If you work and save from age 18 to age 63, you’ll spend around 45 years preparing for a retirement that spans about half as long—just over 22 years.* Your personal circumstances will determine whether you remain in the workforce (and continue saving) longer.

When Jerome Powell presides over his first Federal Open Market Committee meeting as the new Federal Reserve chairman on March 20–21, the seat will be less comfortable than it was just two months ago, when the U.S. Senate approved his nomination.

Over the past few months, I’ve been asked this question more than any other. In 2017, Bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency, rose by almost 1,200%, prompting excitement and bafflement. My answer: I’m enthusiastic about the blockchain technology that makes Bitcoin possible. In fact, Vanguard is using such technology. As for Bitcoin the currency? I see a decent probability that its price goes to zero. 

The tax code is a monument to complexity and tedium. Occasionally, however, a few lines of text buried deep in a subchapter can produce a sleeper hit—an account type or planning strategy that assumes an important role in our financial lives. The Health Savings Account (HSA) may be one.

It’s a rare person who just loves a budget. I see why. The idea of setting strict boundaries on your money isn’t nearly as alluring as just spending what you want when you want. Budgeting may feel particularly painful for millennials who might already be strapped for cash and barely scraping by.

In this post, I describe the 3 types of college savers you’re likely to meet at day care, in the pediatrician’s waiting room, or at the trampoline park. In a perfect world, all parents are disciplined 529 savers. Realistically, we all have competing priorities and limited time and resources. Perhaps not surprisingly, just over a third of college savers fit into the disciplined-savers category. 

In my last post, The coulda, shoulda, woulda behind every retirement story, I asked for comments. Who better than soon to be retirees and recent retirees to share lessons learned about preparing for retirement, right? (Exactly right.) The record setting number

For many people, including me, falling interest rates have been the general trend in the bond market throughout our working lives. At the beginning of 1983, the year I graduated from business school, the yield of the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note stood at more than 10%. It was less than 2.5% at the beginning of 2017. 

Youalready know that low costs are absolutely critical to long-term investmentsuccess, which is likely one of the reasons you invest with us. You’re not onlybuying at the low-cost fund shop, you’re also being frugal with your fundselections.

We’re living in unprecedented times, so we certainly can’t predict what 2017 will bring. And if you know Vanguard, you should know not to expect hot stock tips or “sure bets” from us either. But I do have four suggestions that I believe can help your clients reach their goals.

 When the Federal Reservewraps up its December meeting Wednesday, Chairwoman Janet Yellen will mostlikely announce an increase of 25 basis points (0.25 percentage point) in itstarget for the federal funds rate. The bump in the benchmark interest rate will get the headlines, but it’sjust one piece of communication in a dialogue between the Fed and the markets.        

As an advisor, you likely manage your clients' investment portfolios according to your own set of investment principles. In doing so, you're bound to run into clients or prospective clients whose ideas conflict with your beliefs about investing and what's in their best interests.

I’m always a little surprised when people talk about active and passive management as if it’s an either/or question. At Vanguard, we believe the right conjunction¹ is not or. It’s and. Both active and passive strategies have earned spots in your clients’ portfolios.