March is typically an odd month, the transition from the harshness of winter to the promise of spring. This year it’s been the reverse in the worst way in modern memory. The month began in New York as a normal time with mild weather, the stock market near record levels and unemployment at a half century low. March ended in a totally unprecedented way with two-thirds of the country confined to their homes, an explosion of illness and death across … Continue reading
With the economy in free fall, for most businesses it’s a sudden shift to survival mode. Most businesses spend most of their time trying hard to grow, to innovate, to take on new markets and better serve old ones. Few people with a choice go into business just to survive. But that’s where we find ourselves today. You can’t grow if you don’t survive. Businesses that worked hard for decades to flourish, now find themselves facing excruciating choices. Capabilities and … Continue reading
On Monday, the markets panicked, resulting in the Dow Jones having its biggest point drop in history and one of its biggest losses in percentage terms. Bond yields just about vanished while oil prices dropped by one-third. More than one commentator said that if you think you know what’s going on, you’re not paying attention. The elephant in the room is the rapidly spreading Coronaivurs, COVD 19. How widespread and how deadly it becomes are still huge unknowns. What we … Continue reading
Many people have strong views about the impacts of presidential elections on the stock market and nearly all of these views are wrong. Like much else about the stock market, normal logic and common sense frequently do not apply. An analysis of elections over the last century and presidential terms over the last half century century shows surprising results. The analysis, by Dimensional Fund Advisors, showed that presidential election years — widely held to be strong market years — instead … Continue reading
You know it’s been a bad week for the stock market when: The market has rallied from down 1,000 on the day to down 600 and you feel relieved that it’s only down 600 points. But 600 points isn’t bad considering the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 4,000 points on the week. That’s a record point total but more important, the percentage decline from the peak, about 14 percent in a little over a week, is close to a … Continue reading
For investors, they say, hope springs eternal and never more so than with the promise of a new year and new beginnings. As 2019 began, though, investors were worried mightily. While stock market returns for the year, as measured by the S&P 500, were only down 4 percent, the fall and winter was dreadful and investors were afraid. Those fear are now long forgotten after a powerful and steady rally that lifted the market by 31.49 percent, the 18th best … Continue reading
Nearly everything about your investments and your dog is different, except for this: both are precious to you. Your dog needs attention and affection. Your investments do not. They work best in a quiet corner, getting little attention and given sufficient time to work their magic. A dog absolutely needs exercise. Your investments do not. The investments do best when they are not moved or stirred up. The longer they are not disturbed the better they are likely to do. … Continue reading
I never feel pumped to get a gas fill up for my car. I’m always in a hurry or tired or it’s unpleasantly cold or rainy outside. But I also don’t like it when the light goes on with the dire warning that I’m running on fumes. It’s also like this about personal financial planning. There’s never a good time to straighten up the mess of your financial affairs. It takes energy and gumption to deal with the reality and … Continue reading
The easy thing to do when you are investing is to look at how much your portfolio is going up or down. But that’s not what’s really important. What’s important is how much of your investment portfolio, you get to keep and how much goes to Federal, state and local taxing authorities. For example, an IRA defers taxes until you take the money out. Under current law, once an investor turns 70 1/2, he has to start taking money out … Continue reading
All investors crave simplicity. That can come at a high cost. Many investors look at the title of the investment but don’t look under the hood. A prime example is target date funds. These investments are one of the fastest growing investment products in history. According to the Investment Company Institute, more than $1 trillion is invested in target date funds. A target date fund is is invested based on your retirement date. Essentially the only thing the investment manager … Continue reading