***** Most clients know how much I respect Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, so it goes without saying that I tuned into the annual meeting this past weekend. A client asked what I thought of the meeting and after that brief discussion, I thought it was worth summarizing five top lessons I gathered (with a […]

Here we are again – another month, another set of inflation readings. April’s reports were both very encouraging. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for April was released this week, and it showed clear progress in the ongoing battle against inflation. CPI rose 0.4% in April and 4.9% year over year – both 0.1% lower […]

In reviewing a portfolio with clients this week, we were discussing a particular holding that was under water (valued at less than they paid for it). We had a good discussion about how to approach positions in an unrealized loss status and I thought it would be worth sharing Investing in public markets is a […]

Here we go again. Earlier this week, as expected, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised the fed funds rate by 25 basis points to a range of 5.0-5.25%. This is the tenth increase in this rate cycle (that started just over a year ago) and brings rates (from zero) to levels last seen before […]

Every once in a while, I have a topic come up in multiple client conversations in a given week – and this week that happened with life insurance. I’m taking that as a sign that it’s a good time to cover a few considerations with this topic! Please note that I’m not going to address […]

Being from Milwaukee, I likely shouldn’t admit this (shhhhh, don’t tell anyone!) – but I don’t watch a lot of Bucks basketball. Nothing personal against the Bucks, but NBA just isn’t on my usual radar. However, once playoff time rolls around, I can’t help but get swept up in the action and this year was […]

It’s been a relatively quiet week market wise – quarterly earnings continue and we are in between major economic releases and Fed meetings. As a result, I thought we could all use a fun “Pam to Paper” exercise on brand loyalty. Market musings will return next week! Last week, Warren Buffett gave a three-hour interview […]

I was talking with a client this week about this “in between” time – the time after the mad dash of first quarter to-do’s (like tax prep and payment) and the easy-going summer months (when, let’s admit it, few of us want to focus on financial tasks!) She asked what she should be getting in […]

Two major economic reports have been released in the past week for March – labor report and inflation report (as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI)). Let’s review the headlines of these economic news releases and explore what these reports may mean for markets moving forward. Labor Market Report Markets may have been closed […]

If you are a procrastinator when it comes filing your income tax return, rest assured you are not alone. The IRS reported that it had received 90 million tax returns as of March 30th (of an estimated 168 million) so clearly, a lot of returns will be coming in under the wire! I’ve heard from […]