Griffin Financial Advisors, LLC

10/15/2025

Today starts the Annual Election Period (AEP)

AEP runs from October 15th to December 7th each year. The purpose is to let Medicare beneficiaries make changes to their Medicare plans.

During AEP, you can

➡️Switch from Original Medicare (Parts A & B) to a Medicare Advantage Plan (Part C)
➡️Switch from a Medicare Advantage Plan back to Original Medicare
➡️Change from one Medicare Advantage Plan to another
➡️Join, drop, or switch Medicare Part D (prescription drug) plans

Changes made during AEP take effect on January 1st of the following year.

Please see the following WSJ article highlighting big changes coming to Medicare plans in 2026. If you’d like the full article, please drop us your email.

If you're considering making a change, it’s a good time to review plan costs, coverage, and star ratings to make sure your plan still fits your needs. If you’d like to review your current situation, please reach out to us.

Skinnier benefits, higher premiums and fewer options mean more than a million seniors should shop for new coverage during open enrollment.

12/10/2024

I am excited to share that after passing the exam in November and receiving official confirmation today, I am a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. Going through the process to earn this certification took a tremendous amount of dedication and sacrifice over the last 12 months.

To achieve the CFP® mark, a financial professional must complete the required education, work experience, exam and code of ethics. I’ve gained an immeasurable amount of knowledge in Principals of Financial Planning, Ethics, Income Tax, Retirement Planning, Estate Planning, Insurance, and Investments.

I am extremely thankful for my wife, Cassandra Griffin, for all her encouragement and support, the entire Dalton team for their commitment to my success and finally to my father (boss) Kevin P. Griffin for being a great listener and for teaching me so much about this business.

This comprehensive program has equipped me with deep financial planning knowledge and the skills necessary to confidently guide existing Griffin Financial Advisor' clients and future clients towards achieving their financial goals.

The recognized standard of excellence for competent and ethical personal financial planning.

11/01/2024

Today, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a retirement contribution update with amounts for 2025.

The 401(k) contribution limit will increase to $23,500, up from $23,000 this year (2024). This limit also applies to 403(b) plans, government 457 plans and the federal government's Thrift Savings Plans (TSP).

Catch up contributions for 401(k), 403(b), government 457 plans and the federal government's Thrift Savings Plans remain at $7,500 for those age 50 and older.

One significant change that will benefit individuals close to retirement...

Due to SECURE Act 2.0, those participating in the above plans and who are between the ages of 60 - 63 will be allowed a higher catch-up contribution. For 2025, this higher catch-up contribution limit is $11,250 instead of $7,500. Being able to contribute more towards your retirement accounts is beneficial.

The limit for IRA contributions will remain at $7,000. Catch up contributions for those age 50 and older will stay at $1,000.

If you would like to review your retirement contributions or get started on a retirement savings plan, please reach out to us.

09/19/2024

Yesterday the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve, cut short term interest rates by 50 basis points or one half of one percent. This was a widely anticipated move by the Fed, although it was more aggressive than the quarter of a point cut most were expecting.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell had positive things to say about the economy and inflation. Powell stated the risk between inflation and unemployment was “roughly in balance”, with inflation moderating and unemployment at historic lows.

However, the Federal Reserve’s actions did not match their optimistic language. In their Summary of Economic Projections, the Federal Reserve now sees unemployment rising to 4.4% by the end of the year and remaining there in 2025. This is up 0.2% from where we are today (4.2%). Therefore, the Federal Reserve believed the larger rate cut was necessary to prevent even higher rates of unemployment going forward. In addition, the Federal Reserve anticipates two more rate cuts this year and four cuts in 2025. Clearly, rising unemployment and preventing a recession is now the focus of the Federal Reserve.

This created sizable fluctuation in the markets yesterday which may continue in the future. If you have any questions or concerns on how the Federal Reserve’s actions may affect your investments, please reach out to us. We are here to help.

08/09/2024

With only a few days left before the closing ceremony for the Paris Olympics, the United States has a commanding lead in the medal race. Currently, the U.S. team has won a total of 103 medals with 30 of them gold. However, the International Olympic Committee ranks countries based on the most gold medals. In this ranking, the U.S. is tied with China, both having won 30 gold medals.

Cleary, this has been an exciting Olympics. While participating as an Olympian is an extraordinary achievement in and of itself, of course winning a gold medal is the goal. Here are interesting facts about winning an Olympic medal.

•The gold medal does contain real gold, but only about 6 grams.
A gold medal is primarily made of silver, but the Paris medals also contain a piece of The Eifel Tower in them.
•For some athletes winning gold also brings a substantial amount of real gold. For every gold medal a Hong Kong athlete wins, their government pays them $780,000! The host country, France, upped their payment to $80,000 for these games.
•The United States cash award to gold medal winners is $38,000. Although athletes can earn multiple times that amount in endorsements.
•The powerhouse country of these games has been Australia. Currently, they have won 46 medals or about one medal for each 570,000 citizens of their country. In contrast, the United States’ 103 medals is about one for each 3,500,000 Americans.

Lastly, over 50 countries or territories’ have never won an Olympic medal. Most notably, Monaco has participated in the Olympics for over a century and still seeks its first medal of any kind.

