Despite many worries - bank failures, record high inflation, debt ceiling debates, recession watch…markets are having a very strong year. What lessons should investors take away from this year so far?

We also discuss the U.S. credit rating downgrade, the difference in performance between value and growth stocks, and what caught our eye in July:

• Oil prices jumped
• Record global oil consumption
• Housing prices accelerated

We’d love to hear from you! Email us questions, ideas, or feedback at [email protected].

*BONUS* How To Build Your Next Million, our free ebook, teaches investors about the tools that can help them SAVE more, GROW more, KEEP more, and PROTECT more. Get your copy today!

Special guest Michael Santoli, Senior Markets Commentator at CNBC, joins Sammy Azzouz, Heritage Financial’s President and CEO, for a detailed investing conversation, including what he sees in this market, the recession watch, reasons for optimism, and how individual investors can best use market information disseminated by news sources such as CNBC.

Michael Santoli has covered the Wall Street beat for more than 20 years at Barron’s, Yahoo Finance, Dow Jones Newswires, and currently shares his extensive market expertise through regular appearances on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” and “Closing Bell Overtime”. In addition, he is a featured contributor to CNBC.com and CNBC PRO.

*BONUS* How To Build Your Next Million, our free ebook, teaches investors about the tools that can help them SAVE more, GROW more, KEEP more, and PROTECT more. Get your copy today!

We’d love to hear from you! Email us questions, ideas, or feedback at [email protected].

Listen in to July's market update as Heritage Financial CEO, Sammy Azzouz, and CIO, Bob Weisse, discuss the latest on the markets and investment universe:

• The future of rate hikes and the disconnect between the Fed’s view and market’s view
• Our views on the recent boom of AI focused companies
• Based on one common definition we are in a bull market. Are we?
• The opportunity we see overseas

And finally, take some time to sit back, relax and read some of our book recommendations this summer.

We’d love to hear from you! Email us questions, ideas, or feedback at [email protected].

*BONUS* How To Build Your Next Million, our free ebook, teaches investors about the tools that can help them SAVE more, GROW more, KEEP more, and PROTECT more. Get your copy today!

Taxes – You can’t avoid them, but you can plan ahead so you have fewer surprises. Ed Jastrem, Chief Planning Officer at Heritage Financial, joins with insight to help you make the most of your tax planning strategies. Reviewing a tax return is the first step, and one of the most valuable steps, to creating a detailed financial plan. It serves as a baseline for more advanced financial planning because it’s not just about what you make but what you keep. In this episode, we discuss this underrated, extremely valuable financial planning tool.

• Why it is so hard to determine what tax bracket you are actually in
• Hidden taxes you may be paying
• Things to do, and not to do, to improve your tax situation
• Age-based and special situations that cause pause to reflect on your tax planning strategies

We’d love to hear from you! Email us questions, ideas, or feedback at [email protected].

*BONUS* How To Build Your Next Million, our free ebook, teaches investors about the tools that can help them SAVE more, GROW more, KEEP more, and PROTECT more. Get your copy today!

Our monthly market update covers what’s going on in the investment universe and markets right now. In this episode Heritage Financial CEO, Sammy Azzouz, and CIO, Bob Weisse discuss:

• The Fed watch - Signals and thoughts on their next move
• Greater imbalance in the labor force with the most recent job opening figures surpassing expectations
• The market’s reaction to the House’s debt ceiling vote
• Chipmaker, Nvidia, and it’s recent extraordinary AI driven gains
• Price-weighted vs. equal-weighted index construction
• Where investors may be able to benefit from tighter lending standards

And, if you missed our recent webinar with Liz Ann Sonders, Chief Investment Strategist at Charles Schwab, Sammy and Bob will catch you up on the key topics:

• The future of the dollar and its reserve currency status
• Recent bank failures and the health of the banking system
• Thoughts on a rolling recession
• The future of international markets

We’d love to hear from you! Email us questions, ideas, or feedback at [email protected].

*BONUS* How To Build Your Next Million, our free ebook, teaches investors about the tools that can help them SAVE more, GROW more, KEEP more, and PROTECT more. Get your copy today!

Maybe these aren’t “new” rules for debt management but given the past decade of record low interest rates we haven’t talked about them in a while. Debt is an often misunderstood and misused source of capital. Some people avoid it, some overuse it, but believe it or not, there are productive ways to use debt to help increase your wealth.

