Posts by Scott Voigt, CFA, CFP®, CPA
20 Second Advisor: SECURE 2.0
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which is wrapped into the larger bill, Securing a Strong Retirement Act, commonly called SECURE 2.0. The majority of the SECURE 2.0 provisions will become effective in 2024. Here are a few key takeaways from SECURE 2.0 that may affect you:
Read More20 Second Advisor: Challenging Apple Pay
The chain of banks behind Zelle, which is owned by seven banks total, including Chase and and Bank of America, are planning to launch their own digital wallet. This wallet will jump into the increasingly-crowded field of digital wallets, dominated by the likes of Apple Pay and PayPal. For the tech companies that have so…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Goals over New Year’s Resolutions
I am sure many of you are thinking about 2023 and what the year has in store. When I think about how I want the year to look, I like using goals over new year’s resolutions. For me personally, resolutions are often vague, not measurable, and they have no real plan behind them. And when…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Is focusing your investments solely on dividend paying stocks a reliable strategy?
Some income-oriented investors are attracted to dividends because they view these stocks as less risky, and perhaps more stable. While dividends are one way to generate income, they are not the only way to produce cash, and investors should be aware of the potential tradeoffs that accompany a focus on dividends. For example, prioritizing dividends…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Just leave it alone
Many investors are concerned with the effect of election results. Do past results suggest a useful strategy to deal with election-year uncertainty? The answer is yes. For the 96-year period ending in 2021, the S&P 500 Index (with dividends reinvested) posted an average return of 12.33% for all calendar years and results were negative in…
Read More20 Second Advisor: The cost of trying to time the market
On Thursday November 10, stocks mounted their biggest one-day rally since 2020. The S&P jumped 5.54% in a single day! The Nasdaq surged 7.35%! The impact of being out of the market for a short time can be profound, as shown by this hypothetical investment in the stocks that make up the Russell 3000 Index,…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Lessons learned from training for a race
Over the past few months, I have been training to run across the Grand Canyon and back. Many know this trail run as Rim to Rim to Rim. Over the summer, I mapped out a training plan consisting of maintenance runs, long runs, hill repeats, and everything in between. As some of you may know,…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Don’t forget about investing globally
The US stock market is the biggest in the world, but investors who ignore other globalmarkets may miss out on a wealth of opportunity. Roughly 18,500 companies trade outside the US; this represents nearly 40% ofthe world’s $88 trillion equity market. When determining where to invest, a country’s size, population, or gross domestic productmay not…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Do what is best for you and your family
I recently had lunch with a friend that I met in my running group. For our purposes, his name is John. He asked me to lunch because he had some questions about financial planning. To give a quick overview, his grandmother had a sizeable estate and her investments were with a large family office. She…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Rewind to 1997
This is an excerpt from an article written by David Booth, founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors. So well said! Imagine it’s 25 years ago, 1997: J.K. Rowling just published the first Harry Potter book. General Motors is releasing the EV1, an electric car with a range of 60 miles. The internet is in its infancy,…
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