Life events to consider – getting married
Congratulations! You are officially married and get to enjoy all the financial benefits that come along with it. After you’ve had some time to relax after the big day, be sure to consider the following. Beneficiary Designations – Update beneficiary designations on any life insurance, retirement accounts, etc., to name your spouse as primary beneficiary. […]
Market commentary – july 2019
Stocks for this quarter maintained the above-average trend in the year-to-date numbers. The primary market drivers are the Fed activities and the status of tariff discussions with China and Mexico. As the prospects for reduced interest rates and resolution of the tariff negotiations wax and wane, stocks move up and down. The graph below shows […]
Tax diversification of accounts in retirement
For nearly all investors, the importance of asset allocation and security diversification cannot be overlooked. Diversification can mean different things to investors, but the concept is pretty well understood – hold several different types of investments and you will be better served than those who are concentrated in one stock or in one narrow investment […]
SEC ruling on the broker-dealer standard of conduct
The financial crisis of 2008 put the financial services industry under significant scrutiny. While the biggest headline grabbers were overleveraged investment banks and practices around mortgage origination, retail investment services also underwent additional regulatory oversight. Specifically, Section 913 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act directed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) […]
Not all target date funds are equal
Target date funds have become some of the most common investments in America. Not coincidentally, their rise in prevalence has coincided with 401(k)s gaining in popularity. We have seen it here locally; many of the largest employers in Syracuse (Syracuse University, Carrier, Lockheed Martin, General Electric, Welch Allyn, and Niagara Mohawk/National Grid) had pensions. In […]
Bodexpress at the preakness, hero to this index fund user
If you watched the Preakness Stakes, you and about 90% of all viewers were fixated on the horse named Bodexpress that threw his jockey right out of the gate and ran the entire race without him. It was an amazing feat. That’s right – no jockey steering him and whipping him with a crop around […]
Market commentary – april 2019
Stock Markets Stocks rebounded nicely. Tech stocks (FANGs – Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google) after leading the way down in last year’s fourth quarter (off 22%) led stocks back up (up 23%). A global stock portfolio earned about 12% this quarter and domestic stocks continued in the forefront. Looking past this quarter, non-domestic markets have fallen […]
Where is the value?
It’s no secret that since the Financial Crisis value stocks have underperformed growth stocks. Many theories exist as to why this has happened, none of which can be confirmed as truth. This begs the question “what does this last decade of value underperformance mean?” The answer, truthfully, is that it means nothing. For starters, value […]
The reward of tuning out 11 years of noise
This recent market downturn has many investors drawing parallels to how they felt during the infamous 2008 financial crisis. The last 11 years have been a roller-coaster ride for investors. Right after seeing market highs in late 2007, investors experienced a nearly 50% market decline of the S&P 500 in 2008. In the following 9 […]
2018 Market insights
2018 was a woeful year for investing. All major stock market indexes were down, bonds enjoyed a year-end rally to finish flat, and commodities such as gold and oil fell. Seeing all asset classes drop in unison is unusual and unlikely to continue. Stocks Stocks began the year on solid footing, but fortunes quickly changed […]