What a Tough January Means to the Market At lunch time on January 20th, the S&P 500 index was down 11.3% for the month, on its way to the worst January return ever. By month’s end, it settled at negative 4.93% – a welcomed paring, but a shot in the gut nonetheless. It was the ninth worst January for the index since 1926, and the worst two-week start ever. We’ve heard rumblings that this descent portends disaster for the rest of the year. The best way to determine this is by using the data. Take a look… No need to …
2015: Year in Review
Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There! Not how you remember that phrase, right? It’s backwards, like so many things in regards to investing. Buy when you’re afraid? Sell when you’re excited? Avoid a hot stock or fund? As human beings, we are genetically programmed to avoid danger, to find safety in numbers. And for so much of life, it works. But this programming works against us when it comes to investing. It’s not surprising. Stock markets are a mere 500 years old, a blip compared to our own history, and not nearly enough time to influence the circuitry of our …