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.
Spring Clean Your Financial Plan
Category: Investing » Asset Allocation
You can’t have spring without spring cleaning. As you tackle your home, yard, and other spaces this year, your financial plan might also need to be spruced up. Here are a few tips to clean up your financial plan this spring.
Chart of the Month – Mar 2022
Category: Investing
Are you feeling the pain at the pump? What is driving oil prices higher?
Keep Your Eyes on the Horizon and Wings Level
Category: Investing » Alternative Investments
We often get asked by clients about different ideas they heard from a friend, a new exclusive deal they got invited into, or, most frequently, a specific company or stock that a friend gave them the scoop on. The reality is that a lot of the “great ideas and deals” never amount to any real return, and many end up going to zero.
Is the Stock Market a Glass Half Full?
Category: Investing
The month of January was marked by negative returns for global stock markets. But, as the well-worn phrase, “Is your glass half full or half empty?” implies, our view of, or the way we feel about the state of markets as investors, may be more related to our personal dispositions than what the numbers indicate.
Chart of the Month – Feb 2022
Category: Investing
Market declines are never enjoyable in the moment. But these kinds of intra-year pull backs are normal when looking at market history.
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?
My Favorite Blog Posts and Podcast Episodes from 2020
Category: Investing
Many of my favorite content pieces from 2020 reflect on the themes of uncertainty, risk, change, and remaining optimistic in the face of unsettling circumstances.
While You Were Sleeping
Category: Investing
Imagine that you fell asleep at the beginning of the year and woke up at the end of 2020. When you wake up, there are some things that would immediately feel different.
5 Investor Lessons Courtesy of COVID-19
Category: Financial Planning » Behavioral Finance
2020 is a year we’ll all remember though in many ways we want to forget it.
The Challenge of Entering a Bull Market
Category: Investing
A Q&A with Senior Lead Advisor, Phil Kruzan.
Georgia, Political Majorities, & Markets
Category: Investing
Unprecedented! That word had been used ad nauseam in 2020.