Equity markets marched steadily higher in the first quarter of 2021. Extreme volatility from a handful of “meme stocks” occupied headlines with social media brigades hyping out of favor companies such as Gamestop. While the idea of small investors sticking it to big greedy hedge funds makes for good media quotes (i.e. “You only live once!”), it was the energy and financial sectors that were the best performers overall and led the stock charge.
Maxing your 401(k)? Don't Leave Money on the Table
Recently, while preparing a financial plan for a client, I came across a situation that seemed to be a case of “The Man” sticking it to a worker. The worker, in this case a highly compensated one, appeared to have been shortchanged by about $12,000 on promised compensation from his employer. Potential headline news on MSNBC, or at least our local channels, right?
Maybe. However, a little further investigation revealed that instead of a greedy corporation cheating a worker out of what he had fairly earned, there was a far less sinister explanation.
In fact, this particular issue only impacts highly compensated workers that can afford to save significant portions of their income, so it probably wouldn’t have made headlines anyway. (Well maybe CNBC.) Nonetheless, for those fortunate enough to earn higher than average income, it is still probably worth reading the rest of the story.