Mark Mayfield, CFP - PFA, LLC. Ramsey SmartVestor

09/07/2026

A long weekend gives us space to step back from work and reflect on the life we are building.

We honor the work our clients have done to build what they have. And we help make sure it actually serves their lives.

🗽 Wishing you and your family a meaningful Labor Day weekend.

09/04/2026

Markets pushed higher in August as AI-driven optimism helped investors look past softer economic data. The S&P 500 gained 2.62% and the S&P/TSX Composite rose 2.96%, even as softening retail sales kept consumer spending in focus. Back-to-school season adds another data point to that story, with spending expected to reach \$146.8 billion in the U.S. and \$4.5 billion in Canada this year.

Monthly Market Insights | September 2026 U.S. and Canadian Markets Renewed enthusiasm for AI pushed stocks higher in August as investors looked past mixed economic signals. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 2.62 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 3.93 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial...

09/02/2026

56% of IPOs bought at offer price lost money after 3 years. Initial pops can be misleading. Institutional investors get in early, while others buy post-pop. Research by Prof. Jay R. Ritter highlights these risks. Align portfolios with goals and risk tolerance. Past performance isn't a future guarantee.

08/27/2026

Timing matters in retirement. Sequence-of-returns risk means early market downturns can harm more. Plan income sources, reserves, withdrawals, and rebalancing. Be prepared, not predictive.

08/26/2026

By 2030, women are expected to control nearly two-thirds of private wealth in the United States, representing roughly $30 trillion, according to a landmark 2020 study by McKinsey & Co.

That shift is already underway.

More women than men now graduate from college. Women-owned businesses generate more than $2.7 trillion in annual revenue.

And because women statistically live longer than men, many also manage the final, and often most complex, chapter of a family’s financial life.

The numbers tell an important story:

🔸 Women make or influence a growing share of household financial decisions.

🔸 Yet many still report feeling less confident, less heard, and less well served by traditional financial preparation.

🔸 That gap isn’t about ability. It is about whether the guidance, questions, and process reflect the realities of modern wealth.

Today is Women’s Equality Day.

A financial strategy should reflect the life being built and the goals that matter most for women and men alike: family dynamics, longevity, business ownership, caregiving, legacy, and the financial decisions that shape what is possible.

Does yours?

08/21/2026

As today is National Senior Citizens Day, we wanted to draw attention to something that can sometimes fall through the cracks: the Medicare Part B late enrollment penalty.

Most don’t know that if you miss your Initial Enrollment Period (the 7-month window around your 65th birthday), Medicare tacks on a 10 percent surcharge to your monthly premium for every 12 months you delay enrollment.

No cap. No expiration date.

Delay two years, pay 20 percent more. Delay by five years, you pay 50 percent. Every month. For life.

How to manage it?

You are only exempt from this penalty if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP).

This usually means you delayed signing up because you (or your spouse) were still actively working and had "creditable" health insurance through that active employer.

If you’re concerned, ask your financial professional where to find the most up-to-date Medicare information.

08/14/2026

Some professionals assume their financial strategy is in better shape than it is. Not because they're careless. Because they're busy.

Today is National Financial Awareness Day. Four questions worth sitting with:

▸ If something happened to you tomorrow, would your family know what you have, where it is, and what to do?

▸ Are you on track to replace your income in retirement, or are you assuming you will be?

▸ Has your financial strategy changed as much as your life has in the last 12 months?

▸ If markets dropped tomorrow, do you have written goals or a general sense of what you'd do?

You don't have to answer all four today. But if one made you pause, that's the one worth paying attention to.

08/13/2026

There's a difference between leaving money to your family and giving it to them.

One happens after you're gone. The other lets you see the impact.

The annual gift exclusion is one straightforward way to do the latter.

For 2026, the IRS says that each person can give up to $19,000 per recipient, free of gift tax. A married couple can combine up to $38,000 per recipient, with no gift tax return required and no reduction to the lifetime exemption.

For example, a couple with two adult children and four grandchildren can transfer up to $228,000 this year under the current rules.

Done consistently, annual gifting can help manage a taxable estate while putting money to work for the people you care about, now.

🎁 If you haven't reviewed your gifting strategy for 2026, there's still time. The window closes on December 31.

08/13/2026

To all the students heading back to school, have a fantastic year filled with learning and laughter! 🎓

For fun, we wanted to share where the PFA team graduated from high school.

Some have been out of High School longer than others......

08/07/2026

Markets navigated mixed signals in July. Inflation eased, tech faced pressure, and energy surged. Meanwhile, Americans are planning record travel spending in 2026: \$1.37 trillion. What's shaping your household budget this summer?

Monthly Market Insights | August 2026 U.S. and Canadian Markets Stocks were mixed in July as investors navigated a cross-current of news on the outlook for AI spending and Q2 corporate reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average led, adding 0.32 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index edged down 0....