Although corporate earnings numbers and U.S. employment remain good, Wall Street seems to grow increasingly concerned about the “potential” trade war between the U.S. and China, and the public scrutiny of the technology sector (i.e. Facebook and Amazon). Thus the increase in market volatility in 2018 relative to 2017. The S&P 500 has moved by […]
The past week of market volatility and risk has been a textbook reminder of the benefit and disciplines of remaining a long-term investor. Over the past month I have received a barrage of questions about Bitcoin and how to invest. As a response, I began writing on the topic but was unable to publish prior […]
This quote is engraved on a clock gifted to me by a client and friend, who has heard me say this very thing since the late 1980s. It sits on my desk and serves as an important reminder to always look at the big picture. Like now, for instance…let’s place the recent stock market volatility […]
We are two days into February 2018, and we have viewed something not seen in a while on TV screens – the color red on the market reports. The market began the year very strong and there was much talk about a robust 2018. We continue to believe this is the case based on the […]
Have you ever committed to something and halfway there think, “Oh, that was a baaad decision?” Well, you have my absolute sympathies! I had signed up for the Savannah Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon – my first half marathon ever – and before this year I had never breached the 4 mile mark. After an […]
Frozen. That’s the only way I can describe it. Mike, the other financial planner in our office, and I were listening to the report of the stock market rapidly dropping, while staring at each other in disbelief. It was October 19, 1987. We didn’t have a computer screen to look at, so the only continual […]
Have you ever thought about how you make your choices every day? Take traffic, for instance. My brother lives in Washington, D.C., and works roughly an hour away from where he lives. On any given day there could be traffic that extends his drive 30-40minutes, or even more! Because of the traffic the shortest route […]
We are often asked by first-time callers to our office if we are a “Fiduciary.” It seems like the word is all over the news these days, but what exactly does it mean? In a nutshell, a fiduciary is a person or organization who is ethically bound to put a client’s best interests first at […]
In my last blog we got back to the basics of how to prioritize paying down debts. Of course not everything is cut and dry, and as one of my friends pointed out, “Phil, your firm focuses on investments…shouldn’t I use my money to make more money in the stock market instead? Then I can […]
Recently I was having a discussion with a friend in his mid-20’s who is working two jobs and in a very good position of low expenses and high income to maximize his debt payoff. We were discussing his opportunity to pay down his large student debt during this period and he went on to mention […]