Stocks staged a sharp rally on the first trading day of 2012, leaving behind a year that saw tremendous volatility but essentially no change for broad U.S. market indices. Buoyed by a strong report on American manufacturing and news of economic growth in China and India, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 179.82 points, or 1.47%, on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 rose 19.46, or 1.55%, and the NASDAQ advanced 43.57, or 1.67%.

 

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Disability insurance pays benefits when you are unable to earn a living because you are sick or injured. Most disability policies pay you a benefit that replaces a percentage of your earned income when you can't work.

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Everyone's familiar with 401(k) plans. But not everyone knows they come in different flavors. There's the traditional 401(k), of course. But there are also SIMPLE 401(k)s for small employers, 401(k)s with qualified automatic contribution arrangements (QACAs), and safe harbor 401(k)s.

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There is no question that 2011 was a challenging year.  While the New Year holds much promise, it’s also a time to sit down and create a fresh financial plan. Perhaps your schedule for retirement got delayed or perhaps your practice isn’t producing as much as you had hoped.  It’s an election year and the world economy is still struggling but by following a few simple steps you can better navigate the future with well designed financial plan.

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I’d like to take this opportunity to share the latest edition of Investment Strategy Quarterly with you – a publication that delivers timely economic and financial market insights and guidance from the Raymond James team of analysts, market strategists and economists.

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