Navigating the Course of Retirement Planning
Like in golf, planning for retirement is a game that requires strategy, focus, and a bit of finesse.
Baseball and Investing: Managing Behavior for Success
Category: Investing
Money is emotional and our “news” cycle is a catalyst. Investors react to what they hear and how they feel, oftentimes to their own detriment.
Chart of the Month – May 2023
Category: Investing
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.
Chart of the Month – Apr 2023
Category: Investing
"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.
Category: Investing
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.
Chart of the Month – Mar 2023
Category: Investing
Is there conclusive evidence that one sector is better than another when it comes to returns?
Making the Most of a Bear Market
Category: Investing
If you’re a young professional, negative market returns can carry less weight than you might think. Let’s use 2022 as an example.
Chart of the Month – Feb 2023
Category: Investing
Recently, a client asked me about sectors. What are they? And how do they fit into a portfolio?
Chart of the Month – Oct 2022
Category: Investing
As an investor, perspective is important. At the end of the day, a diversified, low cost, properly allocated portfolio based on your financial plan is what matters.
When Was the Last Time You Reviewed Your 401(k) Plan?
Do you run a small business that provides a 401(k) plan benefit for your employees? Do you ever wonder if you are following all the right steps to ensure that you are meeting your fiduciary responsibilities as a plan sponsor?
Three Categories of Risk for Retirement Income
Risks can often feel much different to retirees. The overarching risk for retirees is that something takes place that results in a permanently lower standard of living. Retirement researcher, Wade Pfau, has identified three major categories of risk for one’s income in retirement.
“60% of the Time, It Works Every Time.”
“But it’s different this time!” I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard this over the years. While it is true that the set of circumstances driving the market are always unique, the end result is almost always the same.
Chart of the Month – Sept 2022
Category: Investing
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, gas prices spiked to a nationwide peak of $5.02/gallon on June 13, 2022. Since then, the price of gas has been coming down, but the discussions about it have not slowed at all.
Having Faith When It’s Scary
Category: Investing
Market volatility can sometimes be downright scary. The other day, I read that the quarter ending June 30th was the 16th worst quarter in the history of the stock market. Even worse, the first quarter was bad too, making it one of the very worst six-month periods in nearly a century. How does an investor respond?
Chart of the Month – Aug 2022
Category: Investing
The housing market has been hot since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prices have soared and the interest rate to borrow money for those homes has been at historically low levels. But what is happening now?
Recession “Reaction”
Category: Investing
Plenty of arguments exist as to why we will be and/or already are in a recession. However, there is good news out there that isn’t readily reported.
Bear Markets and Life Jackets
Category: Investing » Asset Allocation
For anyone invested right now, it feels like we’re sinking. But just as boats have lifejackets to keep you afloat, your financial life should have its own lifejackets in place to help keep you from sinking in bear market times like these.
Thinking About Stock Market Volatility
Category: Investing
What caused the stock market to rise by over 20% in the second quarter of 2020 even as the COVID pandemic was out of control? How about the over 11% rise in the fourth quarter of 2021 as inflation ticked up and the Fed was warning of rate increases? It seems a little more obvious why the US stock market has fallen in the first 6 months of 2022, but should it have fallen more…or less?
What to Do When the Market Is in a Bad Mood
Category: Investing
When the going is good, we’re not all that concerned with asking or answering the question. It is when the going gets tough, like right now, that we find ourselves more interested in asking. So, “What should we do?”
Nervous About the Market? Maybe You Need a Lifeboat.
Category: Investing
Market volatility tends to unnerve even the calmest of investors. How do we know what to hold and how much to hold at any particular time? That’s a crucial question, but the answer does not need to be complicated.