To Inform: An article in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal started with the sentence, “Stronger-than-expected manufacturing data Wednesday pushed stocks lower…” Wait, what? Isn’t better than expected data supposed to be good for markets? Sometimes that’s the case, but the current market environment is one of mixed signals as the market wrestles with the prospects for […]

To Inform: How do I fund education costs for my kids and grandkids? This is one of the perennial questions that parents and grandparents face when it comes to education costs. 529 accounts have long been the answer for people looking for tax-deferred growth for education expenses (if you’re unfamiliar with 529s, be sure to […]

To Inform: Markets take a circuitous path to the future. Investing is rarely a “linear” discipline. It’s better thought of as a “chaos system” akin to understanding the weather. In less scientific terms, markets are a “whack-a-mole” of risks and opportunities, all presenting themselves at different times and in varying fashions. Sometimes markets behave rationally, […]

To Inform: We began 2023 talking about key themes which we believed would impact markets, and therefore portfolio decisions, throughout the year. A few weeks ago, we talked about inflation and the prospect of recession (Unpacking Themes Key to 2023 – Part 1)…let’s unpack two themes related to asset classes. Foreign Stocks: Could Shifting Winds […]

To Inform: The Rodney Dangerfield classic, Back to School, finds our protagonist Thornton Melon attempting the “Triple Lindy.” Mr. Melon attempts and completes a dive that anyone in the real world would be a fool to try. A person asks in the crowd what Mr. Melon is attempting. When told it’s the “Triple Lindy” she […]

To Inform: While we gathered with family, friends, and loved ones just a few weeks ago for the holiday season the U.S. Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. Although this Appropriations Act is largely a spending bill gaining notoriety for its $1.7 trillion price tag, it includes legislation within it known as “Secure […]

To Inform:  Last night we hosted a Portfolios at Your Place event where we unpacked eight key themes we think are key to navigating financial markets in 2023. Over the next several weeks, we will unpack those themes with our readers. Let’s look at two today. Inflation is Deflating Across almost every indicator you would […]

To Inform: In small pots in my basement there are a dozen American Chestnuts germinating. I investigate the pots daily, ensuring they’re getting enough moisture and enough light to properly germinate and send stems above the surface. Several have sent root radicles out of the chestnut with “green shoots” soon to appear. While a budding […]

To Inform: As we start 2023, we get a lot of questions about what the year may look like from a market perspective. “What do you think will happen this year?” “What does your crystal ball say?” I think investors are especially interested given what a difficult market year 2022 was. Last year has the […]

To Inform:   Each January it’s a tradition for us at The Joseph Group to talk about the big picture themes which could impact portfolios in the year ahead. Defining these themes is important for our portfolio management process because they point us toward potential actions we may want to take in the portfolios we […]