Paper checks are going out.  Use of direct deposit and withdrawal is getting stronger. According to a recent WSJ article, the IRS is accelerating a shift that’s been years in the making: moving away from paper checks and toward fully electronic payments.

The first quarter of 2026 began on a strong note. Across equities, fixed income, and alternatives, markets moved higher through the early part of the year. For a time, it appeared that the positive momentum from late 2025 would carry into the new year.

How organized is your financial and business life — really? Most people have investments, a tax preparer, and a plan ... but they’re not working together. Take 60 seconds to see how coordinated your financial life is.

Kids cost a lot. As financial planners, we know the expected average cost that a child can be to a family. As a parent, I know that the actual figure can be much more than that average. In this blog, I will talk about one of the highest costs involved for many parents: college

It’s one of the most common financial questions we hear…and for good reason. With so many rules of thumb floating around, it can be hard to know what actually applies to you. If there were a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow labeled “Retirement,” we’d all just follow the map and call it a day. Unfortunately, building wealth doesn’t work that way...

The markets have been rattled in recent weeks not by earnings reports or interest rate decisions, but by fear — specifically fear of an AI-induced apocalypse. A speculative “doomsday” industry report from Citrini “Research” triggered a sharp sell-off in software and AI-linked stocks last week, wiping out billions in market capitalization almost overnight.

As clients transition from accumulating wealth to living off it, one of the most common questions we hear is “Where should I take money from first?” For many retirees, assets are spread across different account types—after-tax brokerage accounts, traditional IRAs, and Roth IRAs. Each account is taxed differently. The order in which you draw from them can significantly impact your lifetime tax bill, portfolio longevity, Medicare premiums, and even what you leave to heirs

In this week's video blog we're going to be talking about two of the most well known market anomalies. That would be the Santa Claus rally and the January effect. These trends in the market can be referred to as anomalies because the economists widely agree that markets are efficient.

If there’s one team that captures the spirit of the markets in 2025, it’s the Chicago “Monsters of the Midway” Bears

During this holiday season, we would like to thank you for your continued trust and partnership throughout the year. It has been a pleasure working with you, and we are grateful for the opportunity to support your financial goals. We wish you and your loved ones a joyful holiday season and a happy, healthy New Year. We look forward to working with you in the year ahead. Warmest wishes, The DWM Team

Technological change is not new to markets, but the current wave of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation may be one of the most far‑reaching disruptions in decades. In a recent Prof G Markets conversation, economist Justin Wolfers argued that the coming transformation in productivity, jobs, and growth could be larger than most investors appreciate, even as markets focus intensely on a handful of companies becoming the eventual "AI winners."

Few topics spark as much debate today as whether artificial intelligence is driving a true economic transformation or inflating the next market bubble. Valuations have surged, investment in data centers and compute power is exploding, and companies are racing to secure the infrastructure needed to support AI. And yet, AI is also generating real profits and productivity gains—unlike many past tech manias.