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U.S. stocks rallied on the week but still couldn’t close above their May 7th all‐time high. The S&P 500 gained + 0.6%, but the small cap Russell 2000 led for the second straight week with an advance of +0.8%.

Heavyweight bout. Much of May was a battle between rising inflation fears and growing optimism from the U.S. economic recovery. Overall, though, the data points to an economy, and corporate earnings picture, that remains in an upswing.

Stocks rallied during the week to close within 1% of their all‐time high. The S&P 500 gained +1%, but small cap Russell 2000 and tech‐heavy Nasdaq led with gains of + 2.4% and +2.1% respectively.

Here’s a recent conversation that may help shed some light on selecting persons at your organization to serve on your retirement plan oversight committee

Another late week rally was not enough to undo an early week pullback in choppy trading that was reminiscent of last week. In the end the S&P 500 slipped ‐0.4% for its first back‐to‐back weekly decline since February.

A big stock rally on Friday couldn’t reverse the losses incurred Monday through Wednesday. The Cboe VIX Volatility Index surged past 28 on Wednesday before falling back under 19 on Friday as the market rebounded.

Much of the talk about financial security tends to focus on long-term investing and accumulating sufficient wealth to retire comfortably.

Friday night heights returned as the S&P 500 and Dow closed the week at all‐time highs. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) fell from 18.6 last week to end Friday at 16.7.

Vaccinations help economy bloom. Nearly 250 million vaccinations have been administered in the U.S. marking 43% of the U.S. population with at least one vaccine dose. Meanwhile, new U.S COVID‐19 cases are down 80% from their peak in January.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a helpful, practical, and very detailed set of guidance aimed at the many cybersecurity risks present in today’s retirement plan industry.