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.

Source: Direxion Funds

August 15, 2017

By The Numbers...

• The findings of the Federal Reserve’s “stress test” completed on 34 large US banks were released on 6/22/17. The tests, created in 2009, showed the banks all passed for the third consecutive year. The banks were put through financial simulations to determine if they could survive a two-year economic slump that included a 10% national unemployment rate, 50% decline in stock values, 25% drop in home prices and 35% decline in commercial real estate prices.

• The yield on the 10-year Treasury note closed at 1.36% on 7/8/16, its lowest closing yield ever. 10-year notes have traded in the US since 1790. The current rate on the 10-year Treasury note is approximately 2.20%.

June 30, 2017

Whenever someone tells me that aging is hard, I’ve taken to replying “The alternative is less attractive.” I guess I get away with saying that because, well, I’m apparently also aging. 

June 30, 2017

Snapchat has been in the headlines recently.  At first, they were the darling of the initial public offering (IPO) space, with investors clamoring for a chance to purchase the company stock.  The first act of that play ended on a high note: on the day of their IPO, March 2, 2017, the stock price finished up 44%, rising from an issuing price of $17 per share to later close at $24.48.  Not a bad way to send the audience off to intermission.

Then came Act 2.