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06 Sep '20How Much Wealth Should You Have by Age 45?
Continue readingAs a rule, people like to know if they are making progress toward a comfortable retirement, how their wealth compares to their peers, and how their investments are performing. When saving for retirement, the question is often “how much should I have saved at my age?” Ideally, this question would be answered in the context […]
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31 Jul '20Target Date Retirement Funds
Continue readingThe most common investments in many tech company 401k plans are target date retirement funds. These funds provide employees with exposure to a diversified investment portfolio that systematically shifts out of risky asset classes (like stocks) and into less volatile investments (like bonds) as you get older and closer to retirement. Firms like Amazon.com and […]
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10 Jul '20A Recovery for the Ages
Continue readingMost risky assets staged a dramatic recover in the second quarter of 2020. The S&P 500 index (large U.S. stocks), MSCI EAFE index (developed markets international stocks) and the MSCI Emerging Markets index all bounced of year-to-date lows set on March 23. The Russell 2000 index (small U.S. stock) shined among the equity indices by […]
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24 Jun '20Rule of 72
Continue readingAs you save for retirement, there is a simple rule of thumb for determining what your investments will be worth in the future. It is called the “Rule of 72.” This simple rule quickly tells you how long it takes to double your money at a given rate of return (or interest rate). Divide 72 […]
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08 Apr '20Now What?
Continue readingNow What? Stay calm and do nothing. With global stock markets tumbling and an extreme level of uncertainty around the future, human nature is act, to do something, to intercede, to make things better. Yet as a long-term investor, you are often best served by doing nothing different (or very little). Just let your investment […]
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23 Mar '20Five Predictions For 2020
Continue reading2020 Predictions The Chinese stock market will outperform Berkshire Hathaway will cut several deals with distressed companies at bargain prices Top line shines, margins suffer for diversified retailers (grocery) The Fed will nationalize an additional $5+ trillion of the national debt Extraordinary government programs to bailout small businesses With large swaths of the global […]
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17 Mar '20Demand in the age of Coronavirus
Continue readingThe economic shock delivered by the COVID-19 pandemic has been swift and severe for capital markets. In only a few short weeks many market indices are down 30-40% from recent highs. These large declines in stock prices reflect Mr. Market factoring significantly lower corporate earnings in the future (and a large amount of uncertainty). So, […]
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04 Jan '20Decade in Review
Continue readingU.S. Large Stocks Dominate Investing this past decade has been defined by a long bull market rising from the ashes of the Great Financial Crisis of 2007-2008. The current bull market—defined as a generally increasing stock market without a 20% decline—is now almost 11 years old, the longest in U.S. history. Like other bull markets, […]
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24 Oct '19How the USA will default on the national debt
Continue readingOnce upon a time, politicians paid lip-service to the idea that our country should operate with some semblance of fiscal responsibility. It’s almost comical to look back at Ross Perot’s presidential runs in 1992 and 1996 when he used flip charts to rally against government debt. Back then the United States had a national debt […]
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04 Oct '19Are Bonds Still A Good Bet?
Continue readingWith bond yields near generational lows, it raises the question: is it still worth owning bonds? Given the risk-return offered, are bonds still prudent for long-term investors within a broadly diversified portfolio? For most portfolios, bonds provide “ballast” helping to stabilize the generally more volatile returns from stocks. Historically, bond returns have been lower than […]
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02 Aug '19Roadmap to Retirement: FIRE or FRA
Continue readingA comfortable retirement—with ample assets—is the ultimate savings goal. Sacrifice consumption today so that one day you are financially independent and can retire with a fulsome lifestyle. Early retirement advocates have adopted the acronym FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) as their rallying cry. The FIRE movement largely focuses on limiting expenses—living on a fraction of […]
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