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Regularly, Impel Wealth Management leaders share their thoughts on market trends and topics. Select from a variety of subjects below to learn about our firm's philosophies and perspectives.

Monday, June 5, 2023

“(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" is an R&B song written by Gary Jackson, Raynard Miner, and Carl Smith. It was recorded by Jackie Wilson for his album Higher and Higher. Released in August 1967, the song reached...

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Most of us age 50 or older grew up in homes that had standard 8-foot ceilings. As people begin to build larger and larger homes, higher ceilings became a status symbol. Most higher-end homes now boast ceilings that are at least 9 feet...

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

In August 1987, shortly after finishing studies at the University of Akron, and still working as a bank teller at Huntington Bank’s branch on the Kent car strip, I answered a help wanted ad and had a job interview to start a...

Monday, May 22, 2023

“Who’s Minding the Store” is a phrase that became popular in the 1960s. It was also the name of a 1963 comedy film starring Jerry Lewis, Jill St. John, Agnes Moorehead, and Ray Walston. In general, it means...

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

One thing many of us are aware of, or is at least in the backs of our minds, is that life is unpredictable and can change in an instant.  Sometimes, a major change may be predicted and can be planned for.  However, oftentimes...

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Monday, May 15, 2023

Created in the early 1930s, The Shadow was an expert detective, a skilled marksman, and a master of stealth and disguise. He wore a wide-brimmed black hat and a black, crimson-lined cloak with an upturned collar. He was created in the...

Monday, May 8, 2023

As they are making their way through the dark forest in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy innocently turns to Scarecrow and Tin Man and asks, “Do you suppose we’ll meet any wild animals?”. To which Tin Man says,...

Monday, May 1, 2023

On January 22, 1990, the last book that was published during Dr. Seuss’s lifetime was released. Oh, The Places You’ll Go! has become an enduring and favorite gift for students graduating anything from kindergarten to...

Monday, April 24, 2023

Before I started kindergarten, my mom took me to the local branch of what was then the First National Bank of Akron. I was able to open a savings account with five dollars. A couple of times a year we would go into the bank to deposit...

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

It seems that everywhere you look these days, stories are circulating online and on various cable news outlets touting the inevitable decline of the US dollar. This type of commentary is not new. Quite the contrary, I have seen...

Monday, April 17, 2023

History reminds us that the French people have taken to the streets to protest and/or overthrow their government on a somewhat regular basis over the last 250 years. According to Peter Jones, a professor of French History at the...

Monday, April 10, 2023

Throughout comic book, TV, and movie history, many superheroes had a sidekick. A friend who fights by their side and gives them encouragement, wisdom, and friendship, when they need it most. A superhero knows that they can rely on...

Monday, April 3, 2023

Back when I was a kid, there were times that I wanted to do something because everybody else was doing it. It was probably the latest fad or the cool thing to do. It was my first introduction to herd mentality and FOMO, fear of missing...

Monday, March 27, 2023

The Maginot Line was built in the 1930s by France to prevent another invasion by Germany, similar to what happened in World War I. The line was named after the French Minister of War, Andre Maginot. As you can see below, it is a line...

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

On both Martin Luther King Jr. and President’s Day each year, the U.S. stock and bond markets are closed for trading.  This has presented itself as a good opportunity for our team to use one of those days for our semi-annual...

Monday, March 20, 2023

M. Night Shyamalan is an Indian-American filmmaker, director, and actor. He is known for making unique films with supernatural plots and surprise endings. His breakthrough film, The Sixth Sense, was the second highest-grossing film of...

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

One of the things we like to do from time to time for the benefit of our trusted friends and clients is share an article or insight from someone outside of our office.  In the last week, there has been a seemingly constant stream...

Monday, March 13, 2023

The term “+1” is most commonly used in reference to RSVPs to a wedding or social gathering. It grants the invited guest permission to bring someone with them to the event. Economically, one of the hard lessons we learned...

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Chuck Berry released the song “School Days” also known as “Ring! Ring! Goes the Bell” in March 1957 on his album After School Session. It is one of his more popular and better-known songs. The last verse of this...

Monday, March 6, 2023

As a brief follow-up to my recent blog post entitled “The National Debt…How Did We Get Here??”  I wanted to bring up an additional issue that is not being talked about much but will likely be a major point of...

Monday, February 27, 2023

The team at Impel Wealth Management is always looking for additional ways that we can serve our clients with excellence and add value to our relationship. To that end, we would like to introduce you to our Professional Advisory Network...

Thursday, February 23, 2023

1978 was an interesting and important year for a number of reasons. The movies Grease and National Lampoon‘s Animal House topped the box office that year. Major albums released that year included Some Girls from the Rolling...

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

In 1982, I was a sophomore in high school. One day at noon it was announced that one of my favorite rock bands, The Who, was going to be coming to Cleveland, actually the Richfield Coliseum, on their first of many farewell tours....

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Source: Britannica.comThere's so much information (nearly 400 pages) regarding the Secure Act 2.0, the law passed by Congress and signed by President Biden at the end of 2022.  The Act makes substantial changes to both...

Monday, February 13, 2023

On Friday, January 13th, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, sent a letter to the new Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, that has all the makings of a scary movie. Unfortunately, we could all be victims in this upcoming psychodrama.Her...

Monday, February 6, 2023

As an entrepreneur and small business owner, you must have a vision and plan for the future. At most companies, and Impel Wealth Management is no exception, this means putting together goals, projections, and forecasts of where you...

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

The Certified Financial Planners of Impel Wealth Management are always happy to share our experience and wisdom with you, our trusted friends, and clients. We also get asked to share some of our insights with a broader, national...

Monday, January 30, 2023

Young Frankenstein is a comedy horror film that was released in 1974. It was directed by Mel Brooks, and the screenplay was co-written by Brooks and the actor who played the title character, Gene Wilder. It is a parity of the horror...

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Being There is a 1979 political satire that tells the story of Chance, a middle-aged, uneducated gardener, who unwittingly becomes a much sought-after political pundit. He eventually becomes an advisor to the President of the United...

Monday, January 23, 2023

From 1973 to 1982 the TV show Match Game aired on CBS. The game featured contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelists to “fill in the blank” questions. Panelists were often B-list (or lower) celebrities...

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Lookin’ Out My Back DoorIn 1970, the American rock band, Creedence Clearwater Revival released their fifth album, Cosmos Factory. This album included their fifth #2 Billboard hit Lookin’ Out My Back Door, written by the...

Friday, January 6, 2023

Source: Crown & Caliber BlogIn 1992, I was lucky enough to be referred to a wonderful and fun 62-year-old lady named Ellen. She had been employed by a local manufacturing company for nearly 30 years, and she wanted to know if she had...

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

The Pursuit of Happyness is a 2006 biographical drama film starring Will Smith as Chris Gardner, a homeless salesman. Smith's son Jaden Smith co-stars, making his film debut as Gardner's son, Christopher Jr. It is based on Gardner's...

