As an investor, do you follow the crowd or march to your own beat? If more the latter, you might be a contrarian: “A person who opposes or rejects popular opinion.” When is it appropriate to be a contrarian investor? When markets are experiencing extreme highs or...
Investing
Uneasy Investors Should Focus On What They Can Control
Current events remind me of a rip current at the beach. Once swept into it, you have two choices: 1) fight against the undertow and risk a bad outcome; or 2) go with the flow until you are carried to calmer, more predictable waters. It’s a scary experience. In the...
How did Financial Predictions for 2022 Fare?
“Forecasting is difficult because it concerns the future,” goes an old Danish proverb. What makes forecasting so unreliable? The unknown. At the beginning of last year, we didn’t know that Russia would invade Ukraine, that China’s stringent zero-tolerance COVID-19...
For Some, Bonds are Like a Horror Movie
This year feels like watching a horror movie in the bond market. Van Helsing (the Federal Reserve) is combating Dracula (inflation), trying to put a stake (interest rate increases) through the cash-flow sucker’s heart. Only eight months into these aggressive rate...
Investors have questions about inflation, the possibility of a recession
What is on the mind of investors this month? Mostly concern. There is much negative chatter about inflation, recession and a double-dip bear market. Here are some of the frequent investor questions that I am hearing: ∎ “Is the bear market over?” Probably not. While...
Inflation is challenging. Take a breath and re-balance your investment portfolio
“I will survive!” sang Gloria Gaynor in the 1970s. Back then, it could have been a battle cry: Oil prices surged, inflation peaked at 14%, and the U.S. stock market plunged 45%. Almost 50 years later, we are facing challenges on the same fronts, but not at the...
War is emotional, but rarely impactful on company profits
There is a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. The loss of life is tragic and disturbing. And it is OK to wonder, “What does this mean for my investments?” Our financial planning firm recently hosted a current events webinar with Apollo Lupescu, Ph.D., vice president of...
Here’s how to keep your focus on the big picture during unsteady times
Here we are in 2022 and the world seems like a crazy place (again)! Armies on the move. Consumer prices reaching decade highs. The coronavirus pandemic continuing to impact our daily lives. What should be your next decision with your personal finances? Should you sell...
Balancing Act: Interest Rates
“What are your IRAs paying?” asked my mother-in-law. Being extremely risk-adverse, and 93-years-old, she was referring to the prevailing interest rates on an IRA bank account or an IRA annuity. However, as I politely discussed with her (as she was preparing her famous...
It’s always a good time to audit your retirement income strategy
Do you have enough money saved to retire? Are you financially independent from the need to earn a paycheck? This is some important math as the coronavirus pandemic has moved some workers into early retirement, voluntarily or involuntarily. Stated another way, when you...