Economic and Investment News Bits The S&P 500 has had 24 record high closes YTD 2017 through Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Less than halfway through the year, it has already surpassed the total number of record closes from 2016. (Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices) One in five Americans never have a serious discussion about finances…
June 2017 Financial Markets Summary PDS Planning has always been a strong advocate of global diversification. Some investors and economists began to question this philosophy when U.S. stocks outperformed virtually everything from 2013-2016. Some even argued that you get global diversification with U.S. stocks, since their revenues are generated all over the world. Coca-Cola, for…
Economic and Investment News Bits One million more people will travel this Memorial Day weekend than last year (an increase of 2.7%). (Source: AAA) Unemployment decreased slightly to 4.4%, tying the lowest level from the last economic expansion. In the last 40 years, the only time unemployment has been lower was during the longest economic…
Here is the link to the first quarter PDS Investment Webcast in case you missed it today! This quarterly call was a discussion on the impact of rising interest rates and how we are currently positioning bond allocations for clients. We also recapped the post-election bounce and current market valuations around the world. Finally, we closed with…
Economic and Investment News Bits As markets correctly anticipated, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25bps. This is largely seen as a vote of confidence in the US economy, which has experienced increasing inflation and job growth. Following suit, most banks increased their prime lending rates…and may eventually increase their deposit rates. Keep these…
Economic and Investment News Bits The surest way to reach financial goals is to contribute adequately on a regular basis. This is more important than asset allocation, security selection, and even risk management. Increasing contributions trumps all other aspects of investing. The goal should be to max out payroll deductions for retirement plans. (Source: Hal…
When I look at social media these days, I cannot tell if the world is coming to an end, or if we are about to embark on our nation’s greatest moment. For the first time in our history, a presidential transition was followed step-by-step on social media, and the reaction is frightening. Consider that only…
Economic and Investment News Bits “The primary driver of performance for almost any asset class in 2017 will be whether the U.S. dollar rises or falls. If the dollar falls back, U.S. equities underperform, and emerging market bonds outperforms big time. If the dollar gains because of protectionism, investors should start worrying about a global…
December 2016 Financial Markets Summary 2016 has been the year of surprises. Most conventional wisdom and expectations have been proven wrong. It was common knowledge that the Britain vote to leave the European Union would fail. Common knowledge was wrong. All major investment firms suggested loading up on European stocks and reducing domestic exposure. They…
It’s a funny thing, momentum. Some investments can have absolutely no momentum at all for years, then suddenly turn around and produce some very strong performance numbers. At the same time, some other investments will have years of consistent out-performance and then, seemingly overnight, crash and burn. More often than not, these behaviors happen to…
Economic and Investment News Bits Just 56% of eligible Americans voted in the 2012 presidential election. For younger Americans aged 18-24 only 38% of them voted. 70% of Americans aged 65 or older voted. If this occurs in 2016, consider how it might affect the outcome. (Source: Census Bureau) U.S. retirement account assets reached a…
Investors with any experience at all can recite the long-term results: U.S. stock market has averaged about 9-10% total returns over the last 30 years 6% the last 15 years Bond market has averaged about 5%. In truth, the average stock market investor has gained only about 3.5%, on average over the last 15 years,…
United Kingdom voters chose to leave the European Union one month ago on June 23rd. Panic immediately spread across the world as people extrapolated this decision into what they expected to follow. Talking heads suggested this would cause a worldwide recession. SELL, SELL, SELL! Some investors actually followed this advice, as it caused the S&P…
March Madness or Market Madness? Think you can pick the perfect bracket or the perfect investment strategy this year? There doesn’t seem to be a clear front-runner for the tournament nor the markets. The 2015-2016 NCAA season was rather strange where Top 10 teams suffered 74 losses, the most since the Associated Press launched their…
Originally published April 2, 2015 Thirty years can go by very quickly. And for us more mature folks, it can seem like yesterday. As I think about those years, I am struck by the changes to the financial planning and investment world, specifically changes at PDS Planning. Our very basic and very large computers had…
