Center For Asset Management

09/02/2026

For many Gen Xers, retirement is starting to feel less like a distant milestone and more like a looming financial reality.

The oldest members of the generation will turn 62 next year, the earliest age to claim Social Security. At the same time, many are approaching retirement with limited savings and fewer pensions than previous generations had.

The median Gen X retirement savings balance is about $107,000, while members of the generation estimate they’ll need roughly $700,000 for retirement. Social Security may also become an increasingly important source of income, with 41% of workers over 55 saying they expect it to be their primary source in retirement.

That gap is prompting some Gen Xers to rethink when they’ll stop working, how much they may need to save, and what retirement could realistically look like.

If retirement is getting closer, this may be a good time to review your savings, expected Social Security benefits, and other sources of retirement income.

Millions of Generation X Americans expect to depend on Social Security as their main — or only — source of retirement income.

09/02/2026

👉 Roughly 56 percent of IPOs bought at the offer price lost money after 3 years.

That's not the headline you see on day one.

You see the first-day pop. The company goes public, and its stock has averaged a 19 percent gain since 1980. Feels like a moment you should catch.

Here's what actually happens:

1️⃣ Institutional investors get the offering price before trading opens.

2️⃣ You buy at market open, after the move.

Then the real story starts.

🔎 This gap is based on research led by Professor Jay R. Ritter, who authored a 2026 report on IPO performance for the University of Florida. His analysis of 9,300 U.S. IPOs is one of the most comprehensive databases available.

Chasing IPOs can provide a thrill, but there are pros and cons.

A sound portfolio should reflect an investor's goals, risk, and time horizon. The risks of an IPO are not for everyone. 🎯

📋 Past performance does not guarantee future results. The return and principal value of IPOs and other stocks will fluctuate as market conditions change. And shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost.

08/27/2026

Two retirees can earn the same average return and have very different outcomes.

Why?

Because in retirement, timing matters.

An early market downturn in retirement can be more damaging than the same downturn later.

That is the sequence-of-returns risk.

The risk is not simply “the market went down.” It’s “the market went down while income still had to come out.”

A strong retirement strategy should look beyond average returns and address:

🔹 Where income will come from
🔹 How much cash or short-term reserves make sense
🔹 Which accounts to draw from first
🔹 When to rebalance
🔹 How RMDs and Social Security fit into the withdrawal strategy

Sequence-of-returns risk does not make many headlines.

But for anyone entering retirement, it can be one of the most important ideas to understand.

The goal is not to predict the next downturn. It’s about being prepared.

08/26/2026

A pay raise does not always mean a paycheck goes further.

New research found that from February 2021 to June 2022, real wages fell by more than 4% as inflation outpaced many workers’ pay increases. The impact lasted for many households, with 37% of workers in the study earning less in inflation-adjusted terms in December 2024 than they had four years earlier.

Now, a similar squeeze is happening again. In July, the Consumer Price Index rose at a 3.4% annual pace, while hourly wages rose 3.2% over the same period.

When prices rise faster than pay, purchasing power declines. That can make everyday expenses feel heavier, even when income is technically increasing.

When inflation rises faster than workers' wages, it feels like they're getting a pay cut. Companies, meanwhile, benefit.

08/24/2026

A personalized mRNA-based cancer vaccine is showing promise in a late-stage melanoma trial.

Merck and Moderna said the individualized vaccine, paired with the existing immunotherapy Keytruda, significantly reduced the risk of cancer returning or spreading in high-risk melanoma patients whose cancer had been surgically removed.

Earlier Phase 2b data showed a 49% reduction in melanoma recurrence after surgery and a 59% reduction in the cancer spreading to distant organs.

The vaccine is not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Regulators still need to review the full data once it has been collected and submitted.

For now, the results mark another step in the study of mRNA technology for cancer treatment.

Merck and Moderna announced Wednesday that a personalized mRNA-based cancer vaccine succeeded in a large, late-stage trial among patients with melanoma.

