Investments
20 Second Advisor: Is the Stock Market Divorced from Economic Reality?
Below is an excerpt from an article I thoroughly enjoyed reading. It captures the thoughts and emotions of several clients I’ve spoken to recently, and how/why the market can be so high right now amid all the uncertainty. From its record high on February 19, 2020 the S&P 500 Index1 fell 33.79% in less than 5…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Can you beat the spread?
Recently, I watched the video below with professor Kenneth French (he’s one of the smartest finance minds in the world!). In the short video, he compares successfully timing the market to the idea of sports betting. To be successful in betting on a game, you cannot simply know which team is going to win or…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Should you buy the biggest stocks?
Often, the largest market cap stocks are in headlines a lot. Today, some of the largest stocks in the US include names such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Berkshire Hathaway (just to name a few). Since we hear about these companies so often, should we own more of these stocks? Yes and no. The…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Roller Coaster Safety
Last week, Thad did a great job of illustrating why it’s in your best interest to stay invested during volatile times. We thought a word picture would also help! Have you ridden a roller coaster in a while? I bet you can still recite the safety instructions that are repeated over and over again as…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Perils of Timing the Market…Again.
Let’s be honest. We’re in a weird place. COVID-19 seems to be getting better, but we are not out of the woods yet. With your investments, we are in a similar spot. The S&P 500 dropped from 3386 to 2237 (34% loss) from mid February until late March. In less than 60 days, the S&P…
Read More20 Second Advisor: CARES Act Suspends Required IRA Distributions
If you are 72 or older, you are normally required to make distributions from your retirement accounts (401k, IRA, 403b, etc). The CARES act eliminated this requirement for 2020. This is good news for many retirees for 2 reasons: Avoiding the taxable distribution will reduce their taxable income in 2020 They can leave their tax…
Read More20 Second Advisor: Coronavirus and Investment Markets
NOTE: Given the topic, this post is slightly longer than 20 seconds 🙂 In light of the recent COVID-19 epidemic and it’s effect on some investment markets, we wanted to try and put it in perspective. First, let’s remember the doctors, patients, and families who are directly dealing with the virus. We encourage you to…
Read More20 Second Advisor: ETFs vs Mutual Funds
We have a lot of clients asking about the differences between ETFs and mutual funds (active and passive). Determining whether an ETF or mutual fund is better depends on your situation and what you are trying to accomplish. Here are a few key points to remember: ETFs are traded more like stocks, while mutual funds…
Read More20 Second Advisor: 2019 Market Review
2019 was a great year for investors! Further, the past decade produced healthy returns as well. The chart below outlines the 1, 5, and 10 year annual returns for different investments. Click here for our full 2019 Market Review
Read More20 Second Advisor: Investing Tip for the Next Decade: Diversify
When looking back on the past decade, most investors realized favorable returns. It’s easy to have hindsight bias and wish you had invested in the absolute best performing asset class(es). For example, you might look back and wish you had over-weighted investments in the US technology sector. However, in the earlier decade (2000-2009), US technology…
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