Stuck In a Holding Pattern and the Trump Tax Cut Plan
Stocks at home and overseas have experienced a run up in prices over the last six months. After the S&P 500 Index claimed a new high on March 1, it has more or less held within a narrow range. That hasn’t been the case for the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite, which topped 6,000 for the first time […]
Read ArticleSo, You Just Won the Lottery; Now What?
Successfully managing a financial windfall We’ve all heard the stories, if not firsthand, at least in various news reports and anecdotes. Some “lucky” person picks the winning numbers; prances before the cameras in what can only be described as a media lovefest; and lives happily ever after, free of financial worries. Sure, the first two points are […]
Read ArticleMarket Commentary: A Republican Crackup and the Stock Market
There was no shortage of angst in the investment community that a Donald Trump victory in last year’s election would send shares down sharply, at least in the immediate aftermath of a Trump win. In reality, just the opposite happened, with stocks surging in the wake of his surprise victory. The pre-election day conventional wisdom […]
Read ArticleThe Soaring Cost of College
Ballooning college costs The average cost of tuition and fees for the 2016–2017 school year is $33,480 at private colleges and $9,650 for state residents at public colleges. It averages $24,930 for out-of-state residents attending public universities, according to data provided by the College Board. Of course, that doesn’t include an array of other expenses […]
Read ArticleThe February Market Recap
Table 1: Key Index Returns Source: Wall Street Journal, MSCI.com, CNBC, Morningstar MTD returns: January 31, 2017 – February 28, 2017 YTD returns: December 30, 2016 – February 28, 2017 *Annualized **In U.S. dollars Awash in a pool of politics The market narrative that has dominated the news cycle since November has been the […]
Read ArticleIncome In Our Golden Years
As adults, we know the importance of saving for retirement. It’s really easy. Just set up an automatic withdrawal from each month’s paycheck and direct it into a retirement account. What becomes trickier is the amount we should be saving and how we should best invest it. But what happens as we enter retirement? We’ve […]
Read ArticleAll Trumped Up
A recurring theme you’ve heard from us is that stocks take their longer-term cues from what’s happening to corporate profits and expectations of corporate profits, how the economy is expected to perform (which supports profits), and what’s happening to interest rates. But shorter term, any number of events or issues can creep on to the […]
Read ArticleA Look Back at 2016 and What Might Be Ahead
2016 has come and gone. It started out in a very rocky fashion, with comparisons to 2008 that were too numerous to count. Let’s be clear. As we’ve emphasized in past summaries, markets don’t always trade in a quiet and orderly fashion. But, just because we run into turbulence doesn’t mean it’s time to retreat […]
Read Article10 Smart Year-End Planning Moves to Consider
The end of the year is fast approaching and now is the perfect time to review items you might want to consider as you get set to enter 2017. Many of the IRS publications referenced below reference tax year 2015. Changes are not anticipated when 2016 guides are published. Before we get started, let’s stress […]
Read ArticleDewey Beats Truman!
Post by Christopher Van Slyke In the biggest election upset since 1948, Donald Trump has won the presidency. You are advised to prepare for a possible wild ride in the investment markets. It is helpful to remember that these potential market gyrations are almost always bad times to trade, and particularly to sell. We have months […]
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