News & Insights

The S&P 500’s total return for 2025 is currently around 17%, following 25% in 2024 and 27% in 2023. Especially with all this AI bubble-talk, it does not feel like a stretch to suggest these returns are unlikely to last. So why not sell now and “lock in” these gains? The investor Peter Lynch provides […]

This week’s release of employment data revealed a tepid labor market. Nonfarm payrolls declined approximately 40,000 over the past two months and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.6% with both results softer than expected. Investors and policymakers alike will continue to keep a keen eye on future releases for clues as to the nation’s […]

Every year, the Investment Committee at H+D spends hundreds of hours reading about a wide range of topics, everything from the impact of tariffs on economic growth to the rising price of random-access memory (RAM). This is, without a doubt, what keeps our work interesting and, hopefully, useful. Listed below are several data points that […]

The recent $7.5 billion IPO of South Burlington’s own Beta Technologies intrigued many of our clients at Hanson + Doremus, particularly those in Vermont, a state which rarely generates new sizable public companies. While the hype and excitement surrounding IPOs have been a staple of both the financial and general media since the dotcom boom, […]

Big changes are coming to the Medicare Advantage marketplace, and if you’re over 65, it’s worth paying attention to the notices you may be receiving in the mail. The last thing anyone wants is a surprise coverage gap. Let’s start with the basics. Medicare covers people 65 and older. Part A handles hospital stays and […]

The first flakes of the season just fell outside our office window — the kind that sticks to the trees and reminds you that winter is officially here. As the cold settles in, the familiar office banter begins: “Have you turned on your heat yet?” For many, this comment is half joke, half challenge. But […]

The financial press often uses the term “innovation” in vastly different ways. Many financial innovations, such as mortgage-backed securities, are simply new methods to monetize other products, creating fees and often problems in their wake. Innovations can also encompass more useful products. Thomas Edison’s lab tested thousands of filament designs before finding the one best […]

As cooler fall weather settles in and the final quarter of the year begins, many of us feel a renewed sense of focus. That “back-to-school” energy often extends beyond closets and calendars — it’s also the perfect time to revisit your financial to-do list. At Hanson + Doremus, we view this season as an opportunity […]

We are all watching the fighting in Ukraine and the Middle East in real time today. Both are certainly serious but neither involve a direct confrontation between the world’s biggest powers, China and the U.S. The Taiwan issue, however, does. We would not be surprised if this resurfaces as a major flashpoint sometime during the […]

Today’s investment headlines are chock full of articles debating whether a bubble is brewing in AI-related technology shares. Investor concerns on this issue are well-founded. According to JP Morgan, AI-related stocks have accounted for 75% of S&P 500 returns, 80% of earnings growth and 90% of capital spending growth since ChatGPT was first launched back […]

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recently awarded the Nobel Prize to three economists for explaining how technological advances drive lasting economic growth. Joel Mokyr won for identifying “the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress,” while Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt won jointly “for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction.” It may […]