Please note all below figures are unadjusted for inflation. Since 1950 the average maximum intra-year low for the S&P 500 has been 13.5%. This means that if you had bought the S&P 500 on January 1st of any given year the S&P 500 would on average be down by 13.5% at some point during the [...]
Yesterday kicked off the first of the Democratic debates. How many are seeking the nomination? Might be better to ask who isn’t. Lots of folks on that stage last night. Anyway...a major plank in the platform is student loan forgiveness. Presumed frontrunners Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are pledging to forgive 75% and 100% respectively. [...]
No need to be honest. Just tell people what they want to hear. Automating tasks saved financial advisors at Merrill Lynch work… More advisors are also choosing to use the model portfolios created by the firm's central investment office. Andy Sieg - President of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management All that marketing capital spent lying to [...]
Nice article from Barry Ritholtz about the importance of a basic financial education, why we're so bad at providing it and what can be done to improve the situation.
Fantastic Josh Brown blog post. Read. Enjoy. Learn.
Who likes a visit to the doctor’s office? Exactly. In a recent survey conducted by The Harris Poll Americans likened financial planning to a medical exam. Adults aged 18+ were asked how they feel about financial planning. The #1 answer was “not my favorite thing in the world but know it needs to get done [...]
Monday marked the 24th time since the March 2009 low that the S&P 500 corrected by 5% or more. Each time many people proverbially lost their collective minds. The lack of perspective is amazing. Since the 2009 low of 666 on the S&P we’ve experienced a 400%+ recovery. A 5% pullback is enough to [...]
When Uncle Sam’s income (i.e. tax revenue) is less than his spending he runs a budget deficit. The Treasury Department sells Bills, Notes and Bonds (i.e. “Treasuries”) to cover the shortfall. Who are the buyers? Who enables the federal credit card? Historically the gap was filled from overseas. Individuals would buy Treasuries due to [...]
Excellent work by the folks at Pension Partners. Everything you wanted to know – and then some! Spend some time with the data. Quite eye opening.
The optimist expects good outcomes. He’s often disappointed. The pessimist expects the worst. He’s pegged as a doom and gloomer. The realist doesn’t have expectations. He keeps on open mind. Who’s right? No one. But who’s happiest? The realist. Why? Let’s have a look. We like to plan for the future. We like order – [...]