plans

Scott Albraccio and Grant Livingston from TRA  discuss the benefits of using a Cash Balance Plan to fund a Buy Sell arrangement.  The concept helps the purchaser pay for the company/practice without having to come up with a large lump sum of cash. 

What is the Yield Curve Telling Us?

Brant Walker discusses recent interest rate trends from 1/1/2022,  when rates started rising from historically low levels. The yield curve has been deeply inverted for a year and a half.    More recently longer-term rates started catching up with short term rates. Brant will try and answer what caused this?

4 Tips on Avoiding Financial Regrets in Retirement

Financial regrets may be common, but they don’t have to be inevitable. And even if you have regrets about how you prepared for retirement, these errors don’t have to be permanent. There are options for course correction, even after you’ve stopped working. One mistake that clients may make after retirement is not considering long-term care planning, including the potential need for nursing home or assisted living expenses. 

Make Charitable Donations Directly From IRA Accounts

Ted Reagle discusses Qualified Charitable Donations  (QCD), the opportunity for seniors (over age 70.5) to make charitable donations directly from IRA accounts helping to reduce taxes and help out your favorite charity at the same time.

Entrepreneurial Success Can Provide a Roadmap to Failure Once You Sell Your Business

What made you a successful entrepreneur can lead to the loss of the capital you've received if you try and control everything like you did as a business owner.  Ken Russell, President and CEO of Gray Ledge Advisors talks about delegation, diversity and leverage, something most entrepreneurs aren't used to giving up.

The SECURE ACT 2.0

We discuss the newly enacted SECURE ACT 2.0 and the features and benefits of this new legislation.  We focus on items that are effective in 2023 and talk about the changes that Sponsors, Recordkeepers and Administrators will need to make to comply with the enhancements to the 401(k) plans

The Benefits of a Cash Balance Plan

The use of Cash Balance plans are on the rise, many small business owners and there CPA's are find this a valuable tool to help save for retirement and provided a significant tax saving for the business.

Taking Advantage of Higher Fixed Income Rates

For the first time in more than a decade, conservative investors have the opportunity to earn a decent return on Fixed Income type investments.  Our Advisor Ted Reagle talks about the opportunities we now have in the fixed income markets.

Behavioral Finance, How It Is Impacting Investment Choices

Investors often do the wrong thing at the wrong time, especially in times of downward market volatility.  Advisors help counteract this by sticking to the plan.

The Retirement Act with Scott Albraccio

Tech Rotation with Brant Walker and Scott Albraccio

The Importance of a Financial Plan with Anthony Morgillo and Scott Albraccio

RAMP Investment Models with Scott Albraccio and Manish Sharma

Quality Investing with Brant Walker and Scott Albraccio

The Year a Decade Occurred

In this episode Chris Abely CFA, CIO and Ken Russell CEO of GSB Wealth discuss the Macro View of World investment opportunities for clients and how to possibly balance a portfolio using an eye for Global Investment. 

What It Means to be a Conservative Investor Today

In this episode we explore the new meaning of Conservative Investing and compare Risk and Volatility with Chris Abely CFA & CIO and Ken Russell President & CEO of  GSB Wealth Management.

CDA - The Charitable Donation Account

Background information of the CDA, its purpose and alternate investment ideas to possibly increase yield and reduce the expense of Charitable Giving

RAMP Model Update for 2021

This Episode will focus on the Annual Reallocation of the RAMP Custom built Models used in our 401(k) Plans, Simple IRA's and Conventional IRA's for 2021.  On an annual basis we relocate our models to take advantage of some the changes in the markets and where we see opportunity for growth and appreciation of our investments.  

Charitable Donation Account (CDA)

Background information of the CDA, its purpose and alternate investment ideas to possibly increase yield and reduce the expense of Charitable Giving

Pre-Election Thoughts

In this Special Episode, listen to our insights and thoughts on the election and the impacts it could have on the markets, economy and your investment strategy going into 2021! 

Fourth Quarter Economic Update

In this Episode we will cover a variety of topics from the Federal Reserve's current stance on interest rates to the Mortgage market.  We will also share some fun facts you should know and a number of "firsts" you should be aware of.

