Portfolio Strategy Review Q3 2018
Q3 Highlights: A judge who likes beer, rising interest rate fear, and an intensifying trade war. The US 10-year bond rate is a good proxy for the cost of money. If you need credit to buy a house, car, invest in a business, etc., the rate matters. For example, when...
Portfolio Strategy Review Q2 2018
Crypto kept crashing and Trump keeps bashing; except for his pal Vlad. The new tax cuts have bolstered US economic growth in this 9th year of economic expansion. Median forecasts for Q2 economic growth are 3.7%, much higher than Q1’s 2.2%. The policy may be good...
Portfolio Strategy Review Q1 2018
The Great Melt Up in stocks continued in January, and then it didn’t. After a January peak driven by economic optimism for US tax reform, a swift 10% decline ensued triggered by several factors: an early year rise in interest rates; the tweeter-in-chief’s tough tariff...
Portfolio Strategy Review 2017
Markets not only continued to defy gravity, the ascent accelerated! And the 2018 predictions are in. Drum roll please: Allan Roth: US stocks will return between -21.7% and +34.7%; international stocks between -26.4% and +42.4%. Thanks Mr. Roth. Did you really want...
Making Sense of Commission-Driven Advice
A referral from a trusted adviser like one’s CPA usually helps to take some risk out of the selection decision. However, just because a CPA works with numbers and is tax savvy doesn’t mean they are fully aware of the investment landscape nor motives that may work...
Financial Advice Only a Banker Could Love
Many banks now operate as a one-stop shop for all your financial needs. The convenience factor is seductive. To what outcome this “all-things, to all-people” boilerplate approach? This is a tale of a community bank, acquired several times, and now part of a publicly...
Trends & Best Practices in 401k Administration
I thought I would highlight a few trends for you in 401k Plan Administration as we head into 2018.A continued trend and concern for employers is employees who are stressed about their personal finances. This often leads to lower productivity; and for employees who...
When the Message is Clear
I was doing a 401k education and enrollment session at one of the health care clinics I service. One of the attendees was especially attentive and she was taking very detailed notes. After finishing the presentation, she approached me for some more information: “I...
Don’t Forget Your People: Beneficiary Designations!
Last month we reviewed some differences and similarities between 401ks and IRAs that can create cost and confusion. Yet another difference you and your employees should know about is beneficiary designations. This applies to 401ks, IRAs, insurance policies, annuities,...
Bitcoin, Buffet, and Bubbles
What We Know Bitcoin – Selling off 20% today after a meteoric rise. But what is it? Some new store of value? New mode of transacting? How is it priced? I don’t know it well enough to explain it. And I don’t care. It hasn’t been around long enough to tell if it’s a...