Apr 2025
Except for U.S. Equities, the widely followed asset classes* were up in Q1 2025. The notable positive performance was from Non-US stocks (Up 7%) and commodities (Up 8.9%). This underlines the importance of having sensibly diversified portfolios for the long term. Of course, the first week of April upended all these trends as financial markets […]
read more...Mar 2025
So many savvy people have concluded that it is wasteful to spend their life carefully tending to their investments and retirement nest egg, only to have their wishes and desires mishandled when they pass on. Their solution: Estate planning. Here are some thoughts to get you prepared for a meeting with your potential attorney. And, […]
read more...Jan 2025
The widely followed asset classes* were up in 2024, despite a lackluster Q4. 2024 was strong for stock markets and exceptionally strong for the Broad US markets (SP500), for a second year in a row. So… what should investors expect from their Equity investments in 2025? How will markets react to the new president […]
read more...Dec 2024
The worst investment and tax planning ideas for 2024 will be those you get in 2025! It’s too late to do much about them. As Ben Franklin quipped “Its better to strike a straight blow with a crooked stick than spend time trying to straighten it out first”. So here is a baker’s dozen checklist […]
read more...Nov 2024
Many believe that Medicare covers all healthcare expenses. It does not. And, health care expenses are significant enough that they warrant special attention as people transition into retirement. First, health care expenses are a large dollar amount. Second, they may come as a surprise because many people are not used to paying for health care […]
read more...Oct 2024
All widely followed asset classes (Cash, bonds, equities, real estate, and commodities) were up in Q3 as well as year to date. 2024 has been a strong stock market year to date, prompting questions like: “Will this outperformance of stocks last?” Or, “is the market set for a crash?” and similar sentiments. Clearly, people have […]
read more...Jul 2024
The investment markets continued to make gains in Q2. Four of the five asset classes we follow were higher in Q2. In Q2 the Dow Jones index hit 40,000 for the first time. It’s also noteworthy that the Dow is not heavily weighted by the “magnificent seven” and technology stocks. The media headlines focused on […]
read more...Jun 2024
Over the years, our investment portfolios can become needlessly complicated. But, they need not be – we believe that streamlined portfolios can be highly effective. And, there is little evidence to show that complicated portfolios perform consistently better than a streamlined portfolio. Streamlined portfolios have fewer “moving parts” which also allows investors to: • See […]
read more...May 2024
Sorting and filing important financial documents is challenging to so many investors. Keeping proper documentation is important. Having the right documents helps if you are audited. They also help if you want a loan, need to prove you own an asset or to support you in a lawsuit. Declutter your files to keep only essential […]
read more...Apr 2024
The financial markets continued to make strong gains in Q1 and the financial news remains upbeat most likely due to the continued strong performance. The strong US equity returns were driven by the so-called “Magnificent 7”. But we also know that though these are great profit making businesses, they also represent only a handful out […]
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