Financial Risks That Are Not in the News
Stock market risk is the primary focus of the financial news. The reason is simple. The scarier the headline, the more eyes are attracted to it.
Chart of the Month – Nov 2022
The past fifteen years have been phenomenal for U.S. stocks. They've outperformed international stocks by close to 200%. Unfortunately, no one can predict when international stocks will outperform U.S. stocks, or vice-versa.
Running to Retirement
Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles
Stay diversified, and stay the course. That’s good advice for both runners and investors.
How to Construct a Good Investment Policy Statement
I wrote in a previous blog about the importance of having a well-written Investment Policy Statement (IPS). What should be in a well-written document?
Chart of the Month – Dec 2022
Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles
Those of you who keep up with the financial news are likely familiar with the three most quoted indices, the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the NASDAQ. Sometimes, the returns for all of them are similar, but sometimes they are not.
Positives About the Market
Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles
2022 was a historically painful year as an investor with stock markets experiencing a bear market, and bond markets having one of their worst years ever. However, as we enter 2023, I’d like to consider the positives.
Making the Most of a Bear Market
If you’re a young professional, negative market returns can carry less weight than you might think. Let’s use 2022 as an example.
Bad News
Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles
Is the title to this blog supposed to be clickbait? Of course it is. That is the point of this blog. Bad news sells.
Investments Are Long-Term; Brackets Are Short-Term.
Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles
As the NCAA tournament wraps up, many sports fans are reflecting on their brackets, winning their office pools, and bragging rights with friends. Similarly, others focus on their investments and trying to predict which stocks will perform the best. We may think of these as two separate worlds, but there are numerous similarities between the two.
Value vs Growth – What does that Mean?
Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles
Have you heard the words, “value” and “growth,” when it comes to investing? Let’s face it: These words are often misunderstood and poorly utilized.
Chart of the Month – June 2024
No one can time the market and determine when those best months will occur. The best months are surprisingly random. More important than timing the market is time in the market.
Chart of the Month – July 2024
Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles
International Stocks – Are they necessary?
Predictable Mistakes
Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles
We believe that investors increase their chances of success by avoiding predictable mistakes, those practices that sound like they should work but have been shown time and again to have very low probabilities of success.
How Should a Nonprofit Allocate its Investment Portfolio?
Let's review two industry studies, the NACUBO Study of Endowments and the Association Investment Policies, Practices and Performance. Each organization is different and has its own set of unique goals and challenges. Although this is the case, learning how other nonprofits invest can help ignite a meaningful conversation within your own organization.
Chart of the Month – September 2024
Do you wonder why we invest in equities? Equities are an attractive investment for their growth characteristics, but they have also served as a hedge against inflation.
Chart of the Month – October 2024
Is stock market growth a thing of the past? Headlines making predictions about this have come and gone, some turning out to be spectacularly wrong. Let’s take a look.
“My Portfolio is Doing Well / Poor Compared to What?”
Category: Investing » Foster Group Investment Principles
Merriam Webster defines a benchmark as “something that serves as a standard by which others may be measured or judged”. For investors, the question to ask is what should be my standard, my benchmark, in determining the success or failure of my overall investment portfolio?
Chart of the Month – November 2024
When we examine the historical relationship between equities and cash, it becomes evident that while cash may offer safety and short-term stability, equities tend to outperform over time. For long-term investors, remember that your plan should influence the portfolio and that reacting to market conditions is not a wise reason to change your plan.