October 11, 2021 Financial Perspectives

Friction can slow can down any machine. What was humming along only minutes or weeks ago, can labor under the strain of too little oil, a little sand in the gears, you name it. The US economy and markets have been seeing an increase in perceived frictions over the past month. Can we get back to smoother operations?

October 25, 2021 Financial Perspectives

Kent Kramer recaps his top take-away moments from our event last week with Morgan Housel. Morgan used stories to illustrate lessons to help us understand behavioral finance and psychology and how that affects the way we invest.

November 8, 2021 Financial Perspectives

You know the old saying, “What goes up must come down.” How is it that currently everything seems to be going up at the same time? Signs of inflation like oil prices, labor prices, trade deficits. And yet markets are going up with stocks at all-time highs. Bond prices are rising this week when often, bond prices move inversely to stock prices. Government spending is certainly going up, consumer spending is going up and tax rates seem to be poised to rise as well. What do all these upwards mean for investors?

November 22, 2021 Financial Perspectives

In this week's Edition of Financial Perspectives, Kent Kramer chats with Mary Ellen Stanek, Co-Chief Investment Officer at Baird Asset Management. Baird specializes in risk-controlled fixed income management.

December 13, 2021 Financial Perspectives

Are you wondering what happened to that big tax and spending bill that was working its way through Congress, you know the one that was supposed to raise taxes on most Americans with incomes over $400,000 and invest heavily in various domestic programs? You’re not alone. This week Kent Kramer discusses what is in and what is out of the latest rendition of the Build Back Better Bill.

New Year – Rates are Rising | Financial Perspectives

Welcome to 2022 where the news seem to focus, again, on rising rates –for COVID infections due to Omicron, inflation, and interest rates. The markets seem to be most concerned about interest rates. This week Kent Kramer looks at why that might be the case and what may be in store for interest rates in 2022.

Happy New Year? | Financial Perspectives

Market returns for the first three weeks of 2022 have not been full of happy reports. US stocks, especially some of the biggest names and winners of 2020 and 2021 have fallen into what is called “correction” territory. Is inflation and the concern with rising interest rates the whole story?

Meta Does Not Equal Value | Financial Perspectives

The headlines last week included “Faceplant”, and “Metaflop” following Meta’s disappointing earnings and new users numbers. As interesting as the metaverse may be, it turns out investors still want real world results when it comes to their investments.

Roadtrips & Recessions | Financial Perspectives

The economy and markets are a bit like summer car travel/construction. There's a recession and/or a bear market in the rearview mirror, you're in one, or there is one right around the corner.

How Much Should I Have in Stocks? | Financial Perspectives

Many people like the idea of higher expected returns that stocks may produce, but the higher return potential comes with more risk. This week, Kent Kramer walks us through a possible approach to understanding how much of your portfolio could be invested in stocks.