A look back at 2017 thus far.
Nelson Mandela famously said that “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” For many families, investing in a child’s education is a central financial planning goal, but the cost of doing so has grown rapidly. For this reason, grandparents often like the idea of helping fund a portion of their grandchildren’s education, especially because it creates a legacy that lasts longer than traditional gifts.
Investors often use major indices like the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Dow Jones Industrial Average as a way to understand how financial markets are performing. While this is a helpful place to start, the reality is that the stock market is made up of many thousands of companies, each affected by economic and market trends in unique ways. To understand these trends, stocks are often grouped into sectors, geography, and by other characteristics such as the size of the company or the style of investment. Each of these groups can play an important role in long-term portfolios.