Monday, December 19, 2022

Happy Xmas (War Is Over) was released as a Christmas song in 1971 by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, along with the Plastic Ono Band and the Harlem Community Choir. It was created as a protest song against the Vietnam War and has been...

Thursday, December 15, 2022

There has certainly been a lot of talk and debate about government mandates over the last couple of years since the onset of the COVID-19, coronavirus pandemic. We have dealt with vaccine mandates, mask mandates, remote school and work...

Monday, December 12, 2022

As the movie Toy Story opens, all is good with the world for Sheriff Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks. He is Andy’s best friend and most valued toy. This is a position he has held for many years. All the other toys look up to and...

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

The holiday season is upon us. This means Christmas decorations going up before Halloween is over. It means endless replays of movies, such as Christmas Vacation and Elf. It also means that Christmas music will be playing everywhere...

Thursday, December 1, 2022

As I was browsing the internet, looking for definitions and descriptions of what would make someone a Local Hero, several defining characteristics came to the forefront. The first was someone who provides a positive influence on the...

Monday, November 28, 2022

Throughout my career, I have always been passionate about helping others save for retirement and save on their taxes.Last week, we had the opportunity to hear from Nathan Ollish, our Certified Financial Planner, about the 2023 Social...

Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Give a Little Bit is the opening song from Supertramp‘s 1977 album Even in the Quietest Moments. The upbeat song was written by band member Roger Hodgson several years before he shared it with the rest of the band. The upbeat and...

Monday, November 21, 2022

In the 1986 movie The Money Pit, Tom Hanks (yes, the same Tom Hanks who has six Oscar nominations) plays Attorney Walter Fielding and his classical musician girlfriend, Anna Crowley, is played by Shelley Long. They decide to buy a...

Monday, November 14, 2022

As we began the new year, the Federal Reserve Bank had not yet started raising interest rates from their historically low levels. As a matter of fact, they were still buying $120 billion of government and mortgage bonds each month to...

Friday, November 4, 2022

I have been a huge fan of the band Electric Light Orchestra, ELO, from the first time I heard their music, which is characterized as fusion of rock, pop, and classical music arrangements.  The band was formed in 1970, and during...

Monday, October 31, 2022

On October 13th, the Social Security Administration announced that the annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for benefits paid and wages subject to payroll taxes will increase by 8.7% in 2023.  This is a 2.8% increase over the 5...

Monday, October 24, 2022

Going out to eat with friends and loved ones should be a fun experience. However, sometimes menus can be overwhelming and confusing. There are so many food choices, toppings, and side orders that often people give up and ask their...

Monday, October 17, 2022

Most people know that Johnny Cash was an American country singer-songwriter. According to Wikipedia, much of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption. His music was often characterized by train-like...

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Over the course of history, there have been many advances that have improved life for the human race- more than I will attempt to review here.  The one code however that all of the brilliant minds in the world have never been able...

Monday, October 10, 2022

When the COVID-19, coronavirus pandemic hit the shores of the United States in February and March 2020, it created economic chaos unlike anything we have ever seen before. The economic shutdowns created one of the deepest recessions we...

Thursday, October 6, 2022

“History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes” is a quote attributed to Mark Twain, a.k.a. Samuel Clemens. This quote has been used often in political and economic realms. However, today I am going to be using it to...

Monday, October 3, 2022

"Head over Heels" was the first single by the all-female pop rock/new wave band the Go-Go's. It was released in 1984 from their third studio album, Talk Show. Source: Amazon.comThe Go-Go’s inspired a musical on Broadway in...

Thursday, September 29, 2022

The 2001 PBS episode of Frontline was entitled The Monster That Ate Hollywood. It was touted as a scary story about giant predators (multinational conglomerates) and greedy villains (studio executives), with huge marketing budgets and...

Monday, September 26, 2022

Featured on their breakthrough 1982 album Picture This, Huey Lewis and the News’, Workin’ For A Livin tells an autobiographical story of working really hard to make enough money to just scrape by. It seems that no matter...

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Since Impel Wealth Management opened its doors more than five years ago, most of you have been aware that we are part of a national group comprised of more than 20 offices and over 55 advisors across the country. That group is known as...

Thursday, September 15, 2022

As much as my wife Rachel finds it unusual, I always enjoyed math class. Math came relatively easy to me (unlike foreign language). I was incredibly blessed to have really good math teachers throughout my high school years. Mr. Rosche...

Monday, September 12, 2022

In January 1990, Random House published the last book that was written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss during his lifetime. Oh, the Places You’ll Go! follows the life journey of a young boy throughout his challenges and successes....

Thursday, September 8, 2022

Source: OSU Dean's OfficeAs we head into the Fall, my husband and I prepare to send our two kids off to college. I pause to think of all the parents challenged with navigating student loans, the avoidable fees on your tuition bill and...

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

It has historically been recommended to only use one foot to push either the gas or brake pedal when driving an automatic transmission vehicle. Research from various websites tells us that if a person happens to use both feet and hits...

Friday, September 2, 2022

In 1973, Bob Dylan and The Band recorded the song Forever Young for Dylan’s 14th studio album, Planet Waves. The song was originally written as a lullaby for his oldest son Jesse, who was born in 1966. As you can see from the...

Sunday, August 28, 2022

In late April 1973, the little-known band Stealers Wheel released their hit single, Stuck in the Middle with You. This song still gets significant airplay today. As a matter of fact, my wife Rachel and I heard it today while we were at...

Friday, August 26, 2022

Curtis Mayfield, lead singer for The Impressions, wrote the song People Get Ready which was released in 1965. Rolling Stone named the gospel-influenced track as the 24th greatest song of all time. The song has a deep sense of both...

Monday, August 22, 2022

Source: en.wikipedia.comPlaying that role today, I have three different tales from the crypt(o) to share with you. The first two seem fit for the television series above. This should not surprise anyone, as many cryptocurrencies have...

Monday, August 15, 2022

The 1995 film Toy Story was a step into the future for Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures. It was the first entirely computer-animated feature film, and it was the first release from Pixar Studios. The movie introduced us...

Friday, August 12, 2022

Jesse Hurst was invited to speak at the Stow-Munroe Falls Rotary last Wednesday.  He was asked to share his thoughts and the outlook of Impel Wealth and the Horizon Advisor Network Investylitics committee on the economy and the...

Monday, August 8, 2022

Based on the vivid and recent memories that people have of the 2007–2008 housing bubble and subprime mortgage crisis, the CFP‘s of Impel Wealth Management are getting a lot of questions about similarities to today’s...

Thursday, August 4, 2022

This is what I love about these people!  We had such a great day last week when we closed the office for a day to have a Team Building Retreat.  In past work life, I never had the opportunity to participate in these business...

Monday, August 1, 2022

Wikipedia tells us that a “Rally Cap” is a baseball cap worn inside-out and backwards, or in some other unconventional manner, by players and/or fans to will a team to a come-from-behind victory late in a game. The rally...

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

For those of you who remember the great Cleveland Indians (Guardians??) teams of the mid-90’s, the image below of Jim Thome standing at the plate will be very familiar to you. Jim was born in Peoria, Illinois and received...

