Market commentary – april 2018
Stock Markets Returns from various stock market indices over several periods ending March 31, 2018 are shown to the right. Here are a few highlights: While not observed in these graphs, volatility seems to have come back, which is normally how stock markets work. Except for emerging markets, stocks were down over the past quarter […]
The value of a financial plan
It’s common for investors to feel nervous when looking at investments by themselves. Are you saving enough? Are you saving in the right place? Are you holding the right mix of investments? Should you own individual stocks or funds? Are you paying too much in fees? What are you actually paying in fees? For the […]
Tuning out the noise
The markets have seen several ups and downs over the years, but remember – Volatility is normal. At Rockbridge, we believe financial advisors play a vital role in helping you understand what you can control while providing expertise, perspective and encouragement to keep you focused on your long-term goal. We are here to help you […]
Sorting through the market shifts
Yesterday evening, Rockbridge’s own Ethan Gilbert, CFA was featured on our local Spectrum news network. Check out the interview below where Ethan discusses the recent market shifts, how these swings can affect your retirement accounts, and how to protect your accounts from this volatility. Click here to learn more about Ethan!
When investing, don’t think about the patriots
This past weekend, the New England Patriots did it again. Down 10 in the 4th, star quarterback Tom Brady orchestrated two scoring drives to pull off another comeback victory. In two weekends, the Pats will try to win their 3rd Super Bowl in 4 years – headlining a host of impressive statistics dating back to […]
Market commentary – january 2018
Stock Markets Returns from various stock market indices over several periods ending December 31, 2017 are shown below. The past quarter was good for stocks – REITs lagged. Over the past year, returns from stock indices, especially emerging markets, were well above longer- term averages. Over longer periods, domestic market indices were well above those […]
Ten best financial practices to jump-start your new year
Happy New Year! Now that 2017 is a wrap, one of the best presents you can bestow on yourself and your loved ones is the gift of proper preparation for the rest of the year. Want to get a jump-start on it? Here are 10 financial best practices to energize your wealth management efforts. […]
The ABC’s of behavioral biases: S-Z
We’re coming in for a landing on our alphabetic run-down of behavioral biases. Today, we’ll present the final line-up: sunk cost fallacy and tracking error regret. SUNK COST FALLACY What is it? Sunk cost fallacy makes it harder for us to lose something when we also face losing the time, energy or money we’ve already […]
The ABCs of behavioral biases: O-R
So many financial behavioral biases, so little time! Today, let’s take a few minutes to cover our next batch of biases: overconfidence, pattern recognition and recency. OVERCONFIDENCE What is it? No sooner do we recover from one debilitating bias, our brain can whipsaw us in an equal but opposite direction. For example, we’ve already seen […]
Cryptocurrency: What’s it all about?
Have you caught cryptocurrency fever, or are you at least wondering what it’s all about? Odds are, you hadn’t even heard the term until recently. Now, it seems as if everybody and their cousin are getting in on it. Psychologists have assigned a term to the angst you might be feeling in the heat of […]