Market Review Trust and confidence. That’s what financial markets boil down to. Rising trust leads to rising stock prices. Lack of trust….look out below! In March, we saw the evaporation of that confidence and the subsequent run on Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic. I won’t expound on all the details as you’ve probably read…
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Writings
Reminder About FDIC Insurance
If everyone with a Costco membership showed up at the same time to buy the $5 roasted chicken, there would be chaos. The same thing applies to banks. What happened with Silicon Valley Bank is an old fashioned bank run that most people only recollect in the holiday season when watching “It’s a Wonderful Life.”…
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The Day You Became a Better Investor
When I started investing, I knew nothing. I went from knowing nothing about investing to being a good investor after learning a few easy principles. I’ll tell you the gist so you don’t have to waste another second trying to figure this “investing thing” out or another dollar to an advisor who doesn’t understand this….
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2022 Annual Letter
In 2022, the markets decided to test everyone’s resolve including this new business in its second full year. The S&P was down -18.0% and US treasury bonds had one of their worst years ever (-17.8%). As I’ve covered extensively in my quarterly market overviews and blog posts, there was torment everywhere. No need to sugarcoat…
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4Q 2022 Market Overview
Market Review We got a bit of reprieve this last quarter from the onslaught that 2022 has been. US stocks were up over 7% this quarter, and I’m pleased to write that developed international stocks were up 16%! It pays to be globally diversified and we finally got to see those benefits of owning companies…
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Retirement Planning Takeaways from SECURE Act 2.0
In December of 2019, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act brought many changes to the retirement environment (death of the stretch IRA, raising RMD age to 72, etc.). Before the end of 2022, President Biden signed an omnibus spending package which contained the SECURE Act 2.0 – another retirement reform package….
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