Monday, July 25, 2022

Almost all of us have some picture in our head of who Robin Hood is or what he represents. For our retired clients, this may come from seeing the swashbuckling Errol Flynn play the title character in the 1938 movie. Some people...

Friday, July 15, 2022

Source: etsy.comTo those of you who have known me for many years, it will probably come as no surprise that I spent a lot of money on records as a kid. I can remember when a 45 RPM record cost $.96. Along with 4% sales tax, you could...

Monday, July 11, 2022

Investors who are trying to accumulate the resources necessary to make a successful transition from work life to a retirement of significance, and those already retired who are trying to maintain the lifestyle and activities they have...

Friday, July 8, 2022

With the first six months of 2022 behind us in what has so far been a challenging year in both the stock and bond markets, the team at Impel Wealth Management wants to first thank you for the opportunity to serve you, our trusted...

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Bruce Springsteen released the Tunnel of Love album in 1987. The third top 20 single from that album was titled One Step Up. Unlike many songs that Bruce recorded with the legendary E Street Band, Bruce plays all the instruments...

Friday, July 1, 2022

For the fifth consecutive year, Jesse Hurst and the team at Impel Wealth Management have been recognized by Forbes and SHOOK Research as a Best-In-State Wealth Advisor.This year’s list features more than 6,500 of the best...

Monday, June 27, 2022

In 1977, the United States had just finished its Bicentennial celebration. Saturday Night Fever was drawing people to the box office and making disco popular (as if that was possible). In what may have been a nod to the economic pain...

Monday, June 20, 2022

Just the mention of midterm exams brought fear and trepidation to the hearts of many students throughout their high school and college years. The thought that so much of your ultimate grade for a class would hinge on how you did on a...

Thursday, June 16, 2022

In the more than five years since the founding of Impel Wealth Management, I have occasionally highlighted a person or organization that has made an enormous difference in our community. We call these “special tributes”,...

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

In the mid-90s, most people still had vivid memories of what a period of rising and persistent inflation looked like. For those of us who lived through the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, we can remember the impact that double...

Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Last year I introduced you to Cetera’s Diversity in Financial Planning Scholarship designed to drive financial literacy, advance education, and ongoing career development by working with students to overcome barriers...

Monday, June 6, 2022

In our ongoing effort to provide you with timely reminders of basic investment principles, we are going to look at one of the most often stated disclaimers that is used within the financial services industry:Source:futurethink.comWe...

Tuesday, May 31, 2022

American business author and former management professor at the University of New Orleans, Michael LeBoeuf, reminds us of something that most of us intuitively know: Our goal is to create a customer service culture that produces...

Friday, May 27, 2022

Many of you are kind enough to ask about my and Rachel‘s family and how our kids are doing. It has been a while since I have given you an update on Shane (who just celebrated his 31st birthday…really). He had previously...

Sunday, May 22, 2022

It seems that the primary function of financial journalism is to terrify us out of ever achieving our financial goals by shouting about the market’s volatility. We have been reminded of this almost hourly as the markets started...

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

From my perspective, two important events occurred in October,1965. First of all, on October 5th, I was born. Later that same month, one of my favorite rock bands, The Who released their classic song, My Generation. They later...

Sunday, May 15, 2022

I can think of at least two consumer-based industries (I am sure there are others) who spend a significant amount of time pondering the above question. The first would be the toothbrush industry. When you think of the vast array...

Sunday, May 8, 2022

The song “Time Is On My Side” was written by Norman Meade and first recorded by a jazz trombonist named Kai Winding and his Orchestra in 1963. Over the next two years, it was covered by both soul singer Irma Thomas from New...

Monday, May 2, 2022

Expectations are a funny thing. The dictionary defines it as the anticipation of what will happen in the future. We know that expectations drive behavior and emotions. Think about your own expectations of watching a family...

Monday, April 25, 2022

The phrase let’s get real has been used for decades. According to the Cambridge Dictionary it is an informal phrase used for telling someone they should try to understand the true facts of a situation and not hope for what is...

Monday, April 18, 2022

Thanks to you, our valued clients, as well as our trusted friends in the professional advisory community, Impel Wealth continues to experience a rapidly growing number of referrals.As time flies, it may seem hard to believe that Nathan...

Monday, April 11, 2022

Many more people can tell you who the singer or lead guitarist of popular bands are than can tell you who played bass for the same groups. I will cherry pick some easy examples. Most people (my age) know Mick Jagger and Keith...

Monday, April 4, 2022

In the 1999 comedy film Analyze This, Mafia don Paul Vitti, played by Robert De Niro, suffers from anxiety attacks that force him to visit a psychiatrist, played by Billy Crystal. Known as a vicious mobster, De Niro finds himself...

Monday, March 28, 2022

After living through the Arab Oil Embargo in 1973, which caused fuel prices to rise, long gas lines, the biggest stock market decline since the Great Depression, as well as a massive recession, The United States was once again facing a...

Monday, March 21, 2022

One, two, three, four Can I have a little more? Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten I love...

Monday, March 14, 2022

The waiting is the hardest part Every day you get one more yard You take it on faith, you take it to the heartThe waiting is the hardest part …Tom Petty       Featured on the 1981 album Hard...

Thursday, March 10, 2022

History shows us that the rise of the coffee house in 18th century Europe became a hub for information sharing. It seems that people coming together in what was our first networking community, drew people from all walks of life. This...

Thursday, March 3, 2022

In 1990, people were flocking to movie theaters to see Pretty Woman and Home Alone, Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers were winning another Super Bowl, the Hubble Space Telescope, which is still operational and whose replacement...

Monday, February 28, 2022

In the next installment of Common Questions, we tackle the topic of retirement spending. Retirement income planning is a complex topic with many moving parts from understanding income sources to asset allocation strategies to income...

Monday, February 21, 2022

When we were in second grade at Indian Trail Elementary school, we couldn’t wait to get outside and play during lunch recess. Many of us packed our lunches so that we would not have to wait in the cafeteria line. That way, we...

Monday, February 14, 2022

History, but especially baseball history, is filled with amazing stories of athletic feats. As humans, we are inspired by athletes doing things that have never been done before, especially when it will likely never be done again.I...

Thursday, February 10, 2022

For those of you old enough to remember, 1975 was a challenging and interesting time to be alive. We had recently closed the door on the Vietnam War and Watergate. We were anxiously looking forward to our nation’s Bicentennial...

Monday, February 7, 2022

In my last post, I shared something I learned as a child from the Dr. Seuss ABC book. The book gave rhyming examples of words that started with each letter of the alphabet, with both upper- and lower-case examples, as you can see...

Thursday, February 3, 2022

For those of you who have been to the offices of Impel Wealth Management, or have known me for many years, it should come as no surprise that one of the first books I learned to read was the Dr. Seuss ABC book. The book gave rhyming...

Monday, January 31, 2022

In 1991, a New York based rock group, the Spin Doctors, burst on the national music scene with the release of their album Pocket Full of Kryptonite. They had a unique musical sound, did not seem to take themselves too seriously and...

