Got the jitters? It’s OK – Call us We know. This is not fun. Sure, we’ve seen the market do worse. But it doesn’t have to be the worst to hurt. Add to it the human element, and it may feel like the worst. Stocks dropped over 50% during the 2008 financial crisis, but for most, that was just something to read about. You couldn’t really see it. Today, the virus may be microscopic, but we can all certainly see it. Quarantines, canceled events, empty restaurants and flights, those silly masks, Tom Hanks, and of course, wall-to-wall media hype. …
“But This Time It’s Different! No, Really!!”
Add It to The List…Another Reason To Sell Let’s play a game. We’ll rattle off some “market-shaking” events from the last 50 years, and you tell us if the market did NOT recover and make new highs soon after. Here we go… The Kent State shootings (1970); US trade embargo against China (1971); Watergate (1972); Oil crisis (1973); Nixon resigns (1974); President Ford assassination attempts (1975); Lebanese civil war (1976); Yield curve inversion (1978); Three Mile Island (1979); 13%+ inflation (1980); President Reagan assassination attempt (1981); US unemployment over 10% (1982); Terrorists kill 237 Marines in Beirut (1983); Multiple …
2019: Year in Review
Patience Pays Off If time doesn’t fly, it at least drives a Bugatti Chiron. Just a year ago, the Market Grinch stole Christmas with an awful fourth quarter. Had you turned on CNBC, you’d think it was World War 3, cities were burning, babies were crying, and that the Game of Thrones finale had already aired. And the headlines. Oh, the headlines. Here’s our favorite, from Christmas Eve, the day the market hit the bottom: ‘Worst Is Yet to Come’: Global Bear Market Just Getting Started (Mark Jolley on CNBC) Oops. Fast forward to today, and the tone is …
Frequently “Oaked” Questions
You Asked, So We’ll Answer FOQ: The SECURE Act passed. Anything I need to know? Short: Not really. Long: Despite all the hype, the SECURE Act impacts most people very little. Here are the two most important provisions: IRA contributions and distributions. The minimum age for required distributions from your IRA increases from 70 ½ to 72, in recognition of our increasing life expectancy. However, if you turned 70 ½ during or before 2019, you’re still on the hook to take a distribution for 2019 and 2020. And now there’s no longer a maximum age for traditional IRA contributions, …