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9 ways to easily plant trees without leaving your couch

Heather Leighton
InvestingSave Culture
We've got to plant trees, but how exactly? Here are a few ideas.
We’ve got to plant trees, but how exactly? We’ve got a few ideas for you to consider. Beyond their serene beauty and calming presence, trees play a pivotal role in combating the escalating crisis of climate change. As environmental consciousness takes center stage, the significance of these leafy giants becomes ever more apparent.  According to the USDA, a mature tree can absorb 48 pounds of carbon dioxide in a year, with this remarkable capacity growing to a ton over its lifespan of around 40 years. But it’s not just the individual efforts that count. When united, trees wield extraordinary strength…

The reality of late retirement savings and how to make up for it

Heather Leighton
RetirementInvesting
The reality of late retirement savings and how to make up for it
Retirement savings planning is unique for every person, but for most Americans, their current retirement savings plan just isn’t enough.   The key is to start as soon as possible and maintain saving for retirement, but often people wonder how much they’re on track. Here are a few facts to help with that:  The average American has $65,000 in retirement savings and by their retirement age, that average is estimated to be $255,200, according to the Federal Reserve’s most recent “Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2019” survey.   Nearly half of working-age families have nothing saved in retirement…

Who is Market Trust for and where does it fit in your retirement plan?  

Heather Leighton
RetirementInvesting
Woman leaning on a car parked on a cliff overlooking the ocean while thinking about retirement planning.
Market Trust is redefining retirement planning. In this blog, we break down whether or not Market Trust is for you.    Market Trust helps make up for lost time safely through a conservative investment program that achieves principal protection based on a five-year term4 and a variable APY** of 13.82% using S&P 500 Risk-Controlled Portfolio historical performance.  An APY** that high is tempting for anyone with an ounce of financial knowledge, but is Market Trust the right program for you?   Short answer, Market Trust is for you if you are 55 years old or older, if you’re comfortable with a 5-year…

Introducing Market Trust – a new way to save for retirement 

Heather Leighton
Retirement
Woman in a kitchen researching Market Trust, which combines market-driven yields with principal protection.
Move over IRAs and 401ks, there’s a new retirement product called Market Trust in town. Like other Save products, our newly-launched Market Trust combines market-driven APY** with principal protection when held for the full term.4 Market Trust marks the first time we have made our advisory technology available to retirement-saving customers and advisers.4 Market Trust helps make up for lost time safely through a conservative investment program using S&P 500 Risk-Controlled Portfolio that achieves principal protection based on a five-year term and a variable APY** of 12.48% based on historical performance. But how can Market Trust provide such a high…

Equity markets drive Market Savings returns in 2023 

Samuel Cherkas
Investing
How Save portfolios performed so far in the market in 2023
The average National Deposit Rate in January 2023 was around 0.30% and is now 0.42%, according to the FDIC. In comparison, Save’s S&P 500 Risk-Controlled portfolio has produced annualized returns for a 1-year Market Savings program of 15.9%a,b.    Let’s explain:  The first half of 2023 saw a big equity rally, while bonds and commodities struggled. This is good news for equity-focused portfolios, and mixed news for multi-asset, diversified portfolios (which generate returns from all asset classes).   For a 1-year Market Savings program, the S&P 500 Risk-Controlled portfolio is on course to deliver +15.9%a, b on an annualized basis, with other…

3 simple things I wish I knew before I started investing 

Heather Leighton
Investing
Investing and financial literacy of U.S. adults isn't the best. These investing tips may help.
Ultimately, time in the market, the true meaning of diversification, and knowing how taxes impact your returns are just a few things I wish I had known before I started investing.  Let’s be honest, financial education in America isn’t where it should be. The 2023 TIAA Institute-GFLEX Personal Finance index revealed that 48% of the 28 basic money questions were answered correctly by surveyed Americans.  TIAA has conducted the survey since 2017, and since its induction, this percentage of correct answers has averaged around 50%.  In an S&P Global FinLit Survey on literacy rates around the world, the countries with…

The future of banking can be better for customers and banks 

Heather Leighton
Save CultureSecurity
Two men sailing thinking about banking.
Fintechs like Save are transforming the banking industry, but unique to our “Savetech” is the appeal for both banks and customers.   Banking-as-a-service, known as “BaaS,” has flourished thanks to technological advancements and regulatory changes, and we’re thankful for the BaaS partnerships that we have garnered because it allows us to bring quality banking alternatives to the marketplace.     “The days of going into a bank to open an account are gone thanks to BaaS,” said Michael Nelskyla, Founder and CEO of Save. “Customers can open a Save account entirely on their own within minutes and start earning more on their money.…

Our philosophy on Market Savings fees – you shouldn’t pay fees if you don’t make money 

Heather Leighton
InvestingSecurity
Man in a canoe on a lake thinking about Market Savings fees.
Our Market Savings fee structure is changing the investment world by doing something no other financial advisor is doing: If you don’t make money, we don’t make money.   To put our customers first, we’re on a mission to build financial products that build your wealth. For Market Savings, your portfolio has to earn more than our management fee before we take our fee.   This is how Market Savings management fee breaks down:  If your Save portfolio earns less than 0.35% If your Save portfolio earns exactly 0.35% If your Save portfolio earns more than 0.35% Save charges no fee Save charges no fee You…

