2019 was the year of the U.S. consumer.

When the year started, trade tensions were heating up and recession calls had grown louder. Many investors saw the end of the business cycle coming as the expansion was on the cusp of becoming the longest on record.

…once again, working to help sweeten the holiday for some boys and girls at the Camillus House.

Delayed Gratification Pays Off:  The Longer You Wait, The More You Get 

Data from the Social Security Administration shows that 39% of women and 33% of men chose to start collecting at age 62. Just 5% of women and 7% of men waited to age 70.  Barring extenuating circumstances, being part of the majority claiming benefits early can be a very costly mistake.

Now that we have some clarity on U.S.-China trade and Brexit, in 2020 we expect drivers of stock market performance to shift more toward investing fundamentals. We also expect stocks to appreciate in line with earnings.

LPL Research sees better days ahead for bonds. 2019 was a baffling year for bonds, but we’ve seen some improvement in long-term yields. Bonds can still play a role in helping to diversify portfolios where appropriate.

U.S. economic growth has slowed in 2019. However, the economy is still growing, and we believe it will continue growing through 2020. As we highlighted in our Outlook 2020: Bringing Markets Into Focus, we’re projecting real GDP growth of 1.75% in 2020, slightly below average for this economic expansion.

It has been a rough start to the most wonderful month of them all, with the S&P 500 Index down each of the first two days of December. Don’t stop believing just yet, though.

We know it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but LPL's John Lynch and Ryan Detrick ​are expecting consumers’ spending to continue at a solid rate through the ever-important holiday shopping season. Read more here.

TGIFryeday!  We got to enjoy a double dose of delicious celebrating both Rich and Sarah’s birthdays! 

An upbeat economic outlook may be edging out elevated downside risks in the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) decision-making.  Learn why, via LPL Research, here.