The markets had a strong start to the year, with the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones each hitting all-time highs in the first quarter. In fact, the S&P 500 has reached 22 new record highs so far this year. The economy has remained resilient with low unemployment, strong consumer spending, and healthy household and …
Investment Management
2023 Market Recap & 2024 Outlook
Last year was a surprisingly strong year for the stock market driven by moderating inflation and an AI (artificial intelligence) boom. However, 2023 was really a tale of two markets, with mega cap technology stocks having much stronger performance than the rest of the markets. The S&P 500 was up about 26% for the year. …
Highlights
2023 Highlights As we bring yet another year to a close, our team collectively reflected on the work we’ve done on behalf of and in partnership with clients in 2023. It has been a year of significant change for some – some of the 2023 highlights include clients selling businesses, losing a parent or spouse, …
Economic & Market Update
It has been a generally positive year for the stock market. Most analysts had entered the year forecasting a recession, but our economic and market updates show that the economy has been fairly strong overall as consumers have continued spending. Much of the gains this year can be attributed to a handful of large technology …
Reflections on our Independence
As we approach the two-year anniversary of becoming an independent Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), I thought it made sense to reflect on the benefits of the change and summarize what has happened over the past 24 months. You may recall that the change to RIA was intended to support us in maintaining our high fiduciary …
The Market Rallies…
The Market Rallies… After a difficult year in 2022, the markets are off to a strong start halfway through 2023. The market rally has been driven in part by the excitement around artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential impact, as well as an economy that’s been resilient. The S&P 500 (500 large US companies) is …
Cryptocurrency Executive Order (EO)
This blog assumes you know what cryptocurrency is. The Biden Cryptocurrency Executive Order EO serves as a high-level homework assignment to the other branches of government. Basically, it highlighted what’s been happening in this area in the past few years: Digital assets are skyrocketing in terms of market cap (going from $14 Billion in 2016 …
Young Women are Investing Earlier
Women are making money moves where it counts. According to a recent study from Fidelity, young women are beginning to invest almost a decade sooner than those from previous generations, and are investing their excess savings outside of just retirement accounts. The average age for a woman to open her first brokerage account is now …
Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies represent digital units that are utilized to facilitate online transactions without the need for a central intermediary to process. The cryptocurrencies transactions are digitally recorded on a public ledger. As of May 2021, per CoinMarketCap, more than 10,000 cryptocurrencies, also known as coins, have been launched as there are minimal barriers to launching new …
Cash Vs. Money Market
Chasing interest on your cash is a tough thing to do, especially right now with interest rates being so low. Several years ago, before the financial crisis of 2008-2009, I held funds in what were called “demand notes.” Demand notes, a type of money market fund, paid a higher interest rate than a typical savings …