The Basics of Budgeting 101
The first step towards a successful financial future is creating a budget. Without a budget, there is no foundation for a financial plan. This article will discuss our 5-step budgeting process and highlight some of the common issues we see. Step 1: Calculate...
March 2015 – Market Commentary
The Market Rebounded in February After a very volatile 2014, 2015 so far has been just as volatile. The S&P 500 closed down for the month of January, but rebounded and made much of it back in February. Our TD Ameritrade portfolios fared well with nice gains. We...
January 2015 Market Commentary
Happy New Year to you and your family! December will go down as a month that properly summed up 2014: Lots of volatility. The first two weeks saw a serious downtrend, only to be followed by a nice rally, and then a large dip to end December and the first few days of...
December 2014 Market Commentary
After a very scary October, November was relatively calm. Our portfolios mostly saw small gains. Economic data continues to improve overall, with GDP, jobs reports, and recent housing data improving. When reviewing the current value of different stock market indexes, we continue to see a large divergence. The S&P 500 (500 stocks) and DOW (30 stocks) continue a slow but steady uptrend, while the Russell 2000 (2,000 stocks) continues to lag. While it’s encouraging to see the largest companies in America doing well, it is concerning to see smaller companies struggling.
November 2014 Market Commentary
After reviewing a chart of the stock and bond markets in October, the image that comes to mind is a trampoline. Plenty of ups and downs to keep many investors on the edge of their seats. The S&P 500 closed close to the all-time high after swings over 5% both ways. Most bond funds have actually lost this month. It’s times like these that we want to remind clients to not think too short term, as trends can move slowly and then move very quickly. We believe there’s potential for big moves, which we’re prepared for. We are focusing on the fact that overall, the world economy is slowing, especially Europe, Japan, China, Canada, Russia, and Brazil.