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The War in Ukraine | Financial Perspectives

Category: Investing
By Kent Kramer
03/08/2022
There’s likely no more important news in the world right now than what is happening in Ukraine as Russia invades their smaller neighbor. Economic impacts are being felt across the globe and there is certainly a humanitarian crisis developing in Europe. Let’s take a look at the impact the Ukraine/Russia crisis has on the US and global economy.

A Look Under the Hood of a Bond Fund | Financial Perspectives

Category: Investing
By Matt Moklestad
02/22/2022
A lot of investors may be wondering how rising interest rates might be impacting their investments, so today, we're going to talk about bond funds -- how they operate, some of the details, and see how they're responding to this environment.

Meta Does Not Equal Value | Financial Perspectives

Category: Investing
By Kent Kramer
02/07/2022
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.

Happy New Year? | Financial Perspectives

Category: Investing
By Kent Kramer
01/25/2022
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?

New Year – Rates are Rising | Financial Perspectives

Category: Investing
By Kent Kramer
01/10/2022
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.

December 13, 2021 Financial Perspectives

Category: Investing
By Kent Kramer
12/13/2021
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.

November 22, 2021 Financial Perspectives

Category: Investing
By Kent Kramer
11/22/2021
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.

November 8, 2021 Financial Perspectives

Category: Investing
By Kent Kramer
11/08/2021
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?

October 25, 2021 Financial Perspectives

Category: Investing
By Kent Kramer
10/25/2021
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.

April 26, 2021 Financial Perspectives

Category: Investing
By Kent Kramer
04/26/2021
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

Category: Investing
By Kent Kramer
04/12/2021
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?

March 22, 2021 Financial Perspectives

Category: Investing
By Kent Kramer
03/22/2021
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?

March 8, 2021 Financial Perspectives

Category: Investing
By Matt Moklestad
03/08/2021
In 2020 interest rates hit an all-time low, and now interest rates are on the move again. It seems like investors are taking notice. This week, Matt Moklestad looks at interest rates, bonds, and inflation expectations.

February 22, 2021 Financial Perspectives

Category: Investing
By Kent Kramer
02/22/2021
Every week it seems there is a new story about which investment, which “trade”, is making amazing money. Each new story brings a sense of urgency, act quickly before it’s too late. You can’t afford to miss out on this one. There are at least 3 important risks investors should pay attention to, some are urgent, some are important, some are both, some are neither.

February 8, 2021 Financial Perspectives

Category: Investing
By Kent Kramer
02/08/2021
After 3 weeks of GameStop stories, it seems like the game may be stopping or at least slowing down. The question remaining is who made money and is the market any worse for wear when the dust settles.

January 25, 2021 Financial Perspectives

Category: Investing
By Kent Kramer
01/25/2021
Four years ago, Donald Trump was elected President of the United States and small company stocks went up over 20% in three months post-election. In the three months since Joe Biden was elected President of the United States, small company stocks are up over 30%. Do small company stock investors just like new Presidents?

January 11, 2021 Financial Perspectives

Category: Investing
By Kent Kramer
01/11/2021
2020 had some very real rollercoaster moments – the question for markets and the economy is whether there is any reason to think they won’t hold up during and after our latest ride?

December 7th, 2020 Financial Perspectives

Category: Investing
By Kent Kramer
12/07/2020
1:10 - In the News: COVID-19 Surges, Vaccines, and Employment
3:32 – November Market Review
4:14 – Equity Factors
4:41 – Macroeconomic Factors Overview
5:00 – Style Factors Overview
7:07 – Style Factors in the Market

November 23, 2020 Financial Perspectives

Category: Investing
By Kent Kramer
11/23/2020
1:13 - In the News: COVID-19 Cases, Employment Recovery
2:36 – Elections through Inaugurations
3:15 – Equity Factors: Comparison of Various Stock Indexes
5:24 – Expectations: Thinking Back to March 23, 2020