It probably doesn’t show up on your calendar, but May is Disability Insurance Awareness Month. And you might agree that such a month is useful, when you consider the following:

Here’s a sobering statistic: 46 percent of workers surveyed had little or no confidence that they will have enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement years, according to the 2010 Retirement Confidence Survey, issued by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. So you may want to explore all possible retirement savings vehicles —including a variable annuity.

You’re probably accustomed to measuring the progress of your investments, and the overall condition of the investment world, by checking on indexes such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500. And since these types of benchmarks focus almost exclusively on American companies, you might get the idea that the best investments are located right here in the United States. But that impression would be false — because there is, literally, a world of investment opportunities beyond the U.S. borders.

For the fifth time in as many studies conducted, Edward Jones financial advisors rate the firm “Highest in Employee Advisor Satisfaction among Financial Investment Firms,” according to a newly released study by J.D. Power and Associates.

Life is full of ups and downs — and the financial markets are no different. As an investor, you’re no doubt happy to see the “ups” — but the “downs” can seem like a real downer. Isn’t there any way to help smooth out the volatility in your investment portfolio?

If you own a business, you may well follow a “do it now” philosophy — which is, of course, necessary to keep things running smoothly. Still, you also need to think about tomorrow — which means you’ll want to take action on your own retirement and business succession plans.

For the first time since 2008, contribution limits have risen for one of the most popular retirement savings vehicles available: the IRA. This means you’ve got a greater opportunity to put more money away for your “golden years.”

Joseph Ortiz, Ahwatukee financial advisor with Edward Jones, invites the community to join him for monthly workshops on timely economic issues or concerns. Ortiz said he will be bringing in certain guest speakers throughout the year to speak about issues relating to engineering, manufacturing, housing and the auto industry.

In an uncertain economy, it’s natural for people to “tighten their belts” by cutting down on their spending. And yet by having too much cash on hand today, you could actually slow your progress toward your financial goals of tomorrow.

As you know, the U.S. Congress has adopted some measures to help avoid the much-feared “fiscal cliff.” At this point, important spending decisions have been put off, but new tax laws are in place — and, as an investor, you’ll want to know just how this legislation will affect you.

In the past, many people stayed at one job, or at least one company, for almost their entire working lives. When they retired, they could typically count on a pension, the value of which was based on their years of service and earnings. But today, workers can expect to hold several different jobs in their lifetime, and to a great extent, pensions have been replaced by 401(k) plans, which place much of the funding responsibility on employees. So, assuming you will change jobs at some point, and you do have a 401(k), what should you do with it?

Please join us in welcoming our newest chamber members:

Given the economic climate we’re in, you may one day be faced with a downsizing or otherwise forced to retire earlier than you had planned. But even if that happens, you can still maintain control of your financial future — if you make the right moves.

Almost everyone would agree: Moving is a hassle. In addition to selling your current home and finding a new one, you may need to deal with a new school for your kids, a new doctor, a new dentist — the list goes on and on.

On Jan. 22, Priest Willis slipped on a pair of powder blue football gloves, aligned his hands in the sign of a “U” and confirmed to the college football world what everyone long suspected: He was verbally committing to UCLA.

The Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce thanked influential mentors, volunteers and businesses during its 14th Annual Chamber Day of Champions awards breakfast Friday morning.

Among the reasons you work hard all your life may be so you can leave something to your children, grandchildren or other family members. So, naturally, you’d like to make it as easy as possible for your heirs to take possession of those assets you want them to have. And that’s why you may want to consider establishing a Transfer on Death (TOD) agreement on certain accounts.

In Europe, the financial crisis drags on. China’s economic growth has slowed from “wow” to “ho-hum.” Here at home, we’ve seen heated political debates over taxes, spending and deficit reduction. Taken together, these factors have created a “fog of uncertainty” that has left many investors in the dark about their next moves. But is this “fog” really impenetrable — or can you, as an individual investor, see through it to a place of clarity?

In Europe, the financial crisis drags on. China’s economic growth has slowed from “wow” to “ho-hum.” Here at home, we’ve seen heated political debates over taxes, spending and deficit reduction. Taken together, these factors have created a “fog of uncertainty” that has left many investors in the dark about their next moves. But is this “fog” really impenetrable — or can you, as an individual investor, see through it to a place of clarity?

The Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce will host the 14th Annual Chamber Day of Champions Breakfast on Friday, Feb. 8 and honor local businesses, volunteers and educators who have made an impact on the community.

Groundhog Day is almost here. For most of its history — which, according to some reports, dates back to the first celebration in 1886 or 1887 in Punxsutawney, Pa. — Groundhog Day held little significance for most Americans. But that changed in 1993 with the release of the movie “Groundhog Day,” in which a semi-embittered meteorologist, played by Bill Murray, is forced to re-live the same day over and over again. He repeatedly makes poor choices, until he finally learns from his mistakes and is granted the ability to move on with his life. Since the movie came out, the term “Groundhog Day” is often used to refer to a situation in which someone repeats the same mistakes. It’s a phenomenon that happens in many walks of life — including investing.

Joseph Ortiz of Edward Jones

Investors sometimes may get frustrated with their investments because those investments don’t seem to produce quick results. Perhaps that’s understandable in our fast-paced society, in which we’ve grown accustomed to instant gratification. But investing is, by nature, a long-term activity. If you look at it in terms of an athletic event, it’s not a sprint, in which you must pull out all the stops to quickly get where you’re going. Instead, it’s more like the 26.2-mile race known as a marathon.