To Inform:  Financial markets have gotten off to a volatile start in 2022 with interest rates rising and the closely watched S&P 500 index of U.S. stocks down approximately -6% (through January 20) with many technology stocks down even more. Within our Investment Strategy Team meetings, we’ve said that when the market has a more […]

To Inform:  It’s fair to say that 2022 started with a bang. Reminiscent of the start to 2021, bond yields took off in the first week of 2022, with the yield on the US 10-Year Treasury Bond rising from 1.51% on December 31 to an intraday high of 1.80% on January 7. This increase in […]

To Inform: The first week of the year is a time to look back, compile the official market data for the prior year, see what worked and what did not work, and use it all to inform decisions for the year ahead. Let’s look at some observations across major asset classes. Note:  Index Return data […]

To Inform: “Bah! It’s humbug still. I won’t believe it!” These words, uttered by Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens’ novel “A Christmas Carol” come just before the ghost of Scrooge’s old partner Jacob Marley pays him a visit. Hearing a disturbance down the hall, Scrooge dismisses it. Sometimes investors make the same mistake Scrooge did. We […]

To Inform: As we approach the end of a year there are typically multiple studies which look at past history for clues regarding what the market may do in the upcoming year. In this To Inform piece of WealthNotes, we’re going to look at two history pieces from highly regarded firms for clues regarding what […]

To Inform: 2021 has been an incredible year for The Joseph Group. We’re working with many new friends like you, and that growth has allowed us to grow our team. Many of our readers will soon receive our Harvest magazine introducing you to the newest members of our Joseph Group family: Theresa LeChard, Christie Thompson, […]

To Inform: A week ago, most of us were digesting our Thanksgiving meals and few people had ever heard of the Omicron variant of COVID. That’s certainly changed in the last few days as Omicron has dominated the headlines. Stock markets have seesawed in the past week with moves in both directions, but the chart […]

To Inform:  One of the interesting things about investing is that one can look to the past for parallels that can help navigate the present environment. We’re often asked how high we think inflation can go, and for how long. Sometimes in these conversations a repeat of the 1970s comes up as a worst-case scenario. […]

To Inform:  Some things are hard – like open heart surgery, learning a new language, and negotiating with a hungry toddler. Charitable giving shouldn’t be hard, and a donor advised fund (DAF) can make it even easier. The saying “cash is king” doesn’t hold true for charitable giving. You can make a bigger impact – […]

To Inform: One of my favorite quotes is by Bradley Vinson, and it goes like this: Money is a tool. Used properly it makes something beautiful – used wrong it makes a mess!” This begs the question, who were some of the people that influenced your experience and path with savings and investing? For me, […]