Risky Business
After a pretty robust recovery in 2009 and 2010, the stock market took a dive in the last two months. The talk of a “double-dip recession” is reaching a fever pitch.
Fear Returns to the Market – Good for Investors?
First quarter stock market gains were erased during May and June leaving values well below the high water mark reached in the fall of 2007. As the chart shows, large-cap stocks (S&P 500) have lost nearly 10% annually over the past three years.
Market Analysis
Financial markets continued their winning ways in the first quarter of 2010 marking four consecutive quarters of positive stock market returns. The chart at right shows the impressive performance of small company stocks during the past three months and the fact that all major asset classes had positive returns.
Is it Time to Convert Your Traditional IRA?
Individuals are permitted to convert their Traditional IRAs (“TIRA”) to Roth IRAs if they meet current income limitations set by the IRS. In 2010 the income limits are removed allowing anyone to convert. I set out to examine when OR if a client should convert their traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.
Control the Controllable, Ignore the Rest
Like most things in life, the simple approach to doing something almost always tends to be the best. This theory holds true when it comes to investing and is one of the cornerstones behind our investment philosophy. “Gross return in the financial markets, minus the cost of financial intermediation, equals the net return actually delivered […]
Market Commentary
The Year Was Good, But Not Remarkable By Historical Standards The history books will show that 2009 was above average but an unremarkable year for stock market performance. The S&P 500 returns exceeded 26% for the calendar year, which barely qualifies as top-quartile performance as 19 of the previous 80 calendar year periods saw higher […]
A Look at the Future
As we venture into 2010 and beyond, I would like to share some information about our firm, Rockbridge Investment Management. We have a clear vision for why we exist as a firm. While our vision guides what we do on a daily basis, it is important to know where we stand today and set goals […]
Where to Invest in 2010
After the recent and extreme turmoil we have experienced in the financial markets, it seems like in every newspaper or magazine you can find an article about where to invest in 2010. So, where do you put your retirement nest egg and what do you believe?
Returns from Various Markets
The following table shows the returns from various markets over periods ending December 31, 2009: