Golf and Investing
I know this might be hard to imagine for most of us golfers, but which of the following scenarios would you rather choose: 1. Shooting par every time you go out and play a round of golf. 2. Shooting below par 25% of the time you play and failing to reach par the remaining 75% […]
2013 Rockbridge Survey and Company Updates
First and foremost, we would like to thank everyone who participated in our 2013 Client Survey. We are constantly looking for ways to improve our business and services, and we greatly value your feedback. For those of you who didn’t get an opportunity to take the survey, I will summarize the results of each of […]
How Bad Was This Quarter for Bond Investors?
The benchmark bond index that we follow, Barclays U.S. Government/Credit Index, lost 2.5%, the worst quarter since 1994. In fact the quarterly result has only been worse 8 times in the past 40+ years (162 quarters). The Barclays U.S. TIPS Index had its worst quarter ever losing 7.1% (data only goes back to 1997). Markets […]
Market Commentary July 2013
Volatility returned this quarter in both stocks and bonds as fears about the central-bank actions across the globe made investors nervous about the future. Large Cap U.S. stocks, represented by the S&P 500 Index, returned 2.9% in the second quarter, bringing the year-to-date return up to a lofty 14.0%. By contrast, the EAFE Index, a […]
Are You A Financial Expert?
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is currently running a study on the financial savviness of the US population. While a majority of people feel they have a good grasp of financial topics, the study shows that is not actually the case. Below are a few of the study highlights: 1 in 5 people are […]
A Dozen Benefits of Financial Planners
Recently, I read a blog article by a Bob Seawright titled, “Financial Advice: A Top Ten List”. The article describes how financial planners provide clients with a far greater benefit than just investment returns. Bob provided an excellent list of ancillary benefits. His list is spot-on and a worthy read by anyone considering a financial […]
Are You A Casually Competent Investor?
Steven Grey and Advisor Propsectives recently published a stellar article titled “The Myth of the Casually Competent Investor”. Not only was he spot on with his analysis, he gave some great analogies about how everyone considers themselves qualified to beat the market. A small snippet of the article shows two great examples of how silly […]
Hindsight is 20/20, But the Future is Unpredictable
How many times have you heard someone say, “In 2008 I knew the market was going to crash…” – or some similar statement of prescience? That would be an example of how hindsight creates an illusion of understanding, as described by psychologist Daniel Kahneman, who won a Nobel Prize in economics for his work […]
Market Madness
During this time of the year office brackets and friendly wagers are seen everywhere, luring in even the faintest of sports fans. This epidemic, also known as March Madness, has gotten ahold of everybody and is the craze of the nation for almost a full month! So besides edge of your seat excitement filled games, […]
Part 4: What Opportunities Have I Missed?
The last part of our “Why to Use a Financial Advisor” series involves missed opportunities. Knowing there are unknowns out there in financial planning is the first step in identifying areas that can be improved. A few examples of common missed items that we optimize for clients are: 529 Savings Plan in NYS – New […]