We are pleased to announce Kathryn Hite as the latest addition to the Allgen Financial Services’ financial advisory team. Kathryn joins Allgen Financial Services, Inc. after five successful years as a Regional Leader with Primerica Financial Services, Inc, one of the largest personal financial services firms in the world. Kathryn brings a background of expertise in life insurance, debt consolidation, mutual fund investment, variable annuities, and long-term care insurance to Allgen’s retirement asset management practice.
Kathryn is a graduate of Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with dual majors in Accounting and Computer Science. Kathryn began her career as an internal auditor and held various positions throughout her career including Y2K Technology Project Vice President for AmSouth/Regions Financial Bank.
Senior Partner Paul Roldan said, “We are excited about having Kathryn Hite on our team. She provides a great blend of strong analytical skills and practical solutions to those in need of financial planning and investment guidance. Our future looks even brighter with Kathryn as a member of our team.”
The stock market had a positive day today in response to a few piece of positive news. The Financial Accounting Standards Board loosened the mark-to-market accounting rules which some say have severely hurt banks over the last year. Plus, Factory Orders came out better than expectations which increased optimism. The last piece of significant news today was that the European Central Bank cut its interest rate target.
From a technical perspective, the NASDAQ (chart below), which has been the leading index in the recent rally, hit two-month highs today. The NASDAQ is commonly believed to be a growth index. It broke above the resistance of 1600 and is approaching the next area of resistance its Jan. highs at 1665. Volume was robust which makes the move more significant. The recent rally has shown some bullish characteristics: Upward moves in the market have been on increasing volume and pullbacks have been on lighter volume. That means major market players (Pension, Mutual, and Hedge funds) are participating in the market more on the upside and when the market sells off it does so with less selling pressure.
Historically when the stock market comes out of a bear market the leading sectors will usually be growth oriented sectors. The stock market being a forward looking mechanism will anticipate what lies ahead and if you are currently in an economic contraction the next part of the cycle will usually be an expansion. Growth stocks usually perform well with the perception of upcoming expansion in the economy, thus if growth sectors lead it’s usually a bullish sign. Some of the growth sectors that have recently broke into new 4-month highs are Technology (chart below), Retail (chart below), Semi-conductors, Telecommunication and Internet Commerce.
Yesterday (11/13/08) was a significant day in the stock market for multiple reasons. First, the market successfully bounced off of support across all major indices. Second, the bounce came with significant volume far above the average, which usually equates to institutional buying. Institutional volume is important because it is the larger institution like the pension funds, mutual funds and hedge funds that drive the market. Third, the market at mid-day was down by around a 4% margin then in the afternoon it rallied and finished the day up approximately 7%. Technically this is a victory for the bulls as they were able to over come the early selling and push forward to end the day very strong. Finally, the market went up on a day where very weak economic news was released. Initial jobless claims were at 7 year highs. When the market goes up on bad news it is a psychological win as the market was able to look past bad news and buy into potential future prosperity. See chart below to better understand the technical picture. So, what does this all mean? I would say this is short-term victory for the market as it was able to hold support. This is the first step in building a base or foundation to work off of. It is difficult for the market or any structure to go significantly higher if there is no foundation or base to work off of. Yesterday was the beginning of a base building process. Going forward, if we are able to continue to hold the recent support levels that would be a positive for the market. On the other hand, if we fall below support the market will probably make another move downward.
For professional investment advice on this topic contact: Allgen Financial Services, Inc.
888.6ALLGEN (888) 625-5436
advisors@allgenfinancial.com www.allgenfinancial.com
Looking to establish a retirement plan for your company? There are several options to consider such as a 401(k), Safe Harbor 401(k), Profit Sharing Plan, Simplified Employee Pension (SEP), Simple IRA and 403(b). The most popular type of qualified retirement plans is the 401(k).
Steps
Have a clear understanding for why you want to establish a 401(k). For example, some companies want to attract or retain good employees, while others want to ensure there is a succession plan in place for the older workforce.
Define the needs of your organization and its employees as it relates to retirement benefits. Conduct a simple survey to determine potential plan participation.
Determine whether the company is planning to match contributions or not.
Create a census with critical employee information such as full name, employment status (part-time or full-time), hourly wage or salary, level of employment (entry level, management, etc.), and the date of hire.
Determine a vesting schedule for when employees can participate.
Choose a 401(k) advisor well. Do your due diligences by interviewing and receiving a proposal from at least 3 different 401(k) providers. And, ask lots of questions.
Tips
Make sure you clearly understand how your financial advisor and recordkeeper are being compensated.(Commission or Fees)
Understand how investment options are chosen and managed by the investment advisor.
Ask for historical returns for the different allocation models. There should be approx. 5-8 models to choose from (For example: Very Conservative - Very Aggressive). For mutual funds, request fund ratings and report.
Understand how and when financial statements are provided to the plan administrator and employees who participate.
There are 3 basic platforms to structure a 401k: 1) Annuity, 2) Mutual Fund, and 3) Trust. Learn the pros and cons of each one as the mechanics are different and the most suitable one depends on several factors including costs and convenience.
There are open architecture and closed architecture bundled products. Open architecture are more open to varying styles of investment choices and vehicles (ie stocks and ETFs) This can be beneficial for the more sophisticated investor.
Warnings
Watch for hidden fees and high commission or fee structure. (recommended: 1% or below depending on plan size)
Your plan administrator (TPA) and investment advisor should not be the same entity. This creates a conflict of interest. In this case, the recordkeeper and compliance provider are also doing the investing.
The biggest names are not necessarily the best providers.
Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Set up a 401(k). All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
For professional investment advice on this topic contact: Allgen Financial Services, Inc.
888.6ALLGEN (888) 625-5436
advisors@allgenfinancial.com
We are pleased to announce Kathryn Hite as the latest addition to the Allgen Financial Services’ financial advisory team. Kathryn joins Allgen Financial Services, Inc. after five successful years as a Regional Leader with Primerica Financial Services, Inc, one of the largest personal financial services firms in the world. Kathryn brings a background of expertise in life insurance, debt consolidation, mutual fund investment, variable annuities, and long-term care insurance to Allgen’s retirement asset management practice.![[del.icio.us]](http://www.allgenfinancial.com/financialnews/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
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