A Tale of Two Decades
Looking at the stock market over the past 20 years, you might think of Charles Dickens: It was the best of times—and the worst. But while the 2000s and 2010s have differed starkly in performance, collectively they have reinforced investing lessons on patience and discipline. This piece from our partner, Dimensional Funds, discusses the well supported thought that maintaining patience and discipline, through the bad times and the good, puts investors in position to increase [...]
August Performance Dashboard
U.S. equities stumbled in August, buffeted by economic implications of an inverted yield curve and a possible trade war with China. Large-caps declined, with the S&P 500® down 2%, while the S&P MidCap 400® and S&P SmallCap 600® performed even worse, down 4% and 5%, respectively. International markets also struggled, with the S&P Developed Ex-U.S. and the S&P Emerging BMI down 3% and 4%, respectively. The Far East and Latin America were particularly weak. Low Volatility triumphed amid [...]
The Secret of the Solo 401(k)
Self-employment has may perks, but there’s at least one significant drawback: the lack of an employer-sponsored retirement plan like a 401(k). We have a solution for you! The solo 401(k) is designed for self-employed workers with no employees, and mimics many of the features of an employer-sponsored plan. THE BASICS: Save up to $19,000 (over 50? Make that $25,000) Profit sharing options of up to 25% of income on top of the 19k Flexibility - [...]
Back to School!
As of today, colleges are back in session in most of the country, and many parents are likely thinking about how best to prepare for their children’s future college expenses. NOW is a good time to sharpen one’s pencil for a few important lessons before heading back into the investing classroom to tackle the issue. THE CALCULUS OF PLANNING FOR FUTURE COLLEGE EXPENSES According to recent data published by the College Board, the annual cost [...]
Rising annual health care costs in retirement
Health care is traditionally one of the largest expenses in retirement. Planning for these costs, and keeping up with it as you age is crucial. Given variation in health care cost inflation from year to year, it may be prudent to assume an annual health care inflation rate of 6.5% which may require growth as well as current income from your retirement portfolio. This chart illustrates the current out-of-pocket health care costs experienced by today’s [...]
Video Series: Reacting to Markets
This 1 minute video says it all! Nobel laureate Eugene Fama provides perspective for long-term investors on why they shouldn’t pay a lot of attention to short-term results. "If you have a bad period in the risky part of your portfolio and you get out as a consequence...What that says is you NEVER should have been there!" The most free way of thinking about investing is understanding what the possibilities are...good or bad.