Thursday, January 27, 2022

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

When my sons Shane and Zach were young and going to Vacation Bible School, they were often introduced to real life situations and moral dilemmas. This taught them that the world was not always black-and-white, and that they had to...

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

In 1955 Sammy Davis Jr. had a hit song, Something's Gotta Give, written by Johnny Mercer the year before. The opening lyrics are as follows: When an irresistible force Such as you, Meets an old immovable object like me. You can...

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

The Certified Financial Planners of Impel Wealth Management are always trying to share ideas and thought leadership with you, our trusted friends and clients. Our goal is to make sure that you have the resources needed to be informed...

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

As we add to the team at Impel Wealth, we believe in hiring for a combination of values and internal character traits. Included are a strong desire to help others, good communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively with...

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Last Christmas George Michael might have given his heart, but US consumers bought and gave a whole bunch of stuff. In the chart below, provided to us by Adobe Digital Assets and US Global Investors, you can see that online sales for...

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

We know that the Baby Boomers generation has had an enormous impact on our economy since they first started showing up on the US landscape shortly after World War II. Traditionally defined as those born between 1946 and 1964, they have...

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Investors tend to put on blinders during times of market froth. After living through the Dot.Com bubble of the late ‘90s, and the real estate bubble of the mid ‘00s, I have watched it firsthand and lived to tell about it...

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

In our household, Rachel reluctantly cedes control of the remote control to me. I truly believe that I am a better clicker and have better instincts for being able to watch multiple shows at the same time, all while minimizing...

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

As far back as I can remember, I have always been a huge fan of classic rock. I especially remember being drawn to bands or sounds that pushed the envelope to try new concepts and experimented with out-of-the-box ideas. There are many...

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

As we stated in our first installment of this series, the Social Security trustee‘s report was finally released in August, four months later than usual. It showed that the Social Security trust fund is now projected to run out of...

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

The Social Security Act was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt in August of 1935. It created a social insurance program designed to pay retired workers aged 65 or older a continuing income after they retired. Upon signing...

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

A recent report from Advisor Perspectives shows some conflicting information about the Consumer Price Index, CPI, the way it is measured, and how it compares to its underlying price components. As you can see from the chart below,...

Tuesday, October 5, 2021

As we turn towards the fall season and the final quarter of the year, there are many questions and concerns that people have been voicing about our economic and political backdrop. To that end, I have two pieces of news and information...

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

As Ferris Bueller once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” empireonline.com We live in a fast-paced society, with a 24-hour news cycle that spins...

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Over my more than thirty years in the financial planning and wealth management industry, I have been inspired to see more of this beautiful world as you, our trusted friends, and clients, have shared stories of your travels around the...

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

The SECURE (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) Act was signed into law on December 20th, 2019. Two of the key provisions of this act were pushing the Required Minimum Distribution Age (RMD) from 70.5 to 72 and...

Tuesday, August 31, 2021

As much talk and attention as there has been about inflation over the last six months, there is one large group of Americans that stand to benefit from these higher measures of consumer prices, and that is retirees collecting Social...

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

For many retired Americans, their social security check is a key part of their income in retirement, and a recent study shows they could see a significant bump in their benefits for 2022. According to a study published by the...

Thursday, August 19, 2021

After speaking at a conference in Denver in January 2020 and attending the Forbes/SHOOK Top Wealth Advisor conference in Las Vegas in February 2020, the routine of business life and travels came to an abrupt halt just a few weeks later...

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

If you were the head of one of the world’s top central banks, such as Jerome Powell of the Federal Reserve Bank, you would have access to a lot of information and data that the rest of the world is not privy to. Given where we...

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Many of you have heard me reference the 1996 book The Millionaire Next Door by authors Thomas Stanley and William Danko. I have usually drawn analogies between the people outlined in this book and my clients, as many of my clients have...

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

As we have seen with past periods of financial disruption and dislocation, the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak has changed the retirement plans of more than 3.1 million Americans, age 55 and older. According to the Census Bureau, more...

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Since the pandemic overwhelmed the economy and the markets in the spring of 2020, our team and our clients have had the opportunity to revisit the wisdom of staying true and aligned with your lifetime financial plans, rather than...

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Many of us know what a credit score is and know that the higher our score, the better. However, this is often the limit of knowledge for many consumers, and even more misunderstandings can come into the equation as many confuse their...

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

There are many times when what is going on with the economy looks very different from what is going on with the stock market. We only have to look at the last few years to see this in action. In calendar year 2018, we had economic...

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Over the last two weeks, we have been looking at both sides of the new and alarming inflation narrative in true Point/Counterpoint style (just like they did in the 1970’s on the TV show 60 Minutes). The first week, we spent a...

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Last week, we began a three-part series on whether or not inflation was going to be a major problem for the US economy and its consumers over the next 3 to 5 years. We framed this in a Point/Counterpoint manner similar to the way 60...

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

In the early 1970’s, there was a recurring segment on the CBS TV news program 60 Minutes entitled “Point-Counterpoint”. During this regular feature, two reporters would take opposite sides, debating the same issue. A...

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

In 2008, the United States was in the midst of the great recession, brought about by the subprime mortgage crisis and the downturn in the US real estate markets. The US economy, banking system and financial markets were in such a state...

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

The Baby Boomer generation has had an outsized influence on many aspects of life in the United States over the decades. The Baby Boomers were born after World War II, from 1946 to 1964. During this time period, approximately 76 million...

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Many of us are well aware of how hot the housing market is right now and have either experienced this firsthand, or probably know somebody who has. Not only are the existing home sales and new construction markets hot right now, but...

Tuesday, May 11, 2021

It seems that at least several times each week Nathan and I are discussing the housing market with our clients. Many of our clients are surprised to see record high valuations on their homes according to various real estate websites....

Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Inflation is when you pay fifteen dollars for the ten-dollar haircut you used to get for five dollars when you had hair. -Sam Ewing You have not heard much about inflation over the last 20 years. For most of that time period, the...

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

After witnessing the events of the past year, I was challenged and inspired to create a vision of how I could partner with my broker/dealer, Cetera Financial Group to make a difference. We are an organization steadfastly committed to...

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

For those of you who grew up in the Northeast Ohio area, you probably remember watching Superhost Marty Sullivan, present the WUAB channel 43‘s Saturday afternoon movies. One of my favorite movies in regular rotation was the 1966...

Monday, April 12, 2021

For many of us, outside of purchasing a home, buying a car will be the next largest purchase we make in our lives. Depending on your personality, going to the dealership to find a new car is typically viewed as an enjoyable challenge...

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

The team at Impel Wealth Management is happy to invite you to our Second Quarter Outlook Webinar, entitled Consumers Are Ready for Reopening. Our goal is to continue to keep you in the loop and educate you about where things may be...

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

For the fourth year in a row, Jesse Hurst and the team at Impel Wealth Management have been recognized by Forbes and SHOOK Research as a Best-In-State Wealth Advisor. The ranking features 5,224 of the best financial advisors in the...

