November 15, 2017

By John Zeltmann

I loved McDonald’s as a kid: the golden brown French fries, the milkshakes, the second-to-none birthday parties. And who could forget the prizes that came with the Happy Meals!

November 15, 2017

The Equifax data breach has kept the topic of identity theft near the front pages. A recent article in the New York Times¹ highlighted the 10 steps you should consider to help protect yourself:

Source: Direxion Funds

November 15, 2017

• Over the last 25 years, the S&P 500 stock index has gained an average of 4.9% (total return) over the final 3 months of the year. 20 of the last 25 fourth quarters (80%) have produced a positive total return.

• The S&P 500 has experienced 10 drops of at least 5% during its bull market run that just passed 104 months in length on 11/09/17, but none since 2/11/16.

• This is the second longest bull market for the S&P 500 since 1950, trailing only the 113 ½ month long bull that ended in March 2000.

September 30, 2017

If nothing else, aging provides perspective. The longer you live, the more you realize there’s only so much you can plan for in life. Conversely, you also learn that failing to plan can be life-altering, but often not in a good way. If you’re a senior (you can define how old that is), in or approaching retirement, it might be time to start pondering where to live the most golden of your senior years.

September 30, 2017

Are you planning on making charitable donations this upcoming holiday season?  Consider using something other than cash.

September 30, 2017

We don’t always get to choose where we want to live, either during our working life or later. Jobs may take us to cities with a high cost of living, and family, friends, and health may keep us in or near those same communities when we retire.

Source: Direxion Funds

September 30, 2017

• The highest closing value during the year for the S&P 500 has occurred in the final 4 months of the year (i.e. September – December) in 11 of the last 14 calendar years.

• The average interest rate paid by the government on its interest-bearing debt was 2.279% as of 7/31/17. The average interest paid on interest-bearing debt was 5.041% as of 7/31/07 (10 years earlier) or 2.8 percentage points higher. Every 1 percentage point increase in the cost of debt on our nation’s $14.4 trillion of publicly held debt is equal to $144 billion of annual interest expense.

• 42 million Americans owe $1.34 trillion in student loan debt. 60% of borrowers fully repay their student debt within 8 years of beginning repayment.

August 15, 2017

As you might imagine, John and I spend a lot of time reading both professional journals as well as more mainstream publications, such as the Wall Street Journal and Barron’s. Thus, we’re familiar with the current debate about robo-advisors and which investors might benefit from using them.  

August 15, 2017

September is right around the corner, which means it's back-to-school time.  No doubt that any parent with a child under the age of 18 is scrambling around, helping their kids pick up the necessary materials they need for a successful year.  Just imagine the slate of courses primed for your child or grandchild: social studies, math, biology, art, personal finance...wait, what?  No personal finance class, you say?  

August 15, 2017

A client forwarded an e-mail that had all the trademarks of a communication from Charles Schwab. Fortunately, our client was savvy enough to realize it was not sent by Schwab, but by someone seeking his log-in credentials. He forwarded it to me, and I sent it on to Schwab’s security team.