The investment market remains resilient amidst a backdrop of mixed economic signals. While corporate earnings have generally exceeded expectations, concerns about economic growth and persistent inflation persist. The tech sector continues to lead the rally, fueled by strong earnings and enthusiasm around artificial intelligence. As we enter the month of September, the most important thing …
Tag Archives: Investing
All Eyes on the Economy
The markets finished last week clearly rattled by a combination of a weaker labor market and corporate tech earnings missing Wall Street expectations. The economy is clearly slowing and the unexpected rise in the unemployment rate was a major catalyst in the current stock market pullback. As of 8/5/2024, here is a snapshot of the …
The Rule of 72
Many of you have likely heard of the adage, “the Rule of 72.” It’s used frequently in the investing world because it provides a simple way for calculating how long it will take for an investment to double in value. You simply take the assumed annual rate of return (typically 10% for the historical S&P …
High Quality International
Since last months update, the stock market has experienced a pullback and bond prices continue to push lower with medium and long-term interest rates moving higher. As of this writing here is where those two markets stand: Stocks: S&P 500: 5% Nasdaq: 4.5% Russell 2000: -1% Bonds: Aggregate Bond Index: -4% Short Term Index: -1% …
Colorado 529 – First Step Program
The first quarter of 2024 was very positive for the stock market with new highs being posted across most major indices. This resulted in the best first quarter returns of the year since 2019. Stocks: S&P 500: 10% Nasdaq: 9.5% Russell 2000: 4% Bonds have been trading flat to down mostly with interest rate cuts …
Markets and Tax Reminders
February just notched the best returns for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq since 2015, while the Dow had its best February since 2021. Thus far in 2024 there has been more market breadth with more than 71% of the stocks included in the S&P posting positive returns. That said, the median return of these is …
The Start of 2024
The start to 2024 has been full of excitement with the main stock indices reaching new all time highs (something that hasn’t happened since 2021). As we enter the beginning of February, many folks are wondering what to do in this circumstance along with a divisive presidential election and potential rate cuts that are forecasted …
Are Bonds Dead?
Dear clients and friends, October marked the third straight monthly drop for U.S. stocks where the Nasdaq and S&P 500 entered correction territory (down more than 10% from the most recent 52-week high). We mentioned last month that these corrections happen about every 16 months on average so this was not terribly unexpected. What is …
A Little History on Bull and Bear
Dear clients and friends, As we enter the last quarter of the year, volatility is picking up in both the stock and bond markets, primarily due to rising treasury yields and renewed concern about higher for longer rates of inflation and soaring national debt. Historically, September is a difficult month for the stock market and …
Direct Indexing
Dear clients and friends, We hope each of you is enjoying the summer months and a more stable market environment. As we progress further into the second half of the year we wanted to provide a quick update on the markets as well as introduce a concept called “Direct Indexing” which is becoming a bigger …