Current Events
2022 Annual Review – Everything Will Be Okay
Ouch. Let me be the first to admit I thought we had another six months to a year before the markets woke up from their years-long drunken (on easy money) binge. After all, 2022 began the year with a strong labor market, easy money and record low interest rates, and Elon Musk still wealthy (I…
Read MorePredictions, Money and Mattresses
I don’t usually make short-term market guesses – my crystal ball has been in the shop for almost 20 years; at this point I can’t remember if it was cracked or just fogged. I believe in the power of long-term markets, good diversification and poor performance as a result of short-term market prognosticating.
Read MoreRemembering the Good Times
It’s often said that the market takes the escalator up and the elevator down. For concrete evidence, simply look at the performance of the indexes the past few weeks. A close look at the headlines or nightly news (caution: this may be bad for your health and is proven to be bad for your portfolios) and you may think it’s only a matter of time before the indexes hit an all time low! And no, that’s not really a thing!
Read MoreDealing With Fluctuating Markets: Q3 2021 Quarterly Market Review
Whether you’re a long-time investor or you’re new to the market, fluctuations – and losses – can feel jarring. In fact, we know from research that losses are significantly more painful than gains of a similar size are rewarding. Yet successful investors continue to invest because they know that over long periods of time, investing…
Read MoreYou Only Live Once: 2021 Q1 Quarterly Market Review
You only live once! Social media investors have banded together on unconventional platforms to drive up the prices of a handful of “meme stocks,” seemingly without traditional evaluation of investing risks and rewards. They made headlines with their “short squeeze” of GameStop (GME), and, as they garner media attention, their tactics continue. While it’s not…
Read More2020…A Decade to Remember
Living through 2020 felt like living through an entire decade. I’ll leave it to you to decide which decade you’d like to relive, but I’m going for the 1960s – though maybe skimming a few years from the late 60s and adding them to the late 50s.
Read MoreThe Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021…In Under 5500 Pages!
Does the excitement of the new Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 keep you awake at night? If so, you can find all 5,593 pages here on Congress’s website and I’m confident your insomnia will be cured by page 3. Like most of you, I skipped most of the tiny print of the bill in favor…
Read More2Q2020 Newsletter – Why Are Markets So High?
The markets will continue to be choppy in the coming months, due to the Coronavirus and upcoming elections. Don’t let that derail your long-term investment goals.
Read MoreCARES Act – What You Need to Know
Last week the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), an economic stimulus package worth approximately $2 trillion.
Read MoreVolatility 2.0
An investor’s inclination to sell or buy is strongly inversely correlated to the proper time to do so. If your investment objectives and time horizon have not changed (other than being one day older), studies have consistently shown that your best course of action, difficult as it may be, is to remain invested.
Read MoreA Note On Market Volatility
Surprise! Stock markets can be volatile. Ask your fee-only financial advisor to help you remain disciplined.
Read More5 SECURE Act Changes…and How You May be Affected
In December of 2019, under the cover of darkness and impeachment hearings, some of the most significant tax legislation of the past 20 years passed in unusual bipartisan fashion: the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, or SECURE act. The name- which undoubtedly took weeks of debate to come up with and agree upon, speaks to the purpose, though not the entirety or sweeping nature of the act; a rare legislative accomplishment for an otherwise gridlocked Washington. While the act addresses a number of retirement chads left hanging after the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017, it also makes changes to 529 plans, medical expense deductions, kiddie taxes and more. The focus of the plan is clear, however, in its attempt to modernize and streamline retirement savings for Americans.
Read More2019…A Year to Remember
As is often the case following a negative year, (the US Markets lost over 5% in 2018), 2019 was (globally) a banner year with total US Market returns over 30%, International markets over 20% and even the US and Global Bond market’s joining in the celebration with returns of over 8.5% and 7.5% respectively. In fact, US Stocks were THE place to be in 2019; they were the tickets to Hamilton, U2 and BTS (Boomers, find the nearest Millennial and ask them) wrapped up into one beautiful gift basket!
Read MoreWhen Batting .700 Isn’t Good Enough…
You’re smarter than the average investor, right? You’ve done the research and despite hearing how difficult it is to predict the market’s direction over a specified period of time, you’re confident you know better than the CFAs, Ph.Ds and Quant’s building the algorithms on Wall Street. You even understand that, by definition, if the stock market…
Read MoreRiding High… 2Q2019 Review
The sky is falling mentality has just pushed the stock market to record highs. That the housing market is slowing, wages are stagnant-or negative in real terms, and you can get a higher return investing your money in 3-month government debt than 10 year debt (yield curve inversion) doesn’t seem to matter and the markets…
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