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 […]

A year certainly goes quickly. It’s hard to believe that it was almost a year ago that Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed and sparked a “mini” banking crisis. This week, another bank was in the news with related solvency concerns – New York Community Bancorp (“NYCB”). A client asked what had occurred at this bank […]

I fully appreciate how much industry jargon there is in the financial world, so I do my best to not use it. Finances are confusing enough in plain English right?! However, when talking to a client this week, I accidentally used a jargon phrase and was asked to stop and clarify. The phrase was “clipping […]

Bitcoin has been in the news quite a bit this week, which prompted a client to ask what the key developments were. Let’s take a look at what happened. This week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC) approved the registration and trading of Bitcoin spot price Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”). Prior to this moment, investors […]

There is no shortage of jargon and industry speak in the financial news. I do my very best to steer clear of it when I write to you, as I fully appreciate how confusing (and sometimes annoying!) it can be. However, one term snuck into my Pam to Paper post last week when I used […]

When I was in high school, I received an academic award and as part of that, I was given a Series EE US Savings Bond. It was a $200 denomination. This was in 1996. A lifetime ago! I don’t have an memory of this, but recently, my mom was cleaning out her house and gave […]

I wouldn’t normally use this column to analyze the daily movements of any individual equity. As you all know, there are many reasons for a stock price to move day in and day out, and as long term investors, we don’t like to get too deep into those daily gyrations. However, when a client asked […]

My mom’s neighbor called me this week to ask about the “bond crisis” as he had read a headline to that effect. I have shared my concerns over the general business media in the past and this is yet another example of why I feel the headlines don’t tell the full story (and perhaps are […]

A client reached out last week in an attempt to understand the mechanics of a recent trade. He had sold a combination of securities (a money market fund and a few ETFs) to free up cash in his after-tax account to pay for a recent purchase. The day after he placed the sale order/trade, he […]

There was a time a few years ago when money market funds were an afterthought. With interest rates near zero, there was little to no need to consider investing in a money market fund (as you earned the same (almost zero) interest rate just staying put in cash). Times have changed and as of present […]