The market has been somewhat volatile this year and some of my clients have expressed fear that the markets are “too high” and they should get out until this is over. My question to them is—how do you know when it’s over? It’s very tempting to want to play around with our investments. We are …
Investing
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 …
Preparing for Your Financial Review Meeting
Today’s post is a guest blog post from Kim Waldman, who is our Chief Operating Officer at Stephens Wealth Management Group. So, you want to make the most of your financial review meeting, but you aren’t sure how? I totally understand and was in that place myself just a few years back. Following are a …
DIY Investing
I heard a great analogy the other day. It has to do with oil changes in your car. If you wanted to, you could figure out how to do an oil change and save yourself some money. However, you might get oil dripped on your face, like what happened to my husband the first time …
The F Words of Finance
There are a lot of F words, especially in the world of finance. Fiduciary, Finance, Financial Advisor, etc. But none of those are my favorite F word. My favorite is “Female Financial Planner”. Ha, you thought I was going to pick a different F word, didn’t you? I also like “french fries.” It can be …
ESG OR SRI INVESTING?
Sometimes you hear the phrase, “put your money where your mouth is,” meaning, use your dollars towards things you really are passionate about. If this matters to you, then you might be interested in ESG or SRI investing. ESG stands for Environment, Social, and Governance. SRI stands for Sustainable, Responsible, and Impact. These terms usually …
The Rise and Fall of GameStop Stock
Ok, so, in case you have not heard, there was this really weird thing going on with GameStop stock. GameStop, in my opinion, is going the way of Blockbuster. They have brick and mortar stores, and sell physical discs for video games, which, hello, the industry is heading towards everything online, especially with downloads of …
Jill’s Journal: Target Date Funds
For the past several years, our financial advisors have helped to manage several 401(k) plans for small to medium size businesses. And though I discussed 401(k)s and Roth 401(k) and how they work, I haven’t yet addressed what should you invest your 401(k) account IN…? This blog isn’t designed to tell you what to do. …
Jill’s Journal: Asset Classes – Stocks
Previously, on Jill’s Journal, I talked about diversification with stocks and bonds. Remember, the goal of diversifying your investments is to smooth out your ride – you want to have several different types of assets to manage the ups and downs of your account. Even amongst stocks and bonds, there are still more ways to …
Jill’s Journal: Volatility in the Market
Wow, the markets have sure had a bumpy ride lately! Unfortunately, this is all par for the course with the history of the stock market. We are coming off several years of growth in the markets, and volatility is back, baby. It is important to remember not to make decisions based on fear and panic, …