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Category: Investing

Market Expectations for the Next 30 Years

Market Expectations for the Next 30 Years

As usual, there are many different scenarios being discussed at the moment. The COVID second wave, economic struggles, interest rate projections, more fiscal stimulus, corporate bankruptcies, and on and on we go. This is applicable to the world of traders, not investors. Investors don’t invest to make a quick buck. Long-term investors – which is a redundant term – invest because it is a prudent choice to expand capital over time, not overnight. With all of the above uncertainties, it…

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The Fixed Income Conundrum

The Fixed Income Conundrum

Here’s where we are today: As I write this, the 10-year Treasury yield stands at about 0.94% and the 30-year Treasury stands at 1.65%. This creates a bit of a conundrum for fixed income investors. Let me explain. The Federal Reserve Board has a long-standing policy they have stated through the years of a target inflation rate of 2%. Whether or not they accomplish this goal, here is what they reaffirmed in 2016: The inflation rate over the longer run…

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Preparing For “What-Ifs”

Preparing For “What-Ifs”

We are now a little more than two months out from the bear market lows. As the swift recovery ensued, I started hearing stories of investors who sold out of their portfolios around DJIA 19,000 “because the market was going lower.” They were right for the blink of an eye. With the market now back above 26,000, when are those investors supposed to get back in? I have to pose the question because getting back in is always the hardest…

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Equities in Retirement: A 30-Year Case Study

Equities in Retirement: A 30-Year Case Study

Whenever I ask soon-to-be retirees what the ultimate goal of investing in retirement is, the most common answer I hear is: I don’t want to run out of money. Pretty straightforward, right? Here’s the problem. When I ask many of those same individuals what the primary objective of their retirement portfolio is, this is the typical response: Preservation of principal. Whether retirees realize this or not, those two goals run almost exactly counter to one another. If your goal is…

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The Next 20% Move

The Next 20% Move

As if the news cycle wasn’t already stuck in short-term repeat, our lives have entered into a morose version of Groundhog Day and we have no idea when it will end. On Twitter, somebody posted it’s March 76th because that’s what it feels like. Spring is here and instead of barbeques with neighbors, we’re locked in our houses. When each day seems like the last, it’s easy to get stuck in our own short-term repeat. The markets continue to move…

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4 Stages of a Bear Market

4 Stages of a Bear Market

All bull markets must come to an end. Many of the gains of the last few years were abruptly wiped out in just a month’s time. The argument could be made that bear markets are healthy and are sometimes referred to as a feature, not a bug. I’ve come to believe that there are four stages of a bear market, each with their own emotional issues and include at least two decision points that could arise on our journey through…

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10 Charts About Retirement Every Retiree Should See (2020)

10 Charts About Retirement Every Retiree Should See (2020)

As a Retirement Planner, each year I eagerly await the release of J.P. Morgan’s Guide to Retirement. It is essentially a booklet of retirement charts filled with great information impacting retirees. Making it even better, it often highlights things that are regularly overlooked by just about anyone (including professionals) planning for retirement today. With that in mind, I have selected 10 charts that I think everyone transitioning into retirement should see with a little commentary on each. Every chart comes…

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5 Actions You Can Take During a Bear Market

5 Actions You Can Take During a Bear Market

Right about now, investors and advisors are kicking themselves for not having sold about two weeks ago. Some are still considering selling. Investors who say the thought hasn’t crossed their mind are probably lying to themselves. It’s easy to say to ourselves, “I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE SOLD!” because hindsight is always 20/20. But the truth is, we didn’t know because we can’t know. That’s truly the toughest part of my job. I live, eat and breathe this stuff and…

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The Response is Still the Same

The Response is Still the Same

Mark Manson is a writer I admire for the quality of his thinking. In his Monday Newsletter, he wrote the following: Pick Your Poison: Health Crisis or Economic Crisis? – If you quarantine large swaths of the population, now you’ve created another predicament for yourself: commerce grinds to a halt. It’s estimated that 30% of small businesses in China are closed right now. Japan closed all of their schools for March, sending nearly a million teachers home without work. Millions of…

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Your Portfolio Was Built for This

Your Portfolio Was Built for This

SELL! SELL! SELL! This is the typical response recommended by the media right now as they go about trying to make some sense out of things that are unable to be understood, forecasted or responded to. It’s what they do. What should you be doing with your portfolio to account for the coronavirus? If I had a dime for how many times I’ve heard that over the past couple of weeks, I’d already be retired. Seriously though, what should you…

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