If you have been listening to the business news this week, you may have the same question a client did..what is the VIX and why is everyone talking about it? The VIX is shorthand for the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE)’s Volatility Index. It is a tool used to measure the expected volatility in the […]

In talking with a client this week about the market’s closure for Labor Day, the question was said in passing – “is the market always closed on National Holidays?” This is a question I’ve never answered here, so let’s take care of that today! As is often the case, the question doesn’t have a straightforward […]

While there has been talk of interest rate cuts for virtually all of 2024, it seems as though we may be fast approaching that prediction becoming a reality. This has clients rightfully asking what actions they should take regarding cash liquidity in the coming months. Let’s take a look The challenge facings my clients, and […]

Before I dive into this week’s post, I want you to remember of an important fact. We’ve been here before and come out the other side. What proof do I have? I’m about to re-post an article I wrote on March 9, 2020. Over four years ago, we were in a similar spot, albeit one […]

Below is an excerpt from Warren Buffett’s letter to shareholders in 1987- reminding us how to handle market fluctuations. Almost 40 years later, the advice still holds. Ben Graham, my friend and teacher, long ago described the mental attitude toward market fluctuations that I believe to be most conducive to investment success. He said that […]

I talked with a client recently about dividend reinvestment. The question came up as he placed a trade and was prompted to elect whether to reinvest dividends. It’s a great topic to understand so let’s look at it more closely What are dividends? Dividends are a sum of money paid out by a company to […]

In the past few weeks, I’ve gotten a few client questions about emails they’ve received from Charles Schwab, alerting them the “Vote Now” regarding an individual stock position held in their account. These diligent clients have asked what these emails are referring to and if there is anything they should do to address them. This […]

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 […]

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 […]