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

For more than a century life expectancy in the United States has been steadily increasing. The last time there was a major change in this trend was around the time of the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak. This flu pandemic, which was caused...

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Arturo Di Modica recently passed away at age 80. Like most people, you have probably never heard of him. But you have certainly seen The Charging Bull sculpture which is located at the base of Wall Street in the New York City borough...

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Impel Wealth Management was happy to partner with Akron Children’s Hospital and our special guest speaker Dr. Laura Gerak, Director of Clinical Psychology to provide our friends and clients with the above webinar. If you were...

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

It appears that Congress and the Biden administration are on the path to adding an additional $1.9 trillion of stimulus money to our rapidly recovering economy. On February 1st, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), issued updated...

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

It would seem to be a physical impossibility that you could be growing and shrinking at the same time. However, a recent report from the Visual Capitalist website shows that very phenomena playing out with the US economy over the last...

Monday, February 22, 2021

In 1980, Ronald Reagan won his first Presidential election, inflation and interest rates were double digits, US hostages were being held in Iran, and I was finishing my freshman year of high school. As we take a look back at how things...

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

When my sons Shane and Zach were young, I was subjected to a number of TV shows designed specifically for the preschool crowd. Many of these shows were on PBS, and I admit to thoroughly enjoying some of them, such as Sesame Street and...

Tuesday, February 9, 2021

You probably don’t need more evidence to ascertain what a crazy year we just lived through in 2020. However, in the category of you can’t make this stuff up, Department of Labor statistics show that BOTH the lowest and the...

Monday, February 1, 2021

Any of you who are fans of the popular TV show Friends, will likely remember the episode where Joey, Chandler and Monica went to the beach. To help pass the time and burn some energy, Joey decided to dig a hole in the sand as you can...

Friday, January 29, 2021

2020 was certainly an interesting year, and one that most people are happy to see move to the rearview mirror. I believe that when historians look back on the COVID-19, coronavirus outbreak, they will look at it as a period that...

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

We know that many of you have seen the financial advisors of Impel Wealth Management featured in local media, newspapers, magazines and TV, on a somewhat regular basis. We are happy to be recognized locally as a trusted voice for...

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Happy New Year!! Good riddance and goodbye to 2020!! It was a year filled with unprecedented events, from a global health pandemic, to social unrest, to political and economic uncertainty and volatility. Unfortunately, as we round the...

Thursday, January 7, 2021

They say that a picture is worth 1,000 words. In the case of the picture below, a picture is actually worth trillions of dollars. Our friends at JPMorgan Asset Management provided us with a chart of all of the recessions since 1910....

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

It is hard to believe that we have less than a week until Christmas, and in light of the season and trying to bring a little joy, I thought I would share one of my favorite family Christmas traditions. For practically my entire life,...

Monday, December 21, 2020

On October 13th, the Social Security Administration announced that the annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for benefits paid and wages subject to payroll taxes will increase by 1.3% in 2021. This is slightly less, by 0.3%, than the...

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

The first trucks containing the COVID-19, coronavirus vaccine are headed out the door and the first Americans will begin receiving vaccination shots shortly. While the general population‘s health and wellness is top of mind and...

Thursday, December 10, 2020

2020 has been packed with negative news and milestones that most people wish they had never seen or lived through. From viral pandemics to social unrest and bitterly partisan elections, it has truly been a year that even Marty McFly...

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

To state the obvious, 2020 has been an unusual year. We even had two Friday the 13th’s in a single year. However, when we look at the entire decade of the 2020s, we see that having multiple Friday the 13th’s in a single...

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

As we find ourselves in this season of giving, we thought it would be a nice idea in the coming weeks to share with you some of the ways in which Impel Wealth's employees choose to give back to others through various charities and...

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

The US Government’s fiscal year ended on September 30th. According to data from the US Treasury Department the budget deficit for calendar year 2020, totaled $3.13 trillion. This dwarfs the previous year’s budget deficit of...

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

As a reminder to the trusted friends and clients of Impel Wealth Management, the passage of the CARES Act earlier this year waived required minimum distributions (RMDs) for 2020. This waiver applies to the RMDs for both IRAs and...

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

We are going to take a break from the intense and divisive political and economic landscape we are living through to focus on something much more positive and upbeat today. We want to bring you some updates on what is going on with...

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Paul Zane Pilzer is an economist, New York Times best- selling author, and social entrepreneur. in 1990 he wrote a book entitled Unlimited Wealth which includes the parable The Fish Story. We think it is an excellent illustration of...

Friday, October 23, 2020

In our continuing effort to keep you, the trusted friends and clients of Impel Wealth Management, informed about what is going on with the economy and financial markets, we recently hosted the above Zoom webinar on Wednesday,...

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

This is THE key question that seems to be on the minds of the clients of Impel Wealth Management. As we move towards the Presidential and Congressional elections that will take place in the next couple of weeks, there is significant...

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Since COVID-19 first began to impact the U.S. and global stock markets earlier this year, many investors have seen their portfolios embark on quite the wild ride. When the S&P 500 reached what was then a new all-time high on February...

Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Many of you know that I've been part of a professional study group for nearly 15 years. I was first asked to be part of such a group in 2006. This study group consisted of 10 certified financial planners from across the eastern half...

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Impel Wealth to Host Election and Markets Webinar A Look at History, Elections and Financial Markets 2020 continues to be a year for the record books. A year that will be etched in our memories for the rest of our lives. A year that...

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

What makes for a great team? While there is no guaranteed recipe for success, I believe that a combination of a strong desire to help and serve others, good communication skills and the right culture contributes to a fun and...

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

In our continued effort to keep all of our trusted clients and friends updated on what is happening in the U.S. and global economies and the potential impact it may have on the stock market, we wanted to share with you a video from...

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

A recent research project between the Franklin Templeton mutual fund company and Gallup organization, looked to find out how peoples behavioral response to the COVID-19, coronavirus pandemic could impact perceptions of risk, decision...

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

2020 has continued to be a most unusual year in a number of ways. Two recent reports on personal income bear this out and will surprise many of our readers. According to economist Paul Kasriel, in the April to June quarter, personal...

Thursday, August 27, 2020

The word "unprecedented" has been bandied around a lot over the last six months. However, it is certainly appropriate when we think about the enormous amount of money that has been spent by the Federal Government to support...

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17, NIV The team of Impel Wealth Management got together on July 31st before our semi-annual team retreat. We try to live out the verse above by questioning, encouraging,...

Thursday, August 6, 2020

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” The above quote is from the 1945 George Orwell classic book, Animal Farm. During my junior year of high school, I took a class called Modern Novel. Of...

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

As many of you may already know, I served as an Active Duty Army Officer for 4 years after I graduated with my undergraduate degree from the University of Akron. My time in the service and especially my time overseas taught me many...

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Life seemed so much simpler and well-defined when I was a young student. The grading scale was straightforward, 90% or above earned you an A. You knew exactly what you needed to get the grade you wanted. As I got older, things became...

