Retire With Ashley

The signs of an imminent recession are everywhere, yet the markets keep marching on to new highs! What gives? What's going on?

In this week's episode of the Retirement Quick Tips podcast, I'm breaking down what happened in the markets over the last quarter, what's going on in the economy, and how we're positioning client portfolios moving forward…

It's Sunday and I'm wrapping up the week by summarizing this week's theme: I'm a Financial Advisor—Here's Exactly How I Manage My 401(k)

In case you missed any episodes this week, here's the recap…

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm pulling back the curtain and telling exactly how I manage my 401k as a financial advisor.

Today, I'm talking about: a few other tips to make the most of your 401k.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm pulling back the curtain and telling exactly how I manage my 401k as a financial advisor.

Today, I'm talking about: how I invest my 401k as a financial advisor.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm pulling back the curtain and telling exactly how I manage my 401k as a financial advisor.

Today, I'm talking about: why I max out my Roth 401k as a financial advisor.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm pulling back the curtain and telling exactly how I manage my 401k as a financial advisor.

Today, I'm talking about: how much I contribute to my 401k as a financial advisor.

This week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast, I'm pulling back the curtain and telling exactly how I manage my 401k as a financial advisor.

Today, I'm talking about: how often I login (not enough to even remember how much I have in there…is it $200,000? $300,000? $500,000? I don't know. Somewhere in there I think.

Welcome to a new week here on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast! I'm your host, Ashley Micciche.

One thing I believe in strongly is eating your own cooking—or in other words, putting your money where your mouth is. So this week on the podcast, I'm pulling back the curtain and sharing exactly how I manage my own 401(k) as a financial advisor.

I'll walk you through:

• How often I check my accounts and log in

• How much I contribute to my 401(k)

• Whether I choose Roth or traditional contributions—and why

• What I'm currently invested in and the philosophy behind those choices

• How often I rebalance

• Why I personally avoid target date funds, even though I recommend them for most 401(k) participants in most situations

I'll also share a few extra tips and tools, like:

• Whether it's a good idea to link your accounts so you can view everything in one place

• Why it's critical to check and update your beneficiaries

• Why I would exhaust every other option before ever considering a 401(k) withdrawal or loan

Time for the Fed to start cutting interest rates…what does that mean for investors, retirees, and Americans getting close to retirement?

The situation in the economy is not great right now, and the Fed is in a tough spot where they need to act.

ABC news reporting on September 11th: Applications for jobless benefits jump to 263,000 last week, most in nearly 4 years

In another grim sign for the U.S. labor market, jobless claim applications jumped to their highest level in almost four years last week, virtually assuring the Federal Reserve will cut its benchmark interest rate next week.

Fed officials recently have expressed greater concern about the deteriorating labor market than inflation, and while a rate cut could spur economic growth and boost the job market, economists fear it could push inflation even farther above the Fed's target of 2%.

The BLS's revised figures showed that U.S. employers added 911,000 fewer jobs than originally reported in the year ending in March 2025, with the biggest weakness coming from the leisure and hospitality sector, professional and business services and retail. The report showed that job gains were tapering long before President Donald Trump rolled out his far-reaching tariffs on U.S. trading partners in April.

The themes for much of 2025 have been that the economy is still growing, but slowly, the labor market is clearly deteriorating, and that appears to be accelerating, inflation has come down to a more manageable 3%, but it remains sticky.

So what is the Fed to do? It appears this week as I record this Podcast episode that it is pretty much guaranteed that the Fed is going to cut rates by a quarter of a percent or 25 basis points.

The problem with the timing of this is that the expected inflation from tariffs has not been canceled but just delayed. I talked about that a couple months ago when I did the mid year market and economic update, and it appears that the expected inflation from tariffs has not yet fully entered the economy. Which means that if the Fed were to lower interest rates they're walking on a tightrope – A stagflation like risk which would be horrible to put it mildly is not off the table.

So this week on the podcast I'm going to talk about the expected rate cut which by the time you listen to this podcast will likely have already happened. I'll talk about some of the possible scenarios that come along with a cut in interest rates, and most importantly I'll talk about what that means for investors and savers and retirees. What does that mean for your investment portfolio what does that mean for stocks and bonds. What does that mean for housing and mortgage rates.

I'll talk about all of that in this week's episode…

Welcome to a new week here on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast! I'm your host, Ashley Micciche.

This week on the podcast, we're looking at private equity and cryptocurrencies as investment options in your 401k - is this a big opportunity or a hard pass?

On August 7, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order titled Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors. This order paves the way for allowing 401(k) plans to include alternative investments like cryptocurrency and private investments in 401(k) plans.

Which begs the question: Is this a good idea for investors? Alternatives and private investments have a track record of higher fees, illiquidity, and higher risk for investors. Their complexity could create problems and additional risks for investors if 401(k) plan trustees eventually move to add these investments to their plan offerings.

So let's explore this a little more, because you might see these options popping up in your 401ks in the near future, and it's important to think through the potential benefits and risks so you can make the right decision about how to invest your 401k for your retirement.

Next Monday, I'll be back with a new theme - at this point, the Fed will almost certainly lower interest rates when they meet this week, and by the time you're listening to this episode, perhaps they already have. So we'll talk about what that means for inflation, bonds, stocks, mortgage rates, and your retirement next week.

I hope you have a blessed week. My name is Ashley Micciche, this is the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast.