Copy

The RPG  Planner

View this email in your browser
Dear <<First Name>>:

We recently published our 40th blog post and appreciate all the encouraging and useful feedback on this article and the preceding 39.  This last posting provided an explanation and analysis of the major changes to Social Security signed into law yesterday.  The response to this explanation was excellent.  If you have not yet read the article, it may be worth your time as the changes could impact you, a parent, or someone you know. 

Furthermore, if you have subjects that you would like for us to cover in future articles, please let us know as we want to continue providing useful content.

We hope you find this month's RPG Planner to be informative and we welcome any feedback.
Forward to a Friend
Subscribe to The RPG Planner

Plan Right                      

  • Evaluating the Cost of Education.  As the cost of education increases at all levels, the decisions parents and students make become more economically consequential.  We wrote this article last month to help parents understand the financial trade-offs in actual dollars and cents.

Around the Web

 
We post useful articles or resources nearly every day to help keep you informed.  You can follow us on Twitter (@rpgplanner) or use this link to read what we find useful.  Here are a few items we think you might enjoy:

Investment Commentary
      

October produced the best monthly gains for stocks...ever.  US stocks added $1.8 trillion of market capitalization gains - more than any prior month on record.  On a percentage basis, global stocks (MSCI All World Index) gained 7.8%, marking the best percentage gain since October 2011.  

Markets were lifted by several factors, including:
  • Solid quarterly corporate earnings;
  • Delayed interest rate hikes by the Fed;
  • Monetary stimulus by the People's Bank of China;
  • Signs of economic stabilization in China;
  • The prospect of further European Central Bank monetary stimulus; and
  • A Congressional deal to raise the debt ceiling.
October's strong gain followed the worst 2-month stretch for global stocks since October 2011.  Notably, the worst 2-month periods for stocks since the financial crisis (Aug-Sep 2011, May-Jun 2010, and Aug-Sep 2015) have all been immediately followed by sharp monthly gains for stocks (3 of the 4 best one month gains over the same time period).



This unusual repetition of scary environments and significant declines followed by sharp positive reversals has tended to be the result of central bank intervention.  At some point, we will likely return to a period where central banks are less active and markets function on their own merits but that does not seem to be on the imminent horizon. 

 
We encourage you to call or email us if you have any questions about the markets or your portfolio.  As always, you can reference the RPG Monthly Market Snapshot by clicking here for some key economic data points and index returns.      

Reminders

  • As a reminder, Medicare open enrollment began on October 15th and runs through December 7th.  We encourage everyone to review their Part D prescription drug plan each year.  Prices change, formularies change, and the best plan last year is often not the best plan for the coming year.  We also encourage reviewing your Medicare Supplemental (Medigap) policies each year to determine if there is a lower-cost option.

Fun Stuff and Free Resources

RPG News and Notes 

  • The big (now public) news in our office is that John and Lindsey Evans are expecting their 2nd child early next year.  Everything is going well with the pregnancy and we are very excited for their upcoming addition!  More updates to come.   
  • In case you missed it last month, here is the 2-minute video prepared by the Sandy Springs / Perimeter Chamber to highlight RPG as the small business of the month.
Follow Us
Facebook
Facebook
Twitter
Twitter
LinkedIn
LinkedIn
Website
Website
Copyright © 2015 Resource Planning Group, All rights reserved.