What Does It Mean to Be an Investor? – Part One
Category: Investing
For a minute, I want to think broadly about the question, “What does it mean to be an investor?”
Chart of the Month – May 2022
Category: Investing
Since the beginning of 2020, checkable deposits have quadrupled, giving consumers the ability to continue spending and withstand increased prices. What does this mean for inflation and prices in the future?
Investors Must Be Present to Win
Category: Investing
For weeks, the major indices had been declining but in mid-March, we saw a very abrupt reversal. I’m often reminded of the familiar saying “Investors must be present to win.” In other words, the price (or cost) of admission to the investment experience is market volatility.
What to Do & What Not to Do in Response to Russia-Ukraine War
Category: Investing
Pictures and video coming from Ukraine are difficult to watch. As humans, we may be angered and ask, “How can I help?” In investing, typically the best thing to do in the moments when we are most tempted to do “something,” is simply to sit still.
I Bonds Pay Almost 10%, What’s the Catch?
Category: Investing
Investors are always on the lookout, it seems, for new and profitable ways to help make their dollars work for them. One that has come up quite often on our clients’ radars recently is Series I Bonds (or just I Bonds).
Chart of the Month – Apr 2022
Category: Investing
Housing affordability is trending in the wrong direction. Take a look at our chart of the month showing housing affordability over the last 50 years.
How Much Should Associations Hold in Reserve Assets?
Category: Investing
A common question among nonprofit associations is how much they should hold in reserve assets. There is a “rule of thumb” that associations should hold six months of operating expenses in reserve. Is this common rule of thumb common practice?
Market Madness
There is just something about the NCAA Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Tournament. There is tremendous excitement in many families and workplaces as tournament brackets are filled in with predictions about the outcomes of 67 games over a three-week period.
Why Index Funds Don’t Work for Some People
Category: Investing
Index funds are popular investment tools for good reason. They are low cost, effective ways to capture market return. Choosing to use index funds is only half the battle though; you must use them correctly to truly benefit.
What’s Your Best Buy: Firm Foundation or Castle In the Air?
Category: Investing
If an investor could discover the true worth of a company, a piece of real estate or even an idea, where “true worth” equated to the future value or price that others would pay, success would be almost certain to follow. Those opportunities that were priced significantly lower than the future value would be automatic buys. The one’s with higher prices today than the future price would be ones to avoid. If only it were that simple!
Are You Afraid of (Market) Heights?
Category: Investing
Investors have been experiencing some fear of heights recently. Many stocks and stock markets are at or near all-time highs. So, here’s the question investors need to ask themselves today, ”Do you think that stock markets 26 years from now will be higher or lower than they are currently, even if today is an all-time high?”
Cryptocurrency: Not for the Faint of Heart
Category: Investing
Will cryptocurrency replace the $20 bill in your pocket? Will the decentralization/digitization of currency end up solving anything? Will it be of long-term value? Or will it end up being only a place for speculators to try and capitalize on the sentiment of others? Anyone wanting to allocate to cryptocurrency should understand the inherent uncertainty and volatility of this relatively new digital commodity.
Four Dimensional Mutual Funds Will Be Converted to Exchange Traded Funds on June 11th
Category: Investing
Four Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) mutual funds that are held in after-tax accounts managed by Foster Group at Schwab and TD Ameritrade will be converted by DFA to Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) on Friday, June 11th.
How to Avoid Tyrannically Urgent Yet Unimportant Investment Ideas
Category: Investing
As we’ll see, each of these are real risks, because if they are unmanaged or unanticipated, they may cause investors to focus on the wrong things at the wrong times and lead to actions that may sabotage goals and portfolios.
How the “Little Guy” Really Wins in the Market
Category: Investing
Don’t believe the lie that you don’t belong or that the keys belong to someone who won’t give them to you.
Taking the Long View in a Short-Term World
Category: Investing
One of the primary roles we play as financial advisors is to help our clients remember to take the long-view.
What a Difference a Year Makes
Category: Investing
On March 23, 2020, the S&P 500 tumbled another 3%, culminating a near 34% drop over that same month. The Dow Jones hovered around 19,000. Gains from the past few years were gone.
YOLO, Meme, and EMH: What’s Your Investment Style?
Category: Investing
Guest Blogger, Marlena Lee, PhD. While it’s not the intended victim of the YOLO traders, will the efficient market hypothesis be a casualty of these events? The answer depends a lot on your definition of efficient markets.
It’s Worth the Trip!
We had completed our hike successfully, and the challenges made it more memorable and satisfying. The same is true for all of us as investors.
Are You Investing or Playing a Completely Different Game?
Category: Investing
Investing in the market is not about getting rich quick. It’s not led by FOMO, the fear of missing out. Ideally, it’s not driven by fear or greed at all. It’s patient, thoughtful, intentional and guided by a long-term vision of success.
Do Small Company Stocks Like New Presidents?
Category: Investing
In the three months since Joe Biden was elected President of the United States, small company stocks have risen more than 30%. Four years ago, Donald Trump was elected President of the United States and small company stocks went up almost 20% in the twenty-six days surrounding the election, from November 3rd to December 9th. Do small company stock investors just like new Presidents?