Confidence can quickly erode, but it can also quickly emerge. Undeniably, spring 2020 has tried the patience of investors. An 11-year bull market ended. Key economic indicators went haywire. Household confidence was shaken. The Standard & Poor’s 500, the equity benchmark often used as shorthand for the broad stock market, settled at 2,237.40 on March […]
Tag: market
Tax-Loss Harvesting
A useful year-end move to counteract capital gains. Even though this may end up being a subpar year for stocks, you may realize capital gains, which is a taxable event. What can you do about them? You can do what some investors do – you could recognize investments with a loss and practice “tax-loss harvesting.” […]
Should You Care What the Financial Markets Do Each Day?
Focusing on Your Strategy During Turbulent Times. Investors are people, and people are often impatient. No one likes to wait in line or wait longer than they have to for something, especially today when so much is just a click or two away. This impatience also manifests itself in the financial markets. When stocks slip, […]
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Pullbacks, Corrections, and Bear Markets
What’s the difference? What do these terms mean for you? The COVID-19 outbreak has put tremendous pressure on stock prices, prompting some investors to blindly and indiscriminately sell positions at a time when the entire market is trending lower. Worried investors believe “this time it’s different.” When the market drops, some investors lose perspective that […]
Global vs. International: What’s the Difference?
Global mutual funds vs. international mutual funds. For investors who are looking to diversify their portfolio with exposure to companies located outside the U.S., there exist two basic choices: a global mutual fund or an international mutual fund. By definition, international funds invest in non-U.S. markets, while global funds may invest in U.S. stocks alongside […]
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Your Diversified Portfolio vs. the S&P 500
How global returns and proper diversification are affecting overall returns. “Why is my portfolio underperforming the market?” This question may be on your mind. It is a question that investors sometimes ask after stocks shatter records or return exceptionally well in a quarter. The short answer is that even when Wall Street rallies, international […]
The Sequence of Returns
A look at how variable rates of return do (and do not) impact investors over time. What exactly is the “sequence of returns”? The phrase simply describes the yearly variation in an investment portfolio’s rate of return. Across 20 or 30 years of saving and investing for the future, what kind of impact do these […]