Daily Commentary

MarketMinder’s View: As noted here: “Thirty-nine states now require a personal-finance course to graduate high school, with four adding the mandate since 2024. ... In a world of limited resources, state education departments are giving priority to the practical over the conceptual.” State mandates aside, in our experience, there is nothing like practical necessity to motivate minds (of any age). People of all backgrounds face innumerable financial decisions throughout their lives, so the earlier you learn how to navigate them, the better off you will likely be in the long run. For example, “People who had received mandatory financial education in high school were significantly more likely to make advantageous financial decisions during the pandemic compared to those who hadn’t, according to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That included paying down high-cost credit-card debt or refinancing mortgages to lower rates.” So we welcome increased interest (no pun intended!) in personal finance matters. Of course, more attendance doesn’t ensure financial success. Curriculum quality—and its real-world application—matter, too. Which brings us to one topic we saw conspicuously missing from the article’s discussion: investing. While college planning and expenses, loan affordability, credit scores and budgeting all received some attention—and are important to consider—we saw investing mentioned only twice in passing (one in a caption) on potential topics covered by personal finance classes. Speaking as a wealth manager, we may be biased, but if you want to learn the most reliable route to riches, we think focusing on investment principles is the way to go! For more, please see Ken Liu’s column, “Personal Finance: It Isn’t an Elective Anymore.”

MarketMinder’s View: This in-depth dive starts with an inspiring DIY radio station—by and for boomers—as an entry into the evolving nature of retirements as lifespans lengthen. “The idea of putting workers out to pasture at age 65 has been the norm for more than a century. It’s also profoundly outdated, says Haleh Nazeri, head of the Longevity Economy Initiative at the World Economic Forum. In the late 1800s, when Germany was developing one of the world’s first social security plans, it set the retirement age at 70, later lowering it to 65. At the time, life expectancy in Germany was around 43 years; very few people needed to use the funds. Today, life expectancy in the UK is around 80 years old. The same is true in the US, where about 90% of workers will collect Social Security.” With longer lives comes longevity risk (outliving your savings), and as this article shows, many folks have decided to continue to work to support themselves. Now, we understand “working more” may not be everyone’s desired retirement outcome, but the anecdotes and data here highlight another important point: Income isn’t necessarily the top reason most seniors want to work—purpose is, which allows them to stay active and connected. Many employers, meanwhile, are accommodating (please note MarketMinder doesn’t make individual security recommendations; specific firms mentioned are incidental to the broader point). “Companies are starting to rethink how to handle older workers, many out of necessity. CVS Health developed a program that recruits people over 50 for pharmacy positions, which have been difficult to fill in the US, and Amazon.com and Goldman Sachs both have ‘returnships’, which recruit and train those who’ve been out of the workforce for a significant stretch. (Many return to senior roles.)” Increasingly, work—and life—no longer end at 65. For those in or near retirement, we think it is worth exploring all your options to find which one suits you best.

MarketMinder’s View: The Trump administration is pressing the World Trade Organization (WTO) to make permanent a global deal that prevents nations from slapping tariffs on the trillions of dollars’ worth of digital services delivered annually via the Internet instead of simply extending forward two-year bans that have rolled over since 1998. We think this would be a positive step, granting firms more clarity around the lay of the land—especially in light of uncertainty surrounding trade and tariffs on goods that has swirled over the past 12 months. Now, that very uncertainty stems from the US, making the administration’s position here a little awkward and leading some analysts to expect another temporary extension. It is possible, as this notes, that the WTO will elect to prolong the agreement for four years versus two in a compromise. But no one expects the deal to end following the late March meeting—it is more whether it will be rolled over, extended for longer or made permanent. Regardless of which is chosen, though, we doubt the market effects are giant. These rollovers have been a virtual rubber stamp for almost 30 years. We will keep an eyeball on it but doubt huge news comes from it.