With the cost of borrowing changing drastically in less than a year, it’s an ideal time to revisit how you can use debt to your advantage. In this episode of Wealthy Behavior Ed Jastrem, Chief Planning Officer at Heritage Financial, joins to explain.

• Given that rates have increased dramatically over a short period of time, how should your views of debt change?
• Is the rule of thumb that you should retire with no debt still valid?
• How to determine whether you should pay debt off early or keep it.

Additional Resources:

• With Mortgage and Other Rates Increasing is a Family Loan an Option?
• The Boston Advisor: Using Debt Smartly to Build Wealth

We’d love to hear from you! Email us questions, ideas, or feedback at [email protected].

*BONUS* How To Build Your Next Million, our free ebook, teaches investors about the tools that can help them SAVE more, GROW more, KEEP more, and PROTECT more. Get your copy today!

The economy remains strong, inflation numbers are coming down, and the jobs market remains healthy. The markets are handling things well, so far, this year. In this episode Heritage Financial CEO, Sammy Azzouz, and CIO, Bob Weisse discuss:

• How long can these rate hikes hang on? The Fed and markets have different views.
• What’s the cumulative and lag effect of rate hikes?
• The banking crisis: Should investors be worried? What is the biggest risk for banks?
• What’s the difference between the S&P 500 and DJIA? Which one should investors be watching to get a feel for how the US market is doing?

And we answer a listener question, “Should I be worried about the debt ceiling?”

We’d love to hear from you! Email us questions, ideas, or feedback at [email protected].

*BONUS* How To Build Your Next Million, our free ebook, teaches investors about the tools that can help them SAVE more, GROW more, KEEP more, and PROTECT more. Get your copy today!

In 2001, Vanguard, a company that is known for do-it-yourself, low-cost index investing, published a study on the value that an advisor can add to an investment experience. Over the years Vanguard Advisor’s Alpha study has been updated a few times, yet the conclusion remains the same - working with an advisor can add about 3% in net investment returns.

In this episode of Wealthy Behavior, we are joined by special guest Michael DiJoseph, CFA. Mike is a Senior Strategist at Vanguard’s Investment Advisory Research Center, the group responsible for creating, articulating, and implementing world-class investment, wealth management, behavioral coaching, and practice management thought leadership.

What are you leaving on the table by not working with an advisor? Or, by working with an advisor that isn’t following best practices? Listen in as Mike breaks down Vanguard’s study and explains what investors should know about improving their finances and net return investment experience.

A copy of Vanguards Advisor’s Alpha study can be found at https://advisors.vanguard.com/advisors-alpha/.

*BONUS* How To Build Your Next Million, our free ebook, teaches investors about the tools that can help them SAVE more, GROW more, KEEP more, and PROTECT more. Get your copy today!

We’d love to hear from you! Email us questions, ideas, or feedback at [email protected].

In this month's market update host and Heritage Financial CEO, Sammy Azzouz, and Heritage Financial CIO, Bob Weisse, discuss what’s going on across the investment universe today, including:

• An overview of the Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse failures, the impact on the banking sector and the broader markets.
• The silver lining of a banking crisis.
• Where investors should put their cash.
• What a slowdown in rate hikes means for investors’ asset allocation.
• Fears of Inflation vs. Fears of Recession. What is the market telling us?
• An update on the housing market.

*BONUS* How To Build Your Next Million, our free ebook, teaches investors about the tools that can help them SAVE more, GROW more, KEEP more, and PROTECT more. Get your copy today!

We’d love to hear from you! Email us questions, ideas, or feedback at [email protected].

Gregory Zuckerman is a Special Writer at The Wall Street Journal, a 26-year veteran of the paper and a three-time winner of the Gerald Loeb award - the highest honor in business journalism. Greg is the author of multiple books including The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched a Quant Revolution, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. In this episode, Sammy and Greg discuss Jim Simons, mathematician, philanthropist, and founder of Renaissance Technologies - a role which led him to be described as the most successful hedge fund manager of all time. Greg shares some insight on this fascinating man and shares a few secrets to the immense wealth he built.

Email us questions, ideas, or feedback at [email protected] or visit www.heritagefinancial.net. We’d love to hear from you!

Get your free guide to building your next million. How To Build Your Next Million teaches investors about the tools that can help them SAVE more, KEEP more, GROW more, and PROTECT more.