Thursday, July 23, 2020

We hope you are enjoying the summer and staying healthy in these trying times. Now that we are officially in a recession, we are looking for clues on how long we will stay in it and what the recovery will look like. The good news is...

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

We often talk with our clients about how "memories" have more value than "things". We also find that the value of memories go up over time. Often times, the memories clients share with us have to do with shared experiences and family...

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

In the book "Progress and Poverty", Henry George, a political journalist and economist, writes about the paradox of increasing inequality amid economic and technological process. This is something we hear a lot about today, especially...

Monday, June 22, 2020

Someone recently said to me that if you ever wondered what it was like to live through the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, the job loss of the Great Depression AND The Los Angeles Watts Riots of 1965, all at the same time, YOU ARE!! We...

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

We hope that you and your family are holding up well during these extraordinary times. The team at Impel Wealth is strongly committed to empowering people to change their financial lives for the better and helping them achieve their...

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Many of us are familiar with the phrase "Patience is a virtue". While we may be familiar with it, that does not mean it is easy to practice, especially in a society where we expect instant gratification. In the world of streaming,...

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

I guess that some improvement is better than none. A recent survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute estimated that approximately 41% of American households will not have enough money to live comfortably during their...

Friday, May 29, 2020

In late March, as the markets were careening downward in the fastest bear market anybody living has ever witnessed, I shared a video with you from Brian Wesbury of First Trust. He is one of Wall Street's most respected economists and...

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

It has been nearly two months since Ohio first enacted the stay-at-home order that originally went into effect at 11:59pm on Monday, March 23rd. During that time period, much of what was "normal life" before the outbreak of the...

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Over the last two months, during this period of uncertainty, volatility and social distancing during the COVID-19, coronavirus outbreak, a number of clients have reached out to me wanting to know what they could do to help others in...

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

On the afternoon of Thursday, February 16th, I was sitting in my office, finishing notes and emails after my last client meeting had finished when I got the following message: It is both a gratifying and humbling feeling to receive...

Friday, May 8, 2020

Does it seem like every time you turn on the 24 hour cable news network (no matter whether you are watching the ones that lean left or lean right), the airwaves are filled with unrest, distain and negativity? If you feel that way, not...

Thursday, April 30, 2020

"History repeats itself, and that's one of the things that's wrong with history," Clarence Darrow "It's like déjà vu all over again," Yogi Berra It seems like the media is constantly telling us that we are in...

Monday, April 27, 2020

The markets and economy have gone through great disruption and turmoil over the last two months as we entered this COVID-19 coronavirus medically induced economic coma. During this time period, we have done our best to be proactive in...

Thursday, April 23, 2020

"Now we could do it with conventional weapons, but that could take years and cost millions of lives". - Otter Last week, I posited that the Federal Reserve Bank had blown through all of the "conventional weapons" that they had...

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Much to my wife's bewilderment and dismay, Animal House remains one of my favorite movies. I first saw it on cable TV when I was probably much too young to have had that freedom and choice. I have seen all or parts of this movie...

Friday, April 10, 2020

In a world where the 24-hour cable news networks and social media platforms tend to spin constantly on negative news and dire outlooks, we wanted to give you an alternative thought process and a reason to have hope and optimism. Below...

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

We are at a point of maximum uncertainty from both a public health and an economic standpoint. It seems like the COVID-19 coronavirus has become the biggest public health crisis since the Spanish flu of 1918, over 100 years ago. I had...

Thursday, April 2, 2020

With the COVID-19 pandemic having a major impact on most of our lives while we all seem to live in some form of quarantine or social distancing, Congress and the President have worked together to pass the $2 trillion dollar stimulus...

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Last Friday we had the opportunity to do our first Zoom webinar for the benefit of our clients. Historically when there have been bouts of market volatility like we have recently experienced, we would have rented a room in a community...

Friday, March 20, 2020

I would like to begin our Friday newsletter and update with a giant thank you to YOU, our friends and clients. During this time of volatility and uncertainty, we have been working overtime trying to communicate with you, and to return...

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

No matter how many times we have gone through downturns, corrections and bear markets, the $64,000 question is always "Where is the bottom?" Even after a drop of more than 26% on the S&P 500, which threw us into a bear market more...

Friday, March 13, 2020

As you are well aware due to the increased volume of emails that you have received from the team at Impel Wealth Management, we are striving to be very proactive in communicating with and serving our clients during this time of market...

Friday, March 6, 2020

"The four most dangerous words in investing are: 'this time it's different.'" -- Sir John Templeton "The investor's chief problem -- even his worst enemy -- is likely to be himself." -- Benjamin Graham “I will tell you how to...

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

When you think of Dr. Seuss, what words come to mind? As you begin to unpack your adjectives, most people think of words like "creative" or "innovative". As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of one of Dr. Seuss' most important and...

Monday, February 24, 2020

Saving for the future is a common goal that we often assist our clients- retirement, future healthcare costs, college education savings are all fairly common goals. But what about saving for the cost of future wedding expenses?...

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

After bottoming on December 24, 2018, the S&P 500 Index moved up nearly 40% over the next 13 months to mid-January 2020. Then, as word of the Coronavirus spreading more quickly and widely than was originally anticipated continued to...

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

One of the things we love is to be a resource for our clients on many different topics that encompass their financial lives. Whether it is discussing complex economic ideas and the potential impacts on portfolios, building personalized...

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

It seems like this presidential political season has been going on forever. In reality, it started November 8, 2016, the night most people were caught off guard by Donald Trump being elected. If you are sick of, or stressed out by the...

Monday, January 27, 2020

It's January and before we know it, the presidential election will be upon us. In 2019, the S&P 500 had an excellent year, returning 28.88%. With a great year in the markets behind us and a new year already almost one month in, what...

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

I write a lot. Each year I write at least 40 market commentary intros. These get re-purposed as blog posts on our website, and they also get shared on social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Additionally, I write the monthly...

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

In mid-December, as part of a massive spending bill that was passed to avoid a government shutdown, a retirement savings bill known as the SECURE Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump on December 20th. The...

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

There will be a lot of discussion over the next few months as we work through the Democratic primaries and the Congressional and Presidential elections about income and wealth inequality. Much of the discussion will focus around how...

Monday, December 30, 2019

According to a recent report from the Congressional Budget Office, the number of people working from 55 to 79 years old has increased by more than 1/3 over the past two decades. This is a result of a combination of fewer men retiring...

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

On November 11th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that for calendar year 2020 Medicare part B premiums, which cover doctor fees and outpatient services, will increase by $9.10 per month to $144.60. This is a...

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

With Thanksgiving now behind us and Christmas and the New Year ahead, it is easy to often move past the celebration of this past weekend and turn our attention to the rest of the holiday season. We tend to focus on the "here and now,"...

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

As we head towards the 2020 Congressional and Presidential elections, I would like to continue to share information with you so that you can be a better-informed voter. It is my hope that in sharing this non-partisan data, that it will...

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

On Thursday, October 10th, the Social Security Administration announced that the annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for benefits paid and wages subject to payroll taxes will increase by 1.6% in 2020. This is more than a percentage...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

We continue to try to arm you with information to be a more informed voter as we head into the 2020 elections. Today's topic is not one that you hear a lot about, it is not easily understood in a twenty second YouTube video or Tweet....

