ChatGPT & The Big 8 | Financial Perspectives

With the biggest tech companies regaining stock market leadership, it’s understandable why investors and the media are attracted to these stocks. However, it’s tempting to forget how these same companies’ stock prices performed in 2022. This week, Kent Kramer shares some investment lessons to be learned from this AI/big tech story.

Debt Ceiling Politics & Markets | Financial Perspectives

Politics are always in the news. Right now, we're hearing a lot about the debt ceiling and the need to increase the US debt ceiling so the government can pay their bills ... or maybe not. This week, Kent Kramer provides an overview of debt ceiling history and what we are seeing today.

Chart of the Month – May 2023

In investing, a key consideration is the time horizon. There is a general perception that investing is a risky proposition, but this risk can be mitigated by holding investments for longer periods. 

Is Fear the Only Thing to Fear? | Financial Perspectives

Fear can grab us and demand a response, such that fear itself can become the real danger. This week, Kent Kramer explores how fear and bad news can impact investing and some simple steps you could consider to avoid emotional investing.

Chart of the Month – Apr 2023

"Why would anyone buy a 5-year bond at 3.5% when you could get a 1-year bond at 4%?"

"Why don't I put all my money in a 4-month T-bill and make 4.9%?"

Investments Are Long-Term; Brackets Are Short-Term.

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.

Positives About the Market

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.

Chart of the Month – Jan 2023

It's natural to sit down at the end of the year and reflect on what happened. Here is a short recap of what happened in the markets and the world in 2022.

Chart of the Month – Dec 2022

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.

Things to Ponder This Holiday Season

At Foster Group, the most important thing we do is help our clients have peace of mind. The planning, investing and conversations that lead to peace of mind vary from client to client. The benefits, however, are similar.

Poker Lessons. Expect to Be Surprised. | Financial Perspectives

Poker is great training ground for evaluating circumstances where you may have enough information to know the odds of success or failure, but not enough information to guarantee the outcome -- a lot like investing. This week, Kent Kramer looks at how understanding odds and probability can help make sense of elections and investment markets.

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.