Clients frequently ask if their debt should be paid down. Generally, we recommend avoiding debt other than a reasonable mortgage, especially as retirement approaches. In some cases, however, debt can be innocuous or even helpful. This chart summarizes the logical process for deciding to pay off debt. The steps are described below Cash Flow Risk… [Continue]
July 7, 2022 By
How Long Are Bear Markets?
When the market is down, our mantra is time eats volatility. We are very confident in the maxim because of the mathematics of volatility, but it’s important to understand how much time. S&P 500 Bear Markets To answer this question, we examine the monthly total returns of the S&P 500 since June 1927 through May… [Continue]
February 1, 2022 By
Preparing for Market Storms
The financial weather seems to be turning nasty and market storms are on the horizon. Inflation is blazing and the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates. In January the ETF SPY (S&P 500 index) lost 9.2%, but then regained some back. Can anything be done to protect your portfolio? Well, yes, but perhaps… [Continue]
March 16, 2021 By
Two Critical Investment Lessons from 2020
Lesson 1 from 2020: The Power of Diversification The first investment lesson from 2020 is diversification. Everyone knows that it is important to diversify in order to stabilize your portfolio. In more technical speak, this means holding some assets that tend to zig when other holdings zag To accomplish this, many investors hold long-term bonds.… [Continue]
May 28, 2020 By
Poo Flinging Monkeys And Investment Advice
One of the more frequent questions we get in times like this is “What do you think the markets will do?” I don’t know over the short term — seriously, not a clue. But for those seeking clarity, there’s no shortage of poo flinging monkeys who will answer that question. Just turn on the financial… [Continue]