Monday, October 21, 2019

Over my 30+ years in the financial planning field, I have walked with my clients through many retirement challenges. A partial list of events our clients have witnessed and survived include two Persian Gulf wars, a presidential...

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Over the years, I have had two groups of clients that had the biggest struggle to overcome in the early years of their retirement. The first group of clients retired in late 1999 or early 2000, right as the dot.com bubble was starting...

Monday, October 7, 2019

In over 30 years of helping people accumulate the resources needed to make the successful transition from work life to retirement life, there have been many challenges that we have faced. Natixis Investment Managers recently released...

Thursday, September 26, 2019

This year, Impel Wealth Management was honored to join other local businesses by attending the 18th annual Employee of Distinction Awards luncheon, presented by Goodwill. The luncheon honors nominees from local employers who are...

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Clients are sometimes initially surprised when we ask them questions about their health care insurance premiums, prescription drug costs, deductibles, and dental expenses. However, as we delve further into their out of pocket medical...

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Over the next 14 months, leading up to the next general Congressional and Presidential election, you are going to be inundated with information and statistics. As I have listened carefully to much of what has been shared to this point,...

Thursday, September 5, 2019

I don't believe that anyone will ever mistake, "Live From Denver" with "Live From New York, It's Saturday Night". However, on the Tuesday morning of Cetera's recent Connect Conference in Denver, I had a new experience. I was...

Thursday, August 29, 2019

The teams at both Impel Wealth Management and our partners at Horizon Financial Group participated in a meaningful way at Cetera Financial Group's recent Connect Conference in Denver, Colorado. Connect is the annual education...

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

It's hard to believe that summer is almost over and it is time for kids to head back to school. For many of our clients, this means either getting kids ready to return to grade school, or perhaps even sending them off (or back) to...

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

A recent poll by UBS of 3,652 women around the world found the majority continue to defer the financial decision-making process to their spouse. There were over 2,200 married women with at least $1 million of investable assets included...

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

I am blessed to have so many clients that I enjoy spending time with. They share many deep and personal stories about what is happening with work, life and family. We take the responsibility of managing those relationships and...

Thursday, August 1, 2019

It may seem like a long time ago, however, on August 26 of 2014 the S&P 500 closed above the 2,000-point level for the first time ever. At the time there was much rejoicing as a new, major milestone had been set. On Friday, July 12,...

Monday, July 29, 2019

For the clients of Impel Wealth Management, there were many good things that came as a result of the 2017 tax law changes. The tax code was simplified, eliminating many deductions and loopholes. The standard deduction was doubled for...

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

I was recently honored to be able to attend Cetera's Circle of Excellence Conference. Only the top 15% of all advisors of the broker-dealer are invited to this prestigious annual event. This points to the caliber, accomplishment and...

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

In October 2018, interest rates on 10 Year Treasury Bonds peaked at approximately 3.25%. As of early June 2019, these rates have dropped to less than 2.10%. This is a dramatic move in interest rates in both absolute and relative terms...

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

For those of you who may not have seen the recent news, there are two important developments in the greater Akron and Summit County areas that we thought you should be aware of. First of all, GettingWiser.org is a website that was...

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

In late April, Mary Beth Franklin, a nationally known Social Security expert and author came to visit the Akron area. The University of Akron Foundation hosted her at Portage Country Club for an educational session which both Nathan...

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Recently, the House Ways and Means Committee voted unanimously in favor of legislation which could have dramatic impacts on how people plan for and save for their retirement. A few key parts of the legislation include making it easier...

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Ever since William Bendgen's article, "Determining Withdrawal Rates Using Historical Data" appeared in the October 1994 issue of the Journal of Financial Planning, advisors have been utilizing this study to guide clients on how much...

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

In light of the spring home buying and selling season kicking off here in Northeast Ohio, I recently wrote a blog post for Simplifynance, our next-generation financial planning service offering, on my wife Lauren and I's journey to...

Monday, April 29, 2019

Impel Wealth Management moved into our new home at the corner of Broad Blvd and 4th Street in Cuyahoga Falls in April 2017. As we come upon our two-year anniversary, we have much to celebrate. Impel Wealth has continued to grow. When...

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Ever since George W. Bush was elected to a second term in office in 2004, there has been discussion that the nation's Social Security system needs attention in order to keep it as a viable and solvent social safety net for Americans,...

Monday, April 15, 2019

One of the things that many of our clients look forward to as they transition from their work life to their retirement life, is being able to start traveling more extensively and checking long dreamed of places off their bucket list....

Monday, April 8, 2019

According to a new report from Retirement Living, "Retirement Preparedness Study 2019: Baby Boomers vs. Generation X", it appears that Baby Boomers are much more confident that they will have enough money to live comfortably in...

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

For everyone who has been in my office, you know that I am a huge fan of Dr. Seuss. From my earliest days of reading before kindergarten, these books were a staple of my childhood. I loved the stories, the amazing illustrations and...

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

As Impel Wealth Management has continued to grow, we faced a dilemma in helping our next generation of potential clients. Many of our existing clients, who are mostly 50-80 years old, initially came to us wanting to be able to retire...

Monday, March 18, 2019

As I mentioned last week, our team came together in early January for our annual planning retreat. Each year as part of this event, we spend time reviewing our corporate goals. We decide which goals we will try to have accomplished by...

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Early each year the team at Impel Wealth Management takes one of the federal holidays, when the markets are closed, to conduct our team retreat. This year's retreat was special and meaningful in a couple of different ways. First of all...

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend Cetera Advisors' "Fast Forward" conference in Houston. This annual event is an advisor-led conference, along with some of the key members of Cetera Advisors home office staff. The conference...

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

As many of our clients move into retirement, they start thinking about when they will downsize or move to a smaller place that is easier for them to maintain. For some clients, they want to get to a home that is all on one floor, so...

Monday, February 11, 2019

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it...

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Years like 2018, when markets are moving up and down hundreds of points a day, can make staying the course and being disciplined with our diversification a difficult and emotional proposition. These feelings are exacerbated by the...

Thursday, January 17, 2019

At Impel Wealth Management, we take pride in being students of the business. This takes place in many forms for our team. For me, it means reading 500-600 pages of economic and investment data monthly, roughly half of which is...

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

As many clients are approaching retirement they would like to know if they should pay off their mortgage? The goal is to cut monthly expenses by getting rid of principal and interest payments throughout their retirement years. This can...

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Personally, I have never been big on New Year's Resolutions. To me, if something is that important, then I would be doing it already in the first place (hopefully). However, this year I plan on trying to keep one, and thought I would...

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

I started in the financial planning industry in late August 1987, just a few weeks before Black Monday, when selling pressures in the stock market accelerated and by the end of the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped...

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

By now, I am sure you have seen the headlines: "The U.S. Student-Loan Debt Crisis Is Even Worse Than We Thought" - Forbes, May 24th, 2018 "Despite the economic recovery, student debtors' 'monster in the closet' has only worsened" -...

