We discussed the danger of dogmatic investing last week. One of the investing dogmas of the past 30 years or so is the 60/40 portfolio as the go to portfolio for the masses. The portfolio is constructed of 60% stocks and 40% bonds and is designed to grow, via stocks, during an up-market and to …

Dogma is defined as a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true. Incontrovertible is a strong adjective, reflecting rigidity and lack of flexibility. Absolute truths such as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west or that water is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one …

We’ve had quite the roller coaster ride so far in 2020. Between the February/March drop in the market to the subsequent bounce to today’s big sell-off, a monumental struggle is underway as investors try to make sense of the present and, more importantly, the future. What’s been made abundantly clear, yet again, is that nobody …

It’s funny how life happens. We go through these long periods of stagnation and monotony and then we have these shorter periods of abrupt  change. Think of the months and years leading up to the fourth quarter of 2018. Everything was pretty much moving up and to the right. Sure, there were bears at the …

I’ve been getting this question a lot over the past two weeks. As you might imagine, it’s not an easy question to answer. Many of us have become accustomed to expect stocks to bounce back quickly after sharp declines. Buying the dip over the past 10 years has worked out quite well. However, historically a …

The potential pandemic known as Coronavirus or Covid-19 has taken the world by storm. The headlines and the shelves in your local Costco, Walmart or store of choice would lead you to believe we are approaching or are already in the midst of a major world crisis. I’m not suggesting we aren’t but I am …

Surprisingly, the S&P 500 finished the week up ever so slightly. I bet you didn’t realize that. That’s because it didn’t feel that way. The headlines, the ongoing media commentary and the whipsaws throughout the week made the week in the market feel worse than it actually was. In the chart below, you can see …

With the state primaries in full swing, election coverage will be in our faces for the next eight-plus months. Election years are definitely not one of my favorite years. The non-stop coverage is quite fatiguing. Allow me to add to the fatigue but from an investment market perspective. Two years ago it seemed a foregone …

I had a really interesting conversation at a meeting yesterday with several individuals employed in different industries. The topic of probate came up along with ways to avoid probate. Before I go any further, let me start by saying that a lot of us don’t give sufficient attention to estate planning issues. We may have …