“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Mark Twain “Chapters from My Autobiography” (1907) The US stock market as measured by the S&P 500 is up year to date since the first of the year by 21.2%. Good news. The stock market is up year over year by 4.00%. Not such good news. The stock market in the past six months is up by 4.00%....
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Dollar Cost Averaging – is an investment strategy in which an investor makes purchases of an investment or group of investments with a fixed dollar amount at regular pre-determined intervals. This may sound familiar. A lot of us have used this strategy without being aware of it. Many of us have, for example, made a set dollar contribution to a 401k, IRA, or Educational Account. So, we know from experience...
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Are you a professional? What does it mean to be a professional? The textbook definition is: a person who does a job that needs special training and a high level of education. But it’s more than that, isn’t it? Being a professional encompasses many things - from skillset to personality to aptitude. Here are a few common characteristics of a true professional: Do you learn every aspect of the job...
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9 Keys to Effective Decision Making Everyone deals with uncertainty in their lives, making decisions is one of the most difficult parts of being human. There are so many factors to consider when weighing your options - no matter the size of your decision. Here are some tips that will help you choose with confidence.
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Summer Daze “Roll out those lazy, hazy crazy days of summer You’ll wish that summer could always be here” Nat King Cole – Those Lazy, Hazy Crazy Days of Summer A recent newspaper headline was “June’s stock market returns best since 1955”. Those inclined to look back a bit further in time might recall a headline of several months ago; “First quarter marks best start to year since 1995.” Not...
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With the benefit of hindsight (the mirror portion of our title) the near 20% stock market decline from October 3rd through December 24th of last year is something that might have been anticipated. The combination of a 25% increase in oil prices and the yield on the ten year US Treasury bond rising from 2.50% to 3.20% through the first three quarters of the year married to a notable slowing...
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The stock market’s 20% + return in 2017 led investors to approach 2018 feeling optimistic about the probability of the continuance of the good times. The market’s 10% return in the first three weeks of January last year seemed to confirm the likelihood of the fulfillment of that hope. Alas the market gave that all back and then some leaving most investors underwater some fraction of a percent by...
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Yesterday (Wednesday) the US stock market (as measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average) was seemingly on its way to a 200 to 400 point decline when apparently the bulls left early for the day and the bears were left without anyone to sell to driving the market down 800 points at the market’s close. A few of the more honest commentators on the market offered “I don’t know” to...
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