Droms Strauss Blog

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (The SECURE Act) was part of the most recent $1.4 trillion year-end spending bill, approved by the Senate on Dec 19th, 2019, and subsequently signed into law by President Donald Trump. The act was part of an end-of-year appropriations bill and accompanied by provisions that impacted the nation’s retirement system. The goal of these provisions is to provide additional opportunities for Americans to save in order to strengthen their retirement base.

As we survey the investment landscape for 2020, we find both optimism and clouds on the horizon.

December is always a good time to look back on the year, look at what has transpired, and look forward to what might be in store for us next year. If you read the paper or listen to the news, we do not have to tell you what has happened in the markets these last couple of months.

As we certainly all have noticed, today is the second day of significant volatility and losses in the stock markets around the world. Yesterday U.S. markets suffered significant losses, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 3.1%, the S&P 500 down 3.3%, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ down 4.1%. At today’s closing prices, the Dow and S&P 500 closed down an additional 2.1%, and the Nasdaq was off 1.3%. The Nasdaq is now in correction territory, generally defined as a decline of 10% or more from its last high, although it is still approximately 425 points higher than its close at the end of 2017.

With the Senate passing the tax bill just after midnight last night and the House expected to take another vote later today it is virtually certain that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 will become law. This Communiqué will focus on a summary of new or changed provisions that apply to individuals and most importantly, some year-end planning strategies that each of us should consider.