The generosity of Americans shine during times of trouble.
As the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on our economy many both in the private and public sectors are trying to assist those worst hit. With the suspension of the NBA season multiple NBA players and owners have announced their intention to help hourly employees at basketball arenas across the country. New [...]
The Long View
This morning I received a call from a wise octogenarian client. Is it time to buy? he asked. What was he thinking? He described his experience of 1987. In October that year, the S&P 500 index dropped by 30 percent, over 20 percent on that one Monday, October 19. (Sounds [...]
Don’t let experiences from your past determine your future
Recently released data from the Federal Reserve shows that the Millennial generation, of which I am member, own far less appreciating assets than previous generations have owned at a similar age. According to the study, Millennials at age 30 own just 4.6% of total US assets compared to the 7.8% [...]
Prudence and Preparation Are Important
I’m a planner, I always have been. Perhaps it’s my pessimistic nature, but generally speaking, I assume things left to chance will turn out badly. For that reason I live by the credo “hope for the best, but plan for the worst.” As you might imagine, threats like the coronavirus [...]
Many options in forming a tax strategy
It’s tax season again. As part of Stewardship Capital’s continued focus on giving back to the community, I recently became a certified tax preparer through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. In cooperation with the Community Services League, I volunteer to provide free tax preparation services to low-income and elderly [...]
Sound Principles Still Hold Value
In all areas of life, there are principles to be learned and applied. Finance is no exception. Many bedrock fundamentals found in the Bible have proven their worth over the past two thousand years or more. One is diversification. Spelled out in Ecclesiastes 11, verse 2, Solomon counsels, Divide your [...]
Don’t Just Wait and See, Make it Happen!
Monday was the Iowa caucus. I think some of the great things that come out of this early campaign stop are the one-on-one conversations candidates get to have with everyday people. Many of you might have seen a video recently that went viral on social media capturing an interaction between [...]
Will the Market Catch the Coronavirus?
Coronavirus is spreading around the globe and the world stock market has pulled back from the recent strong rally that started in the second half of 2019. It’s natural to be concerned from a health and wealth perspective. We have seen similar experiences in the past with SARS, bird flu, [...]
The Virtue and Value of Embracing Simplicity
Albert Einstein once said “If you can’t explain something simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” From time to time people will compliment me on my column. My favorite thing to hear is that I have broken down a complicated subject to something even they could understand. Perhaps it is [...]
What Ever Happened to Diversification? Part II
Last week I opined concerning the dangers of the supposedly conservative strategy du jour, that of having only guaranteed, fixed income investments such as bonds, CD’s, or fixed annuities. Today we will look back at relative performance of different assets during the Teens decade to see if, even during the [...]