An answer, in one chart We’ve fielded a few calls recently from clients, who’ve asked if any changes should be made now that we’ve hit new highs in the US indices. Like any answer, we defer to the data and evidence. What does the evidence says happens after we hit new highs? The answer… …is business as usual. This chart tells us that the markets are higher a year after a new high 80.5% of the time, about the same frequency as any other time – even a little more often, though not statistically significant. A market peak, therefore, tells …
Why Dividends Don’t Matter
“It is an extra dividend when you like the girl you’ve fallen in love with.” –Clark Gable If the late great actor is correct, then he found a use for dividends, at least in love. The dividends in your investment portfolio, on the other hand, are quite useless, contrary to popular beliefs. Those popular beliefs are: that dividends increase returns, and that dividends are a sound income strategy. We’ll debunk both, to prove our assertion. First, a simple example of how a dividend works, to explain the return issue: John owns a share of stock in Company A, which is …
Why Your Advisor Should Be a Fiduciary: An Example
Fi·du·ci·ar·y (noun): an advisor who chooses to be held to the highest standard of the law such that he or she must do what is in their client’s best interest at all times. In other words, put the client first. Period. Not sometimes. Not sort of. Just first. It’s hard to make a case for anything but. Would anyone prefer not having their advisor do what’s right by them? Yeah, it wouldn’t make sense to us either. Yet after countless lawsuits, hundreds of Ponzi schemes, ages of jailtime, and a decent effort by the government to make positive changes (effective …
2016: Year in Review
Record Start, Average Finish But not a good record. The first two weeks of 2016 marked the worst start for the S&P 500. Ever. The entire month of January was the ninth worst since 1928. For some of you, a root canal may have been preferable. And it wasn’t just the S&P 500; it was all stocks across the globe, of all sizes. Fast forward to mid-year, and the United Kingdom votes to withdraw from the European Union – an event known as “Brexit”. More turmoil, though not as bad as January. History tells us that the stock market as …