Recently, I had a chance to preview a personal finance book by a best-selling author that focused on how to build and manage your wealth. During the process of reading an early draft of the book, it struck me that it is easy for many to think of wealth building and wealth management as the same thing. However, they are distinctly different and should be considered separately. Building wealth is…
During most years, the stock market tends to go up in value, 73% of the time since 1928, to be precise.1 Using historical returns as an indicator, in any given year, you’re usually better off investing in ‘the market’ than not investing at all. Unfortunately, the S&P 500 (often referred to as the ‘the market’), is having one of its worst starts to the year ever and at the time…
During times of high market valuations and following long-periods of strong market returns, we are often asked where we think the market is “going from here”. The real question behind this inquiry is “is it time to sell?” When markets go up, it’s natural to be excited about the gains, while feeling nervous about giving back those same gains in the next market downturn. The crux of the question is…
In February of 1968, Harry Belafonte, host of the Tonight Show on NBC, had Martin Luther King Jr. on as a guest. Below is a clip of Martin Luther King Jr. responding to a question from his host and the following quote: “The economic problem is probably the most serious problem confronting the Negro community, and, I might say, the most serious problem confronting poor people generally”. It’s no secret…
It’s official. As of earlier this week, all three major indexes (Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq) all ended in correction territory. What is a correction? A correction is when the stock market experiences a 10% drop from it’s highs. Is it notable? Yes. Should it be worrisome? No. Let me explain. Over the last 50 years, the S&P 500 has entered into a correction 29 times. That is…
Last month, we wrote about the sometimes misleading terminology used to describe relative currency values: the “strong” and “weak” dollar. Another example of labels that can mislead us about economic issues is one that has been in the news of late: the so-called “trade deficit.” The United States runs a trade deficit with another country when it imports more from that country than it exports to it. The opposite…
Currently, one of the nation’s biggest banks, Wells Fargo, is in the middle of a serious scandal. The company fraudulently opened extra customer accounts without their consent or knowledge in order to boost revenue. (Click here to read story) Prior to the latest news, Wells Fargo was considered to be one of the darlings of Wall Street. Warren Buffett, a major stakeholder, loved to talk about the bank. However, since the…
The global investment community has been focused on the recent vote by the UK to leave the European Union, broadly referred to as the “Brexit.” This historic event will have economic impacts on the UK and the European Union, as well as their trading partners. Unsurprisingly, equity markets experienced sharp declines in the days following Brexit and have since seen a significant rebound. If you haven’t already, please read…
The global investment community has been focused on the recent vote by the UK to leave the European Union, broadly referred to as the “Brexit.” This historic event will have economic impacts on the UK and the European Union, as well as their trading partners. Unsurprisingly, equity markets experienced sharp declines in the days following Brexit and have since seen a significant rebound. If you haven’t already, please read our…
Halloween is almost upon us and it seems the market is doing its part to spook investors. As a result, many people may experience higher levels of anxiety regarding their investments. We prepared the following commentary as part of our most recent quarterly update to our clients. We think it provides useful perspective. Market Volatility The global equity markets the past two quarters can be summed up in one word: volatile. As…
