This year’s Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting certainly had a different feel to it without the presence of Charlie Munger (who passed away in December 2023 at the age of 99). Despite Charlie’s absence, Warren (along with his deemed successor Greg Abel and Ajit Jain (head on insurance operations)) took the stage for several hours of […]

I received a question from one of my favorite clients this week (my mom!) She was watching a news story about Culver’s (a popular fast food chain founded in Wisconsin) and asked me if it was publicly traded. The news story was talking about their expansion plans so she was curious if it would be […]

This past week, I spoke with several clients in the middle of a career transitions for a variety of reasons (transitioning to a new role, opting to take some time away, and entering well-deserved retirement stage). With each of these clients, the items to consider during a career transition vary but there are some common […]

Another week full of market moving news – Treasury Refunding Announcement, countless earnings releases, the end of April, and the Federal Reserve’s May rate decision (and by the time you read this, jobs data). The highlight of this busy week was Wednesday’s rate decision and the following commentary and press conference by Chairman Jerome Powell. […]

Most Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reports come and go without any mention. The Q1 2024 GDP estimate (released this week) was not one of those releases. The report had a major impact on markets. Some of you may be asking, “what is GDP again?” Let’s review. GDP is the way we measure the US economy […]

At the end of 2023, I saw a mention of new regulation in a newsletter from a law firm that noted an upcoming reporting requirement for various companies (including LLCs and corporations). As a member of two LLCs, I looked into this more to see if it applied. And sure enough, there was a requirement […]

I was listening to a webcast from one of our mutual fund managers this week, and he touched on one of my favorite mantras – time in the market matters more than timing the market. After a few weeks of market volatility and considerable micro and macro news, I thought it was worth sharing this […]

It’s no surprise that the upcoming election is at the top of client’s minds in recent meetings. This week, a client asked what impact various parties being in control has had on market returns over the years. Let’s take a closer look. The following chart (from Ned Davis Research) shows the performance of the Dow […]

Two key inflation reports were released for March this week – the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Producer Price Index (PPI). Let’s look at these reports and then discuss a question that may be on your mind – why is the market reacting so much to these data points? The CPI for March 2024 […]

In talking with a client this week, I learned that he has not completed his estate planning as I have been recommending for a while now. He recently got married and is expecting a child, so the establishment of these documents is more important than ever. He certainly appreciates and understands the importance of this […]