May 24, 2021 Financial Perspectives

This week Kent Kramer talks with Daniel Wallick from Vanguard for part two of our interview. This second part focuses on constructing a portfolio, different types of primary goals, and comparing your success to others’.

May 10, 2021 Financial Perspectives

Daniel Wallick joins us from Vanguard for a two-part interview on our bi-monthly Financial Perspectives. This first part centers on interest rates, inflation, and the bond market. Are you wondering about what part bonds play in your portfolio and what do interest rates and potential inflation have to do with that?

April 26, 2021 Financial Perspectives

Markets have been reaching some all-time highs recently. US stock markets, foreign stock markets, even newer assets like bitcoin, SPACs, and NFTs have been soaring much of the past six months. At these relatively high values more than a few skeptics are predicting a fall. Some say correction – a temporary minor adjustment; some say crash – major problem ahead. Is there a reason to be acrophobic – fearful about markets at record heights?

April 12, 2021 Financial Perspectives

One of my favorite comedians has always been Steve Martin. One of his funnier routines was “let’s get small.” Lately small company stocks have been outperforming their large company counterparts and it’s hard not to notice. What is a small company and why the outperformance recently?

What a Difference a Year Makes

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. 

March 22, 2021 Financial Perspectives

Many indicators say the US and global economy are growing at rates faster than expected. Most of this is welcome news given the past 12 months. But is there a danger the economy could overheat? Inflation continues to be on the minds of some, should it be on yours as well?

YOLO, Meme, and EMH: What’s Your Investment Style?

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.

How Elections Affect the Market

A bit of history helps bring some perspective to trying to read too much into the influence of elections on stock markets. 

Embrace Uncertainty!

We may not like uncertainty, but we need to understand and embrace it to keep ourselves positioned for both survival and success.

Is Your Portfolio Tailored to Fit Your Needs, or Just ‘Off-The-Rack’?

While the alterations may be small and subtle, they make a big difference when it comes to comfort and fit. Our experience is better. For an investment thought experiment, think of the “off the rack suit” as the broad market; we simply take what we get off the shelf with no alteration. Now think of Foster Group as the tailor and the alterations as portfolio personalizations called factor allocations.