Executive Summary Buffer ETFs offer a strategic option for investors seeking to balance risk and reward, particularly in volatile markets. Buffer ETFs are specialized exchange traded funds designed to provide investors with downside protection while capping potential gains. They achieve this by investing in a stock market index, such as the S&P 500, and utilizing…
The S&P 500 is a market capitalization weighted index, meaning that larger companies have a higher weighting in the index and therefore can have a greater impact on returns. In 2023, the Magnificent 7 (Mag 7) dominated the S&P 500 returns. The Mag 7 made up approximately 30% of the S&P 500 and consisted of…
If you are in or near retirement, one of your main concerns is how to survive financially without a paycheck. After factoring in social security and pensions, the balance of your spending needs have to come from your investment assets. How much can you withdraw from those assets and maintain your standard of living through…
By Rick Zivi on 10/19/2023 Economy Issues Here are just a few negative items affecting the economy: Over the last 18 months, the Fed has raised the Fed Funds Rate from 0.25% to 5.25%. In public addresses, they have promised to keep rates “higher for longer”. The 3 month treasury bill is yielding 5.5%.…
Is a Recession Coming? Safe Places to Stash Cash… A Word About Schwab… Soft Landing or Recession? There are many economic indicators that show weakness in the economy, but the Conference Board’s Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) brings everything together to give a complete picture of where the economy is heading. Here is a description…
SECURE 2.0 was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Friday, December 29, 2022. While the changes in Secure 2.0 are not as drastic as those in the original SECURE Act from 2019, there are several items that will affect retirees. Most of the provisions, however, impact workers and employer plans. Secure 2.0 includes…
What the Experts Said Remember what was supposed to happen last year? 2022 was going to be the first year the world opened back from the pandemic. Inflation was said to be transitory, earnings would increase, and the market environment looked good: A Reuters poll of strategists in December 2021 predicted a 7.5% gain in…
All About I Bonds “A series I Bond is a non-marketable, interest bearing U.S Government savings bond that earns a combined fixed interest rate and variable inflation rate (adjusted semiannually). Series I bonds are meant to give investors a return plus protection from inflation.” Investopedia.com The current fixed rate is 0%, but the current inflation…
Chart data of 10/3/2022. This chart was generated using data aggregated by MetaStock. If you feel exhausted and disgusted by the stock market this year, above is a visual representation of the up and down nature of the S&P 500 for 2022 through September. The fact that the downturns far exceeded the upturns is…
Originally published as a letter to clients on 9/8/2022. Investors have a lot of choices. They can invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and exchange traded funds (ETFs). They can invest in passive indexes or with active managers. They can pick from an almost unlimited number of investment styles (growth, value, international, small-cap, etc.)…
It is painful to open your investment report and see the losses for the first six months of the year. How bad were the first six months? The -19.96% return for the S&P 500 was the worst start to a year since 1970. The -10.35% return for the Aggregate Bond Index was the worst start…
Both stocks (represented by the S&P 500) and bonds (represented by the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index [AGG]) have had horrendous returns so far this year. At the end of last week, the year-to-date losses for the S&P 500 and the AGG were (22.33%) and (11.48%), respectively. The reasons for the declines are: Inflation The…
Investment results for the first quarter of 2022 were a disappointment, to say the least. The major averages declined substantially, but not disastrously: S&P 500 (large-cap) – 4.60% Russell 2000 (small-cap) – 5.13% EAFE (developed international) – 5.91% Two types of investments had returns that seem pretty terrible, though. Almost everyone owns a good portion…
Conventional wisdom (at least conventional wisdom practiced by CNBC and Bloomberg) holds that when the Federal Reserve begins a series of rate increases, the stock market suffers broad-based losses. The Fed has made it clear that it intends to start increasing rates soon to combat inflation. So, is the stock market doomed to have a…