Stocks-gone-wild describes the past couple of weeks in the market. Stocks have been rising for so long that it begs the question on so many minds, have we hit a market top? If we have, and if stock prices continue falling, are you prepared? Review the chart […]
Read more →Markets move in two directions, up and down. Ok, sometimes sidewise for a while. Five years of a remarkably steady ‘upward’ movement in stock prices can give a false sense of security to an otherwise prudent investor who may get caught off guard by a swift reversal […]
Read more →The past 15 years have given investors a gut wrenching, and at times, exhilarating ride on a stock market roller coaster. The chart below tracks the S&P 500 Index price from March 3, 1999 through February 28, 2014. Most of you are familiar with the chart, but […]
Read more →Gary Shilling, economist and author of “The Age of Deleveraging: Investment Strategies for a Decade of Slow Growth and Deflation”, forecasts a market crash in 2013. In a January, 2013 Forbes article, Shilling says we could see an S&P 500 decline to 800 in 2013. (S&P 500 […]
Read more →Passive generally refers to investing in index mutual funds or exchange traded funds rather than active managed mutual funds. The rivalry between the approaches has raged for years, but evidence is mounting for passive funds. And investors are listening. In 1999, $12 billion of exchange traded funds (ETFs) were issued. Net […]
Read more →These are tough times to be an investor. The stock market’s long-term return of 11-13% fades in relevance as the value of your portfolio declines. Investors begin to doubt their decision to invest in this wild, volatile, crazy, anxiety-creating market. I’m not writing this article to say […]
Read more →1) Bonds can reduce portfolio risk by reducing volatility. Creating a portfolio is like putting the pieces of a puzzle together. Portfolios are built by assembling portions of stocks, bonds, and cash. Portions of real estate and commodities may also be added. Modern portfolio theory taught us […]
Read more →The April comeback after a 1st quarter retreat brought some relief to investors. Let’s take a look at index returns in the month of April and where the returns are year-to-date as of April 30, 2008. Remember, Index returns are for illustrative purposes only. Index performance returns do not […]
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