Many advisory firms talk about their array of tools and resources. Every firm that is worth talking to
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“Most kitchens have the same spices in the spice rack. That does not mean everyone is a good cook.”
– anonymous
The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index fell into a bear market on June 13, 2022, rebounded in the summer, and then tanked again as summer ended; autumn is beginning with the fall continuing. This morning’s higher than expected inflation number may make you wonder when the post-Covid financial pain will stop. Using history as a guide, the bad news is probably not all behind us but it’s also not so far from ending, according to finan..
The equity risk premium, a concept in modern financial theory illustrated here, quantifies the premium stocks annually averaged in the 20 years ended September 31, 2022. Stocks, as measured by the Standard & Poor’s 500, averaged a +9.8% annual return in the last 20 years — more than seven times the +1.2% annual return on the risk-free 90-day U.S Treasury bill in the same 20-year period. T-bills are considered a riskless investment. ..
Everyone says trying to get in and out of the stock market is unwise, but this bar chart makes clear why. Missing the 10 best days in of every decade since 1930 through the end of 2021 would have resulted in a total return of 60%, while staying in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index for the entire 91 years would have resulted in a total return of 21,120%. To be clear, missing the 10 best days in the stock market every decade in the 91-year peri..
The American economy was hit by a 100-year economic storm in February 2020, when the Covid 19 pandemic caused what economists term a "Sudden-Stop" of the economy, a shock that ignites a chain reaction of events...
The good news is that the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation may be bottoming, but the bad news is the American consumer’s purchasing power declined by -4.8% in the 12 months ended August 31. The mixed results are captured in this chart showing the Personal Consumption Expenditure Deflator (PCED), the inflation index the Federal Reserve refers to in its policy pronouncements. The PCED declined three-tenths of 1% in August,..
Our tips are designed to make you think about how you could reduce your tax bill for 2022. They’re reminders about ways to cut your federal tax bill by December 31, 2022 in specific situations of interest to business owners, doctors, and employees in executive management as well as middle managers, teachers, and other hard-working lifelong retirement investors. If you are due a bonus by the end of the year, determine whether it will push you in..
As hard as you try not to pay attention when stocks plunge, it can make you nervous -- it can make you rethink your portfolio strategy of staying invested in stocks through bear markets in order to capture the gains historically achieved in bull markets...
Here’s an update on this week’s financial economic news, informed by financial and tax planning and a perspective suited to investors seeking to build a retirement income portfolio or building a legacy for the next generation. The U.S. Index of Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) declined for the sixth consecutive month, and economists at The Conference Board, who compile the data on the 10 indexes that comprise the LEI every month, for t..
This is an unusual year-end tax planning season. The pace of federal tax law reform has increased in the four decades and accelerated since the pandemic. In addition, tax simplification seems like a long-forgotten goal in recent tax reforms. For example, in February 2022, rules implementing the SECURE Act, which was signed into law December 2019, changed a highly technical part of the Internal Revenue Code affecting distributions from federally q..
The stock market suffered its worst week since the June 23 bear market, when the Standard & Poor’s stock index fell more than -20% from its all-time high on January 3, 2022. Try as you might not to pay attention when stocks nosedive and to stick with your strategy to stay invested in stocks for decades, when stocks plunge like they have in this past week, it can make you nervous, and make you rethink your portfolio strategy. Keep in m..
It’s only mid-September, but please begin to think about year-end tax planning. This is an unusual year for tax planning. Not only has the stock market been volatile but new rules about distributions from IRAs and federally qualified retirement plans (QRPs) – such as 401(k), 403(b) and defined benefit plans –became effective this year, and the newly-enacted Inflation Reduction Act also adds some planning opportunities. &nbs..
It is a pivotal moment in economic history. The dust is settling from the economic shock caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the post-pandemic inflation crisis and Russia-Ukraine War linger on, creating stock market uncertainty, fueling fears of an economic downturn, and, in some quarters, of a worldwide financial disaster. So, the latest data on the service sector of the U.S. economy is indeed reassuring. Amid considerable gloom and doom..
In case you missed it, sweeping new rules on distributions from IRA And Qualified Retirement Plans (QRPs) went into effect at the beginning of 2022. W ith the pandemic, high inflation rate, Federal Reserve tightening and other crises preoccupying attention, it is understandable if you did not know about the important new rules affecting retirement planning. On December 20, 2019, President Donald J. Trump signed into law th..
This is a heads up for anyone deciding how to designate beneficiaries of their IRA account based on advice from an IRA custodian call-center employee...
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