May Market Update – Is Unemployment, the Debt and Liquidity Impacting the Market?

Since our last Podcast “COVID-19 and the Fear Cycle of Investing” in March, the market continue to be extremely volatile.  What is causing this volatility? Are the unemployment numbers fueling investors’ fears?  Is the Debt weighing on the Market? And is the Market still overpriced?  Chris Abely and I discuss these and several other topics this month.

Zero Interest Rate Environment: March Madness of a Different Sort

Advisory clients have portfolios designed to generate yield and weather storms like the one we are currently in.  In this special report, Chris Abely will talk through the markets, risk, volatility and what’s driving the market.

COVID 19 & the Fear Cycle of Investing

Covid19 is impacting the economy in ways we haven’t seen before.  We are in uncharted territory; the markets are volatile and consumers across the globe are rushing to purchase food and staples to keep them going for 2 weeks if a quarantine occurs.  In this special report Chris Abely will recap what has happened in the markets and what’s next for investors.

What do we really need to improve our 401(k)

This series is going to focus on 401k from the employer's side and on the employee side: what to look for, what to stay away from, and how to cut your expenses and add value to a benefit that all employees are looking for. In this episode, we're going to deconstruct a 401k plan and answer some of the questions on what is really needed to manage the plan efficiently and effectively. 

Could You be Saving Time and Money on your 401(k)?

Episode 2 of our Retirement series focuses on the employer's ability to save time and money.  401(k) plans usually come bundled, in this episode we explore the opportunity to "unbundle" your plan and help you understand the services your Recordkeeper, TPA and Advisor offer. 

RAMP Model Allocations for 2020

In Episode 11 we focus on CTMA’s Retirement Asset Management Program (RAMP) and the reallocations to the 2020 custom portfolios.  We interview Chris Abely and discuss the methodology used in reallocating and or removing different sectors or investments in the portfolios.  The podcast also has a refresher on the rational and composition of each Model (Conservative, Balanced, Growth and Aggressive) and how a participant can decide which model is right for them. Visit our website to find out m...

Are You Offering a Competitive Investment Selection?

This series is going to focus on 401k plans from the employer's side and on the employee side: what to look for, what to stay away from, and how to cut your expenses and add value to a benefit that all employees are looking for. Episode three will focus on investment selection, be it Self-Directed. Target date, our Custom Built Model portfolio (the RAMP, Retirement Asset Management Platform), rebalancing, and the value rebalancing brings on a volatile market like we're faced with right now.

A Refresher on What Employees Need to Know About Their 401(k)

This episode will focus in on more than the employee aspect of the 401k. We're going to talk about how we build portfolios and why, the advantages of dollar cost averaging   and talk about the overall construction of the portfolios as it relates to the different sectors that we will be investing in for them through the ramp program, which is our retirement asset management platform. 

Inflation & Supply Side Economics

In this episode we look at why inflation is so low and how our economy has changed to a supply side driven economy vs. a demand driven economy.

Price to Earning (P/E) Ratio Primer

Episode 5 looks at Price to Earnings (PE) Ratios, what does it mean, how is it measured and what PE ratios in this market mean to investors and the impact of lower interest rates. Visit our website to learn more about CTMA. 

Market Volatility

In this episode we talk about volatility (market risk) and how to cope with it as an investor. Assets are priced at all-time highs along with PE ratios meaning there is more volatility in the market and risky assets reprice rapidly! https://www.ctmawealth.com/

Does Debt Matter?

In Episode 3 we discuss the amount of debt in the United States (U.S. Deficit, Student Loan debt and Corporate Debt) and some of the impacts the current market cycle will have on our ability to pay it back.

Where Are U.S. Interest Rates Going & Why!

In this episode, Chris Abely talks about the direction of U.S. Interest Rates and how to combat the effects of declining rates.

The US Debt Cycle & Its Impacts on Investors

In this segment we will take a closer look at where we are in the business cycle and the impact debt will be having on the economy.  We will discuss the longest peace time market expansion cycle since 1852 and how student debt and the deficit needs to be viewed.  We will also provide you on some thoughts on where to invest in this volatile market. Please visit our website to subscribe and receive notification of new podcasts.