At Griffin Financial Advisors we believe in the Olympic spirit of performing at the highest level for our clients. Our dedication to success can have you reach your goals and stand at the top of the podium. Contact us about working together so you can win your gold medal.

06/21/2024

Prior to the market crash of 1929, Joseph P. Kennedy sold his substantial investment portfolio of stocks. This turned out to be a wise move on his part, in essence, saving his fortune. When asked what he saw in the markets that caused him to sell, he stated, “I knew it was time to sell when my 'shoeshine boy' gave me a stock tip.” Clearly, the stock market had become more of a gamble.

The same can be said today of many tech stocks. Recently, a relative stated her coworkers were discussing with each other how much artificial intelligence (AI) stocks they owned. While these were other professionals and not “shoeshine boys”, it does beg the question, are these stocks becoming overvalued?

Call it irrational exuberance, greed, or fear of missing out, people will buy stocks at the wrong time. Investors will get caught up in the euphoria as they see certain stocks continuously climb in value. This herd mentality causes excessive buying, pushing the share price ever higher. It can be disastrous, when the buying stops.

A good investment advisor will help you evaluate the value of your stock investments and provide appropriate recommendations. We can help prevent in what we call “buy high and hope a fool buys higher.” And like Joseph Kennedy, avoid misfortune.

06/14/2024

Majority of U.S. GDP growth is driven by consumer spending. Individuals love spending money. Individuals even choose to spend money they don't have. What we mean by that is individuals borrow money to purchase what they ...

06/07/2024

One common misconception among individuals saving for retirement is that you cannot contribute to a Traditional IRA or Roth IRA if you participate in your employer’s plan (401(k), 403(b) etc). This is simply not true. Yo...

03/22/2024

Reinvestment rate risk should be top of mind after the Federal Reserve reiterated their guidance of three interest rate cuts by the end of 2024. A few quotes from the attached WSJ article to consider.

Regarding cash equivalent investments:

"Most consumers look at the rate first and the term second, but the term will be more important, particularly if the central bank cuts rates later this year."

"When the Fed does cut rates, high-yield savings rates could fall first since they change monthly, followed by Treasury bills and CDs that are bought over periods of time."

Cash has been a hot investment since the Fed started raising rates, but the landscape is changing as the central bank considers cutting.

11/23/2023

11/17/2023

Do you know what your savings rate is?

A savings rate measures the percentage of income a client is saving towards a retirement goal. If a client begins saving for retirement between the age of 25-25, there is a need to save about 10 to 13 percent of annual gross income. As an individual gets older, this should increase. If you delay saving until you are much older, you should assume a much higher saving rate to overcome the lost years of contributions and compounded interest.

Here are some guidelines to gauge where you fall with your savings rate:

Age 25-35 should save between 10 – 13% of your annual gross pay
Age 35-45 should save between 13 – 20% of your annual gross pay
Age 45-55 should save between 20 – 40% of your annual gross pay

The savings rate formula is listed below:

Savings Rate = Savings + Employer Match / Gross Pay

It is never too late to kick start your savings to fund your long-term retirement goals. If you participate in your employer’s sponsored 401(k), 403(b) or 457 plan, make sure you are contributing enough to take advantage of the full match program. Other ways to save for retirement can include a traditional or Roth IRA. Please reach out if you would like us to calculate your savings rate and help you get on track towards retirement.

11/07/2023

Many of the largest tech stocks have been grouped together and given the following acronyms: FANG, FAANG, or FAANG+. These represent the following companies: Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, and Google. However, the companies that make up these acronyms have evolved based on a number of factors. For example, FAANG once included Netflix but now includes Nvidia instead. The most recent name for the seven largest tech giants has been the “Magnificent Seven'', referring to the famous western movie of the same name.

The magnificent seven consist of: Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla. These stocks have garnered a lot of attention. All of these stocks are part of the S&P 500 and have been driving solid returns in the market, justifying the word magnificent. However, if you were to look under the hood of the total S&P 500, the remaining 493 stocks do not paint the same rosy picture.

An investor can have a fairly good understanding of the value of stocks by checking the underlying price/earnings (P/E) ratio. In essence, it is a way to determine if a stock is expensive or cheap. But it is important to remember, a P/E ratio is just one method to gauge value. Over the last 25 years, the S&P 500’s average P/E ratio was between 16-17x. This is our baseline. For 2023, the FAANG+ stocks have a P/E over 27x and have appreciated over 50% YTD. The current S&P 500 P/E reading is about 18.03x as of November 6, 2023. Through yesterday, the S&P 500 was up ~14% year-to-date. As you can see, the FAANG+ stocks have performed significantly higher than the S&P 500 year-to-date.

Now, if you exclude the FAANG+ stocks from the S&P 500, the valuation (P/E ratio) drops. Removing the FAANG+ from the calculations lowers the S&P’s return and moves the P/E valuation below historical averages. Furthermore, without the FAANG+ stocks, the S&P has had a flat return for the year. Inclusive of the FAANG+ stocks, the S&P 500 has a double digit return and a P/E ratio slightly above the long-term average.

It is important to not rely on an index to build a portfolio. As in this example, a small number of stocks can determine whether a portfolio is positive, negative or flat. As an investor, do you think FAANG+ will continue to outperform or will the remaining stocks in the S&P 500 catch-up? Where will value come next?