In some tremendous news, last year the average 401(k) balance rose to $112,300, an increase of 17 percent from the prior year. Similarly, the average individual retirement account (IRA) balance rose 17 percent to $115,400. Both are new records.

Surging markets world...

I try to look at the bright side of things. But in this business, I’m often surrounded with negativity when it comes to markets and investing.

In 2009, you would’ve thought we’d never escape the financial crisis.

In 2011, everyone figured European debt would fry the...

When you ignore a problem, it rarely goes away and almost never gets solved. You must deal with the underlying issues, not just the symptoms. If you don’t, things can get worse, even unrepairable.

I bring this up because we seem to be at a point in the developed wor...

Let’s talk about risk.

Going back to the 2009 subprime mortgage crisis, it was clear a lot of bad mortgages were packaged as investments and sold off. When the mortgages went bad, so did the investments, causing a disastrous economic ripple effect.

Today, the same th...