Investing

Unnerving Headlines: This is Why We Diversify

In Q1 of 2023, global stocks gained nearly 7% in the first quarter, continuing the upward momentum that we saw in Q4 of 2022.  Bonds also posted healthy returns, with the US Aggregate Bond Index returning almost 3% in just three months.   Despite these investment returns, the quarter will be more remembered for a series of unnerving…

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Takeaways from the FTX disaster

The rapid collapse and subsequent bankruptcy of FTX, a Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange, has consumed mainstream media outlets since mid-November. Many people, both professionals, and next-door-neighbors are talking about whether or not cryptocurrency is dead, and some of them are wondering whether they will ever receive their lost cryptocurrency again.  Background FTX was a cryptocurrency exchange…

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Market Landscape – Q2 2022

With inflation and recession fears dominating headlines, both stocks and bonds continued their fall in the second quarter of 2022. At times, it useful to put short term market conditions in the context of longer market cycles.  If we go back to the January 1, 2009, we observe that the S&P 500 (with dividends reinvested)…

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US Stocks Continued to Dominate in 2021, but What Does That Mean for the Future?

As the global pandemic extended into 2021, the markets continued the remarkable run that began the third week of March 2020. Since that time, US large company stocks, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, have more than doubled in value. For 2021, the broad US stock market generated a positive return of more than…

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Investing versus Speculating

When it comes to determining how to allocate your savings, what is the difference between investing and speculating? Investing is characterized by: Productive capacity: An investment involves deploying capital in a company, property, or other entity that produces something of value. A stream of benefits: The value produced by an investment can ultimately be measured…

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What To Do About the Coming Inflation (or Deflation)

The annual change in the Consumer Price Index “CPI” exceeded more than 5% for the second month in a row, raising concern that we may be entering an inflationary period. How concerned should investors be? Before we get into that, we should begin with a short primer on what inflation is. Inflation refers to an…

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Best Practices for Year-End 2020

As we approach the end of the year, it is prudent to review your situation and make sure that you have taken advantage of all that you can from a financial planning standpoint before December 31st, as well as be sure you are positioned well for the year ahead.  With that in mind, here are…

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The 2020 Election and Your Investment Portfolio

With election time now getting closer, we are inundated with opinions and prognostications about not only who will win but what that victory will mean for the markets.  When you couple the uncertainties of the election with the other trials facing our country including, but not limited to, high unemployment, the economic and personal consequences…

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The Economy vs. The Market

The terms “stock market” and “economy” are often used interchangeably, but they are not one in the same.  Perhaps this has never been more evident than over the past several months.  The state of the economy, according to most measures, is bleak, with economic activity contracting, an unemployment rate of more than 10%, and an…

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