What???! The Stock Market is Rigged???
You may have heard about the 60 Minutes interview with author Michael Lewis, a former Wall Street broker, author of “Liar’s Poker” and “The Big Short,” who has just come out with a new book entitled “Flash Boys.” Lewis is an eloquent and astute critic of Wall Street’s creative and predatory practices, and in his […]
2013 Final Contributions Deadline
As the month of March winds down and we say hello to April and spring weather, we also know the tax deadline looms. For those of you eligible and planning to make a 2013 retirement plan contribution, we suggest getting those in to our office by April 8th. You officially have until the tax filing […]
The Optimistic Data You Never See
If you want to feel depressed about the economy and the outlook for the investment markets, there are always pundits and media outlets to oblige you. However, we have read, and would like to share, some interesting facts and figures that are rarely in the mainstream media. Let’s start with oil–specifically, the oft-quoted prediction that […]
2013 Tax Season Planning
As you begin collecting data for your 2013 tax returns, please note the important dates below: All 1099-R forms (distributions from retirement accounts) will be postmarked January 31st. As a result of recent changes enacted in the Energy Improvement and Extension Act, final reporting deadlines for money managers in accounts have been extended. 1099-Composite forms […]
Earnings Season Preview
While 2013 is over, a lot of data for the past year is still flowing in. Last Friday, investors were fairly surprised by a jobs report that showed the unemployment rate drop handily from 7% to 6.7%. Yet monthly job gains were only 74,000, the weakest of 2013. On the surface, this makes little sense. […]
Bitcoin – An Investment Or A Speculation?
What is money? It’s a simple question really, but when we really dig deeper, things become a little cloudier. Put simply, money is a medium of exchange for goods or services. We give a mechanic some green pieces of paper-or the electronic form through our card-and he or she fixes our car. We all want […]
Thanks-‘Living’
Today’s missive is not about the returns, risks or rewards of investing. It is purely aimed at taking stock of our personal positives and giving thanks for all that we have. It may sound callous and materialistic, but we are thankful for the recovery. It’s easy to take for granted where we are today in […]
Is This A Bubble? Can I Keep Emotion Out of My Plan?
It goes without saying that domestic stock markets have been strong this year. While the S&P 500 is up over 26% year to date in price as of Friday’s close (11/15/13), it has yet to suffer a correction of even 10%. The largest drawdown so far this year was only about 7.5%. This is a […]
Political Investing
The rhetoric remains fierce, as the debt ceiling debate drama continues…again. Even though we go through this cycle over and over, we keep getting questions from investors as to whether or not they should get more conservative “until this all blows over.” Our advice, time and again, remains “Stick to your plan.” A wonderful article-On […]
Scary Headlines, Remarkable Returns
The threat of a government shutdown led investment markets to close out the third quarter with a whimper rather than a bang. All the uncertainty has tended to obscure the fact that most U.S. stock market investors have experienced significant gains so far this year. And the recent quarter was no exception. Despite the rocky […]