Staying the Course and Holding Fast to Your Investment Strategy
From social media feeds to financial news outlets, we’re constantly bombarded with a stream of updates, opinions, and analysis. Access to so much information can be empowering, but can also be overwhelming. How do we know which sources to trust and where should we focus our attention? With inflation making daily headlines, stock market volatility, […]
How Accurate Are Market Predictions?
If you ask 100 different financial “experts” about future stock market performance, you’ll get 100 different opinions. Most will be wrong, but some, by sheer luck, will be correct (luck is often confused for skill). Investors often rely on expert opinions on what to do with their investments, especially in volatile markets like we are […]
Bear Markets – What do they mean for investors in the long-term?
The most commonly accepted definition of a bear market is a 20% decline in value from the last market high. The S&P 500 has crept into bear market territory on and off so far in 2022, and it’s impossible to know for certain when things are going to turn around. However, when dealing with times […]
Six Ways a Recession Resembles a Bad Mood
There’s been a lot of talk about recessions lately: Whether one is near, far, or perhaps already here. Whether we can or should try to avoid it. What it even means to be in a recession, and how it’s related to current market turmoil. To put market and recessionary concerns in perspective, it might help […]
Ignore the Headlines
Recent headlines have been dramatic as “Inflation Soars to Highest level in 40 Years!” and “Stocks Plunge to 2022 Lows!” It sounds like the authors are all shouting, and we should really panic. It feels like we should “do something” but let’s take a step back from the headlines, and put today’s market in perspective […]
Market Commentary: Q3 2021
Stock market returns were mixed in the third quarter. Microsoft, Google and Apple led returns in the domestic large-cap stock market; stocks traded in international developed markets and REITs were also positive. The riskier domestic small-cap and emerging market stocks posted negative results, which dragged a portfolio diversified among all these markets down over 2% […]
The fed giveth, and the fed taketh away
Around the globe, COVID-19 killed millions of people, caused nearly 100 million to lose their job, and decreased economic output by several trillion dollars. When times get this bad, we investors are prepared to see losses in our portfolios. But in 2020 we saw the opposite. The S&P 500 was up 18%, almost double its […]
Is inflation haunting your financial dreams? Part 2: what we can do about it
In our last piece, we covered the recent uptick in inflation, and what to make of it in historical context. For investors, it’s important to take a step back and look at the big picture before acting on breaking news. But what if inflation does get out of hand, and stays that way for a […]
Is inflation haunting your financial dreams? Part 1: what we know
Has the specter of inflation got you spooked? Recent headlines are filled with sightings. In this two-part series, let’s take a closer look at what to make of all the commentary, and what you can do about it as an investor. First and foremost, we caution against succumbing to fear or panic in the face […]
Protecting what’s yours (after you pass) Part 2: step-by-step estate planning
In our last piece, we emphasized the importance of estate planning as the greatest gift you can bequeath to your loved ones, to reduce their painful stress load during an already stressful time. If you’ve been putting off your estate planning, taking the initial steps can be daunting—but liberating. So, let’s get started today, one […]
