As we monitor an economic recovery like no other, Hilltop presents our third quarterly Economic and Market Update of the year. Brittany Mollica and Chris Hostetler cover Hilltop’s views on the current economic expansion, inflation, and labor markets. And of course we discuss the virus, variants, and vaccines. If you have questions or would like to discuss anything, we look forward to hearing from you.

It’s easy to find headlines these days expressing concern about rising prices. … But before we decide whether to worry, let’s explore what inflation is and what typically causes it.

Given how expensive college (and children in general) can be, it’s important to plan ahead. Here are three steps for setting and reaching your college savings goal.

We’ve shared how we help our clients prepare for the financial risk of a long life expectancy. But why does longevity planning really matter? In this Hilltop at Home video, David Wise provides 3 ways that longevity planning can help you live your best life in retirement.

Everyone hopes to live a long and healthy life, but a long life can also be a financial threat. This is called “longevity risk” and although it is a key financial planning concept, it can be difficult to quantify. In this Hilltop at Home video, Brittany Mollica shares a case study illustrating how we review each client’s longevity risk.

Let me tell you a story about a 42-year-old lawyer and her 72-year-old mother who got COVID within days of each other in January. The dark cloud is that we got sick, but the silver lining is we can find some valuable estate planning lessons in the experience.

Amidst a strong start for the markets in 2021, Hilltop presents our second quarterly Economic and Market Update of the year. Curtis Byrd and Rusty Eriksen discuss Hilltop’s views on the market impacts of COVID vaccines, fiscal policy, and the economy’s evolving “new normal.”

Advisor Brittany Mollica is featured on this week’s episode of The Mind Money Spectrum podcast. She speaks with hosts Aaron Agte and Trishul Patel to discuss credit scores. Learn how you can identify which actions will help build your credit score when you're just getting off the ground, or what you can do to improve a less-than-ideal score.

How do you make wise decisions with confidence in a world with so much uncertainty? In today’s Hilltop at Home, advisor David Wise shows you one way: using a Monte Carlo simulation to view your financial plan in 1,000 different market scenarios, so you can better prepare for the unexpected.

Unfortunately, the real world is unpredictable – many factors in the financial planning formula are random and uncontrollable. So how can you make wise decisions when you cannot control everything?

Although a steady investment return makes for a useful planning assumption, it’s not very realistic. The good news is we have a tool that supplements the usual model and gives us a more realistic picture of market uncertainty: the Monte Carlo simulation.

Ben Yeager and David Wise discuss Hilltop’s views on COVID vaccine distribution, market risks and opportunities in a post-pandemic recovery, and how to maintain investing discipline.

If you’re starting 2021 with a goal of bettering your finances, it may be time to improve your credit score. Here are 6 simple steps to improving your credit score.

Refinancing your mortgage solely to get a lower interest rate isn’t always the smartest financial move, so here are some questions to consider before you call up a mortgage broker

Brittany Mollica and Chris Hostetler discuss Hilltop’s latest market views including COVID-19, the presidential race, the economic downturn, and how you can tend your investments through all of it.

Elections matter, but how will the polling season affect your portfolio? We want you to be prepared for short-term volatility, so David Wise brings you 4 tips for navigating your portfolio through the election (a supplement to our recent blog post on Politics and Your Portfolio).

Does the election matter? Absolutely! Does it matter to your investments? Maybe not as much as you think. It’s normal for election years to breed anxiety, division, and uncertainty, but we’d like to explore what this actually means for the investment markets and whether you should be changing your investment strategy over the next few months.

This year has changed life for everybody, and your cash flow is not immune to the disruption. While we love encouraging you to save for long-term goals, you shouldn’t feel guilty if you can’t prioritize savings right now because of COVID. Brittany Mollica reminds you: sometimes you just need to play defense.

If you’ve been offered an early-retirement package, do you know what to do with it? It’s much more complicated than a simple “yes” or “no.” While it’s a great problem to have, you do have some big decisions to make. Chris Hostetler helps you figure out where to start.

David Wise and Chris Hostetler discuss Hilltop’s latest market views including economic reopening post-coronavirus, election uncertainties, creative destruction, and what it all means for your portfolio and financial plan.