Now that both major parties have wrapped up their conventions and we enter the home stretch of the presidential election race, you may start to see suggestions about how the presidential election cycle affects the markets. Some will say the months leading up to the election is a good time for markets and other folks will say the opposite! So, is there anything we can learn from this cycle that can help with investment decision making?
This is a question that is being asked a lot these days. The answer could make a big difference to your financial security, especially if you are retired, or within 5 years of retirement. I think in order to figure out the answer to this question, we have to look at a number of factors.
Over the past few decades there has been an explosion of strategies and money flows from institutional investors (pension plans, hedge funds, etc.) relative to the market participation of individual investors. This dynamic change has made it more difficult for individual investors to be successful due to these imbalances in market participation.
How the Stock Market Has Changed Over the Last 30 Years Read More »
If you are like most of the people, I have been speaking with over the last few months, they are concerned about volatility. Extreme movements in your investments can be hard to deal with.
I have NEVER put out a blog like this one. I am hoping to disturb you enough to stop ignoring the signals and take steps to prevent catastrophic losses.
Are Stock Market Investments Worth the Risk Right Now? Read More »
The last couple of weeks have been a reminder that the stock market is full of surprises, like them or not. We’ve seen daily fluctuations of 500 or 1,000 Dow points to be the norm, not the exception, which is a volatility we have not seen in a long time.
The Markets Are Going Crazy, Should I Be Worried? Read More »
Those of you, who know me, understand that I don’t try to “time” the market. I think that is a game that can’t be won over the long haul. However, you also know that I feel it is very important to avoid losing money, especially if you are within 5 years of retirement. This is for both the 5 years before and the 5 years after retirement.
Mutual Funds are one of the most popular tools in use today for people who want to invest. They are convenient, liquid, professionally managed, diversified and perceived as “simple.” While much of that can be true, do you understand what the cost is for that convenience? For that matter, do you have any idea what you are actually investing in?
How to Understand What is in Your Mutual Funds Account Read More »
So what was your answer? Are you ready? Wall Street has conditioned a huge segment of the investing public to think, “I am a long term investor, I will just ride out the correction, the market always comes back”. In today’s post, I would like to cut through some of the myths and misinformation that are widely accepted as true, but can create huge losses with little to no warning.
