News, Updates, & Resources
Mid-Year 2016: An Investment Reality Check
Market volatility is alive and well in 2016. Low oil prices, China's slowing growth, the prospect of rising interest rates, the strong U.S. dollar, global conflicts--all of these factors have contributed to turbulent markets this year. Many investors may be tempted...
July 2016 Monthly Insight: Brexit!
On Friday, June 24, the day after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, we sent out a client update via email. The theme of our alert was that the "leave" vote took world-wide investors by surprise and investors don't like surprises. We also...
June 2016 Monthly Insight: Market Indexes and Benchmarking
When people talk about "the market," exactly what are they talking about? More than likely, they are talking about one of two indexes that are widely reported in mainstream media, financial networks, and many daily publications. These two indexes are the Dow Jones...
Common Financial Wisdom: Theory vs. Practice
In the financial world, there are a lot of rules about what you should be doing. In theory, they sound reasonable. But in practice, it may not be easy, or even possible, to follow them. Let's look at some common financial maxims and why it can be hard to implement...
May 2016 Monthly Insight: A Special Piece by Nick Murray
This month's monthly insight features a special edition story by Nick Murray, who is in his 50th year in the profession of financial advice and is one of the industry's premier speakers and the author of eleven books. Nick was the 2007 recipient of the Malcolm S....
April 2016 Monthly Insight: Recession or No Recession?
Recently, the focus for investors has been all over the map. This is not an all-inclusive list but it adds up to a whole host of worries investors are grappling with in the short term: Oil prices Corporate earnings The global economy China's economy China's...
March 2016 Monthly Insight: Lessons From Buffett’s Shareholder Letter
Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is one of America’s great investors—arguably, the greatest ever. Over the last 50 years, Buffett (now 85) and his partner Charlie Munger (91) have executed one of the greatest allocations of capital in...
February 2016 Monthly Insight: The January Barometer
"As January goes, so goes the year." At least that is the case according the old adage made popular by the Stock Trader’s Almanac. This phenomenon is also known as the "January Barometer." It simply means that January’s market’s performance, as measured by the...
December 2015 Monthly Insight: The Clouds Part
Bernard Baruch is not a household name, so a quick background is in order. He was a financier, a stock investor, a philanthropist, and an economic advisor to Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt. Baruch once quipped, “The main purpose of the stock...
November 2015 Monthly Insight: Budget Bill Changes Social Security Strategies
October was a wild month for the markets—and for many baby boomers who planned for retirement income by synchronizing and coordinating their timing for claiming Social Security benefits. The last week in October saw Congress put an end to two Social Security filing...