Behavioral Finance: Loss Aversion In theory, financial markets are efficient. All necessary information is available to the public and logical decisions can be made by rational, unemotional investors. However, theory and reality are often quite different, and investing is no exception. The study of investor behavior is called Behavioral Finance. For more information on the basics, see…
June 2020 Financial Markets Summary The economic data and news continue to be overwhelming and devastating. The national unemployment rate recently soared to a post-World War II high of 14.7% and will inevitably continue to increase. Company earnings have been slashed and consumer spending has dropped at an unprecedented pace. Industrial production declined faster than…
Behavioral Finance: Intro In the midst of the current market turbulence, many of our clients are paying more attention to financial markets and their investment portfolios than they otherwise typically might. Rather than allowing headlines to influence our emotions, at PDS Planning we rely upon longer-term data and historical context to put the current environment…
Diversification: U.S. Stocks – Growth vs. Value In the midst of the current market turbulence, many of our clients are paying more attention to financial markets and their investment portfolios than they otherwise typically might. Rather than allowing headlines to influence our emotions, at PDS Planning we rely upon longer-term data and historical context to…
Viewpoints: May 2020 Welcome to Viewpoints, a monthly bulletin from PDS Planning to our valued clients and friends. Our goal with each issue of Viewpoints is to provide you with a wide variety of perspectives on life and wealth. Feel free to share with others. Economic and Investment News Bits “Expert” Predictions: At the start of 2019,…
Diversification: U.S. Stocks – Large vs. Small In the midst of the current market turbulence, many of our clients are paying more attention to financial markets and their investment portfolios than they otherwise typically might. Rather than allowing headlines to influence our emotions, at PDS Planning we rely upon longer-term data and historical context to…
May 2020 Financial Markets Summary April was a strong month for markets (in fact, the best month since January 1987) as the number of new COVID-19 cases started to plateau, prospects of a potential vaccine improved and plans to reopen economies were laid out. However, we wanted to look at this through a longer-term perspective. …
Diversification: U.S. vs. International Stocks In the midst of the current market turbulence, many of our clients are paying more attention to financial markets and their investment portfolios than they otherwise typically might. Rather than allowing headlines to influence our emotions, at PDS Planning we rely upon longer-term data and historical context to put the…
Viewpoints: April 2020 Welcome to Viewpoints, a monthly bulletin from PDS Planning to our valued clients and friends. Our goal with each issue of Viewpoints is to provide you with a wide variety of perspectives on life and wealth. Feel free to share with others. Economic and Investment News Bits Tech Titans: The top 5 stocks in…
Diversification: Stocks & Bonds In the midst of the current market turbulence, many of our clients are paying more attention to financial markets and their investment portfolios than they otherwise typically might. Rather than allowing headlines to influence our emotions, at PDS Planning we rely upon longer-term data and historical context to put the current…
Market Recovery Alphabet Soup As we all continue coping with the immediate health, economic, and financial market impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, we thought it would be helpful to look forward to the eventual recovery, particularly from a financial markets perspective. Of course, we do not intend to minimize the loss of life and potential…
Bear Markets & Bull Markets Rather than emotionally reacting to headlines which tend to vacillate between extremes, we feel it is important to provide unbiased, factual information to provide historical context and allow us all the mindset to make informed, rational decisions. Longest Bull, Quickest Bear We recently experienced the longest bull market in history…
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) Update In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the CARES Act to provide economic relief across the economy. While the entirety of the CARES Act is lengthy, many of the provisions in the legislation likely have a direct impact on every one of us. We…
April 2020 Financial Markets Summary The first quarter was a tale of two halves for both the markets and our daily lives. In the markets, the first month and a half started well with 2-5% gains across most asset classes. Investors’ biggest concerns seemed to be the trade tensions with China, slowing global growth,…
Originally published March 26, 2020 U.S. Senate Unanimously passed (96-0) before midnight on Wednesday, 3/25/20 U.S. House of Representatives expected to vote Friday morning, 3/27/20 U.S. President expected to sign off on authorization immediately after U.S. House approves Coronavirus Stimulus Package At $2 trillion, the U.S. government’s Coronavirus Stimulus Package in response to the…
