To Inform: Earlier this week I was in a meeting with a client, and we talked about the challenging market last year in 2022. The client said, “I know, and everything is down again this year!” I replied that actually, most asset classes are positive so far this year and a balanced portfolio in the […]

To Inform: Inflation, interest rates, stocks, bonds…there are countless factors to consider when thinking about your investment portfolio and your long-term goals, but when was the last time you considered what to do with your short-term cash savings? We all have a dollar amount that makes us feel comfortable in savings to be able to […]

To Inform: “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”  – Yogi Berra Most mornings as I’m having my coffee, after a devotional and quiet time, I look at my CNBC app to check pre-market trading and the major headlines for the financial markets. For the early morning of March 17, here is the […]

To Inform: “So, on behalf of the people of this country, to prevent a recession, yes or no Chairman Powell, will you pause future interest rate hikes?” This question was posed to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell by Rep. Ayanna Pressley from Michigan this past week as the Chairman testified before Congress. Powell ultimately responded […]

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 […]