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

On November 1st, the IRS announced that there will be cost-of-living adjustments to the limits on employee contributions into retirement plans for 2019. The annual limit for employee contributions into 401(k)s, 403(b)s, most 475 plans,...

Monday, October 29, 2018

As we approach Halloween this week, it seems that global markets have gotten spooked by the perfect storm of economic chills. A trifecta of issues has caused fear and selling in stock markets around the world: 1) Trade/Tariffs Issues...

Monday, October 15, 2018

The World Economic Forum recently released its latest jobs forecast, and it is projecting substantial changes to the employment market over the coming decades. Machines currently do approximately 29% of all the hours worked in major...

Monday, October 1, 2018

Experts are closely watching the projected CPI/inflation numbers to get an idea of how much Social Security benefits could potentially increase in calendar year 2019. According to the Senior Citizens League, non-partisan advocacy...

Monday, September 24, 2018

According to a recent study by Fidelity, a 65-year-old couple retiring this year will need nearly $275,000 to cover health care costs during their retirement years. This unbelievably large amount is even more pronounced when you...

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

In the wake of the 2008-09 financial crisis, the Federal Reserve Bank cut rates to near zero and left them there for almost seven years. Since December 2015, the Fed has embarked on a campaign to normalize interest rates. In this...

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Over the next 90 days, heading into the mid-term elections, you are likely going to be hearing much about immigration and its impact on our great country. This is not a new subject for Americans to deal with. The link to the video...

Thursday, August 30, 2018

The financial planning industry has spent significant time helping people appropriately spend and save so that they can build a large nest egg so that they will be able to retire comfortably. However, we need to realize that life is...

Monday, August 13, 2018

It's a sellers' market, so homebuyers need to be even more prepared than ever to confidently shop for, bid on and pay for a home. As with all things financial, planning is key. Whether buying your first home or downsizing to your last...

Monday, July 23, 2018

According to the Social Security trustees report of 2018, over the last 35 years, from 1983 to 2017, the Social Security program has taken in more money each year than it paid out in benefits. Total revenue each year includes FICA...

Thursday, July 12, 2018

For calendar year 2017 nearly 32 million tax filers claimed mortgage interest as an itemized deduction on their 1040 tax return. With the passage of the most recent tax law in December, that number is expected to drop to only 14...

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

In over 30 years of working with clients on their financial and retirement plans, I have noticed a very definite trend. Clients, no matter how much money they have, tend to spend those resources in approximately five major areas....

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Nearly 1/2 of all Americans have had the experience of providing care for a spouse or parent, or they believe they will end up in this role in the future. According to a recent Northwestern Mutual C.A.R.E. Study released in March,...

Friday, April 20, 2018

For many people, the process of choosing a financial advisor can be both overwhelming and intimidating. There are hundreds of options available, and you’re trusting someone to manage not just your financial investments—but...

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

In 1996 Stanley and William Danko authored the book "The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy." The book compared the behaviors of high income families that tended to live very affluent lifestyles,...

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Each year Forbes Magazine creates a list of the Best-in-state Wealth Advisors. The 2018 list was released in February and I am very pleased and honored to say that I and the team at Impel Wealth Management were honored to be included...

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Today, many more young people are graduating college, moving into the workforce and having a harder time of obtaining the American dream of owning a home. The simple reason for this is that the amount of student loan debt they carry...

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

There is significant and increasing pressure on parents and even grandparents to try to help their children and grandchildren deal with the rising cost of financing their college education. Oftentimes, clients are torn between helping...

Thursday, February 22, 2018

I oftentimes get questions from clients about the issues surrounding the annual budget deficit, the U.S. debt, the shortfall in Social Security, and what this means to the future of the United States. A recent research paper and...

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

When planning for retirement, many people target specific age and income goals. However, a new research paper from the National Bureau of Economic Researchentitled "The Power of Working Longer" states that people should approach...

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Many of our clients, as they create their estate plans, execute a number of documents including wills, trusts, a durable power of attorney for legal and financial issues, a medical or healthcare power of attorney, as well as a HIPAA...

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

In the first part of our discussion about increased life expectancy, we discussed how healthcare advancements are leading to people living longer lives. Today we want to discuss what that phenomenon means to clients trying to plan for...

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Historical data from the Center for Disease Control shows that between 1950 and 2010, a period of just 60 years, life expectancy in the United States increased by approximately five years, 4.9 years for males and 4.3 years for females....

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

As was widely expected, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that the 2018 Medicare Part B premiums will increase for most Medicare enrollees from $109 per month to $134 per month, an increase of 23%. It will be the...

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

The Social Security administration recently announced that Social Security benefits for nearly 66 million Americans will increase by 2.0% in 2018, representing the largest increase in retirement benefits since 2012. The last several...

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

With markets sitting near all-time highs, many people are nervous about investing new money in the markets these days. It has been a number of years since we had had a significant pull back. The pull backs that we did have more...

Monday, October 23, 2017

Previously, we have twice discussed some unique facts about the Millennial Generation, who were born between 1980 and year 2000. We have talked about the fact that that they represent the largest generation in history, beating out the...

Thursday, October 19, 2017

In early July, the Social Security Board of Trustees released its annual report on the long-term financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds. The trust funds are projected to become depleted in 2034, the same as they were...

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

We have not heard much about inflation recently, as it has been very subdued over the last 15 to 20 years. However, a recent study sponsored by Allianz Life of 1,213 US adults in July of 2017 noted that inflation is still a top concern...

Thursday, September 14, 2017

One of the questions I get on a very regular basis from clients is "How much money do I need to be able to retire successfully?". This is a very individualized and personal question, as it is significantly correlated to how much money...

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

In a previous blog, we explained the size and impact of the Millennial generation, the children and/or grandchildren of most of our clients. Many people have been impacted by the Baby Boomer generation over the last 50 years, since...

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

In 1997, I was one of three founding partners of a new financial planning and investment advisory firm. When we formed Millennial Group, the name was born out of all the discussion, excitement, and anticipation about the turn of the...

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

In 1994, I was meeting with a couple, and the husband had recently been offered an early retirement buy out from a local company here in Akron. At 57 years old, he had less than 30 days to decide if he was going to retire and take the...

Monday, August 7, 2017

For many years, there have been two different standards of care and conduct within the financial planning and investment world. There has been a less stringent "suitability" standard that applies to registered representatives, such as...

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

A unique trend is starting to impact people who are retiring in the United States. Retirees who are worried about running out of money are starting to consider retiring abroad. Some overseas locations will allow retirees to live a...

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Planning for retirement is a relatively recent phenomenon that only began in the 20th century. Prior to this, most people's life expectancies were short enough that they typically worked until they passed away. The idea of accumulating...

Monday, July 10, 2017

June 20th was a special day for Impel Wealth Management. After months of work rehabilitating a 100+ year old building on the corner of Broad Boulevard and 4th Street in Cuyahoga Falls, we were able to celebrate a ribbon cutting...