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Insights from Griffin Black

Market wisdom and financial perspective for those who seek clarity. Read our latest analysis on wealth building, investment strategy, and planning for what matters most.
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  • Investing, Young Investors
6 min read

Taking Stock: Basic Vocabulary for Younger Investors

Have you ever heard people say things like, “The market was up today,” or “I just looked at the news, and my stocks are all down”? Or maybe you’ve seen headlines like “Investors Moving into Bonds as Rates Fall,” or “Index ETFs Gain in Popularity.” Maybe you’ve wondered about this unfamiliar language that other people seem to understand. Maybe you wish you understood more about it yourself.
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  • Current & Economic Events
6 min read

Special Update: Navigating Bank Failures, Fed Rate Hikes, and Risks to the Financial System

The recent failure of three U.S. banks has raised concerns over the economy and financial system. The situation is still evolving and there is plenty of speculation as to what might come next. One recent development is that government officials from the Treasury, Federal Reserve, and FDIC have announced that depositors will be made whole in an effort to backstop the system and restore confidence.
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  • Financial Planning, My Money & Me
4 min read

What Are You Really Worth? The Answer Is Probably Not on a Balance Sheet

At Griffin Black, we spend a lot of time thinking about our clients’ accounts. After all, our clients expect us to guide their investment strategies in a way that enables them to build wealth. But the most important conversations we have with our clients often center on matters that don’t boil down to dollars and cents. In fact, we’ve written previously about the importance of integrating your financial planning with the core priorities in your life: your “why,” in Simon Sinek’s terms.
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  • Current & Economic Events, My Money & Me
8 min read

Special Edition: Is My Money Safe?

The events of the past several days provide us all with an instructive backdrop for several important financial topics. Even folks who don’t routinely pay attention to financial goings-on are now likely to have heard about the collapse (and subsequent rescue) of Silicon Valley Bank. The first and most obvious of these is a reminder that stock investing always comes with risks. When the economy is booming and companies are doing well, it’s easy to forget about risk. But it’s always there. That’s why the first thing we think about when investing in the stock market is how to manage risk.
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  • Financial Planning, My Money & Me
5 min read

Decluttering Your Bottom Line: Financial Spring Cleaning

It’s an annual ritual in many American households: as the weather gradually begins to warm and the trees begin to bud, we open all the closets and dresser drawers, pulling out clothes and other items and sorting them into three piles—“keep,” “throw,” and “sell or give away.” It makes sense. Spring cleaning is one way that we make a periodic assessment, not just of our wardrobes, but also in our lives. It helps us get rid of what we don’t need so we can focus on what is most important. For many, it’s an emotional decluttering as much as a material one.
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  • Current & Economic Events, Investing, My Money & Me
4 min read

How Corporate Earnings Can Guide Long-Term Investors

While major stock market indices have rallied this year, investors continue to receive mixed signals from the economy, and that has made a lot of people nervous.
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  • Taxes, Young Investors
6 min read

Uncle Sam’s Share: Smart Tax Basics

Benjamin Franklin said it a couple of hundred years ago, and it’s still true today: the two inevitabilities are death and taxes.
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  • Current & Economic Events, My Money & Me, Retirement Planning
4 min read

Big Changes for Retirement Accounts in Congress’s New Spending Bill

In December 2022, Congress passed a new spending bill which also contains many changes to retirement accounts. The changes are extensive, but here is a summary of specific changes that are most likely to impact you.
A pink piggy bank with a sad expression on a blue background.
  • Current & Economic Events, My Money & Me
4 min read

The Next Recession and You: Dealing with a “Pouting” Economy

It happens to all of us: waking up in a sour mood. The causes can be many. Maybe you went to sleep the night before, brooding about a problem at work. Maybe your family has gotten on your last nerve. Maybe you realized, as you staggered into the kitchen, that you forgot to get coffee at the store yesterday. For whatever reason, your day has gotten off on the wrong foot. Similarly, for much of the past year and continuing to the present, investors and other market-watchers are worried that the US economy is in a lousy mood. Once again, the causes are manifold: stubbornly high inflation and a resultingly hawkish Fed; rising interest rates (see also: “hawkish Fed”); increasing labor costs and a tight job market… the list could go on.
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  • My Money & Me
4 min read

Your Money or Your Life — Or Both

By now, most of us have at least heard of Simon Sinek and his maxim— which is also the title of his bestselling book—“Start with Why.” The main idea that Sinek has captured so effectively is that companies and people can achieve great success by truly understanding the purpose behind what they do, and then ordering all their efforts from that starting point. As Sinek puts it, “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.”
A white model car and a white model house are placed next to a burlap sack with a dollar symbol on it, set against a blurred background.
  • My Money & Me, Young Investors
8 min read

Viability of a Liability: Using Debt the Right Way

Depending on the “money culture” of the home you grew up in, it’s likely that you’ve encountered one of two attitudes toward debt: either you view it as a “slush fund” to be tapped when there’s something you want that you don’t have enough cash to buy; or you think of debt as an evil that must be avoided at all costs.
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  • Taxes
3 min read

Smart Year-End Tax Move: Convert to a Roth Account while Conversions Are “On Sale” 

Let’s be honest: It has not been a fun year in the markets. With the S&P 500 down more than 20% from its highs in January (and other major indices in similar territory), good news has been about as scarce as hen’s teeth. But they say that every cloud has a silver lining, and, as it turns out, there’s a bit of good news for investors, even when the markets are in the doldrums, as they are currently.

Griffin Black, LLC is an SEC registered investment adviser; registration does not imply skill or training. Content is for informational purposes only and is not investment, legal, tax, or accounting advice. No client relationship is created by viewing this site. Information is believed reliable but not guaranteed. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal; past performance does not guarantee future results. Any testimonials or ratings may not reflect all experiences and are not indicative of future outcomes. Additional information, including fees and services, is available in our Form ADV Part 2A.

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