08/21/2026

As today is National Senior Citizens Day, we wanted to draw attention to something that can sometimes fall through the cracks: the Medicare Part B late enrollment penalty.

Most don’t know that if you miss your Initial Enrollment Period (the 7-month window around your 65th birthday), Medicare tacks on a 10 percent surcharge to your monthly premium for every 12 months you delay enrollment.

No cap. No expiration date.

Delay two years, pay 20 percent more. Delay by five years, you pay 50 percent. Every month. For life.

How to manage it?

You are only exempt from this penalty if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP).

This usually means you delayed signing up because you (or your spouse) were still actively working and had "creditable" health insurance through that active employer.

If you’re concerned, ask your financial professional where to find the most up-to-date Medicare information.

08/19/2026

As artificial intelligence reshapes the future of technology, a growing community of collectors is looking back.

Vintage computer enthusiasts are restoring and preserving the machines that helped launch the digital revolution, including classic Atari, Commodore, IBM, and Apple systems.

For collectors, these machines are more than old hardware. They are artifacts of computer history.

At the Vintage Computer Festival in Mountain View, California, more than 3,500 people gathered to see restored systems, celebrate Apple’s 50th anniversary, and explore the early technology behind today’s laptops, smartphones, and wearable devices.

Some rare machines can carry significant value. The Apple-1, Apple’s first product, can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

But for many collectors, the appeal is also personal: the sounds, games, interfaces, and hands-on repairs that make early computers feel understandable from the inside out.

In an age of invisible algorithms and cloud-based tools, vintage computers offer something different: a tangible connection to how modern technology began.

As Silicon Valley invents the artificial-intelligence future, a growing community of hobbyists is preserving the classic computers that helped launch the digital revolution.

08/19/2026

Donating appreciated stock to charity has pros and cons. So, most donors still write the check.

When you contribute appreciated securities directly to a donor-advised fund (DAF), you can manage capital gains tax on the gain and perhaps deduct the full fair market value.

The charity receives the full amount. Nothing is lost to taxes in between.

From there, you can focus grants to any eligible nonprofit on your own timeline. The funds can stay invested and may grow while you decide.

💡 If you're holding appreciated positions and giving is part of your strategy, how you give matters as much as how much you give.

📋 **Some donor-advised funds are considered mutual funds and are sold only by prospectus. The prospectus will provide information on charges, risks, expenses, and investment objectives and should be reviewed carefully before investing. Investment companies can provide a prospectus, or you may prefer to ask your financial professional.**

💡 Consider asking your financial professional to work with your tax, legal, or accounting professionals if a DAF sounds interesting.

08/17/2026

Inflation moderated slightly in July, but some categories are still putting pressure on household budgets.

The consumer price index rose 3.4% from a year earlier, down from 3.5% in June.

Energy remained one of the biggest drivers. Energy prices were up 14.7% over the past year, while gasoline prices rose 24.6%.

Airline fares also increased sharply, rising 25.5% year over year.

Other everyday expenses showed more modest changes. Food-at-home prices rose 2.7%, rent of primary residence increased 2.9%, and core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 2.5% from a year earlier.

Some categories moved lower. Used cars and trucks fell 1.9%, motor vehicle insurance declined 4.5%, and medical care commodities dropped 2.7%.

The broader takeaway: inflation is not one single number. It can look very different depending on what households buy, where prices are rising, and which expenses matter most month to month.

Costs remain elevated for consumers, however inflation is showing some signs of easing, economists say.

08/14/2026

Some professionals assume their financial strategy is in better shape than it is. Not because they're careless. Because they're busy.

Today is National Financial Awareness Day. Four questions worth sitting with:

▸ If something happened to you tomorrow, would your family know what you have, where it is, and what to do?

▸ Are you on track to replace your income in retirement, or are you assuming you will be?

▸ Has your financial strategy changed as much as your life has in the last 12 months?

▸ If markets dropped tomorrow, do you have written goals or a general sense of what you'd do?

You don't have to answer all four today. But if one made you pause, that's the one worth paying attention to.