How to maximize savings: 5 tips for growing your money

Heather Leighton
FinanceInvesting
You must maximize savings to ensure financial well-being and achieve your long-term financial goals. 
You must maximize savings to ensure financial well-being and achieve your long-term financial goals.  However, maximizing savings requires strategic planning and a proactive approach. The following points are practical tips and tricks (some of which you might not have thought of previously) to help you grow your money effectively.   From budgeting and reducing debt to optimizing savings through various strategies and new products, we will explore actionable steps to help you make the most of your available resources. Managing your finances can sometimes be overwhelming, but starting is the first step in taking control of your finances and setting yourself…

What you need to know before becoming a Save customer

Heather Leighton
Save CultureSecurity
What you need to know before opening a Save account 
When deciding on opening a financial account with any firm, credibility is often of importance. Ultimately, credibility can often be found in trust signals that are linked to government-regulated memberships and a fintech’s partner network, like with Save.    As an SEC-regulated firm, we are required to abide by specific standards to ensure customers can access all of the information they may want to know about our business, but sometimes it’s hard to sort out the most critical information as a customer. To help, we’ve compiled what we think are some of the key pieces of information customers would want to…

How Save referrals can significantly boost your investment returns 

Adina Lazar
Investing
Refer friends and family to Save, and watch your investment returns grow together. 
Save makes savings social. Refer friends and family to Save, and watch your investment returns grow together.  Financial institutions are expected to spend $30.75 billion on digital advertising by the end of this year. The aim of their advertising efforts, like any business, is to generate awareness and get potential clients to open new accounts.  At Save, we’d rather invest our available resources into improving our customers’ investments. This is why we’ve created a referral program that encourages happy customers to introduce friends who could also benefit from higher returns to Save.  Save’s referral program is easy:  1. Simply share…

When banks like SVB fail, what happens to deposits when the FDIC takes over? 

Heather Leighton
Investing
The SVB failure shows how important FDIC insurance is.
As we see with the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank closures, having an FDIC-insured account keeps your deposits safe in the event that a bank fails.  On March 10, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced that Silicon Vally Bank (SVB) was closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. Then, two days later, the FDIC announced Signature Bank was closed, too. To protect depositors, the FDIC took over the banks’ assets.   But what does that actually mean?   In these situations, the protection extended by the FDIC becomes a lifesaver for your money.  The…

How Save investment returns are taxed and the benefits vs a typical savings account

Heather Leighton
Investing
Long-term capital gains make how Market Savings returns are taxed appealing to investors.
Before you read on, please note that The Save Advisory Service does not provide comprehensive financial or tax planning or legal advice, and Clients are advised and afforded the opportunity to seek the advice and counsel of their own advisers. Neither Save Advisers nor any of its affiliates are responsible for determining any Client’s individual tax treatment regarding its Client Account. Furthermore, neither Save Advisers nor any of its affiliates are responsible for any state or federal income tax withholding, except as may otherwise be required by applicable law. Clients should take into consideration the limited nature of the Save…

How to spot a credible fintech in a world with FTX and SBF fiascos 

Heather Leighton
SecurityFinance
We’ll share how you can spot credible fintechs.
With the news of the FTX demise and arrest of their founder Sam Bankman-Fried (known commonly as SBF), it can be difficult to trust new startups and fintechs. But we’ll share how you can spot credible fintechs.   Ultimately, credibility can be found in trust signals that are linked to government-regulated memberships and a fintech’s partner network.   Credibility factor #1: FDIC insurance  You’ve likely seen some fintech companies use this language: “[Company name], nor any of their affiliates is a bank, but we partner with [partner] Bank, Member FDIC.”  This commonly used disclosure aside, language like this provides customers with two…

Our Global Multi-Strategy portfolio launches – a modern approach in partnership with a hedge fund

Samuel Cherkas
Investing
We have launched a new portfolio – the Global Multi-Strategy.
We have launched a new portfolio – the Global Multi-Strategy – which has been built using a cutting-edge quantitative approach that we believe can navigate the uncertain years ahead. The portfolio’s primary aim is to generate returns across market regimes by combining multiple sub-strategies across styles and asset classes. The Global Multi-Strategy portfolio has been designed in partnership with Second Foundation Partners, the publisher of Epsilon Theory and manager of a global macro hedge fund that utilizes their pioneering research. This research focuses on generating market-based returns by making trading decisions using natural language processing (NLP) analysis of financial news. Together, we have…

How to better align your social consciousness with Save’s ESG portfolio

Heather Leighton
InvestingSave Culture
To promote and participate in the restoration of forests, we are underwriting the planting of a tree for select ESG portfolio deposits.
In response to growing expectations that companies must show leadership in ESG, we have expanded our strategy offerings to include the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) portfolio. Assets in global sustainable funds were $2.24 trillion at the end of September, according to Morningstar Direct, and we are meeting this market opportunity with the first ESG-oriented savings program in the banking industry. The newly-launched diversified ESG portfolio comprises iShares “ESG Aware” ETFs, that seek to select and overweight ESG companies and avoid certain non-ESG assets. ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance. These three categories have certain standards for a company…

Portfolio diversification: What is it and why does it matter?

Heather Leighton
InvestingFinance
Portfolio diversification is key.
Portfolio diversification is key. A balanced investment portfolio is made up of a variety of investments that work together to help you achieve your financial goals while reducing risk.  For an individual investor, the more diverse their portfolio, the more protected they are from potential losses arising from market fluctuations. A portfolio that is too concentrated (for example, all invested in stocks) is subject to greater risk than one that spreads investments across different asset classes and geographic regions.   At Save, we utilize quantitative techniques to determine relative asset preferences, carry out risk-based asset allocation, and apply volatility control overlays…
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