In our office, we celebrated privately the passing of the four year anniversary of what would be a 13 year stock market low point.
That’s right, it has already been four years since March 9, 2009 when the S&P 500 Index closed at 676—a level last seen in the summer of 1996. As of the date of this article, the S&P 500 Index has surpassed its all-time high of 1565, which was achieved in October 2007!
Even in the face of what many consider sizable headwinds, the markets continued the advance which began in 2009.
How is it even possible for both the stock and bond markets to advance so meaningfully in the face of so much adversity and doom and gloom? Consider the following:
When it comes to structuring a tax-efficient investment portfolio, we believe it is important to consider “asset location.” That is—which types of investments should be held in which accounts? Conventional wisdom would reason as follows:
Even with the backdrop of many unresolved problems, the financial markets continued strong performance in 2012. Many of the major domestic stock indexes experienced returns in excess of 10% for the year, with the S&P 500 advancing by 16%.
Contribution limits to IRAs and other employer-sponsored retirement plans have changed for 2013. Here are the most recent deferral limitations:
The News & Observer recently interviewed Chip Hymiller, CFP® to ask his opinion about the Fiscal Cliff and what it could mean for investors. Click here to read his response.
The following question was posed to over 1,000 U.S. adults in a recent Gallup poll:
How much control – your ability to influence or impact – do you feel you have over your efforts to build and maintain your retirement savings in the current environment?
The equity markets seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief after European Central Bank president, Mario Draghi, declared that he was willing to do “whatever it takes” to keep the Eurozone together.
We are often asked about our outlook for the economy and the financial markets from clients, journalist and peers. We generally believe that the investment markets are efficient and accurately reflect all of the information currently available. However, it is important to have an idea of where the economy may be headed. Not necessarily from the standpoint of “timing” the investment markets, but rather from a standpoint of managing return expectations and developing a framework for rebalancing and positioning portfolios.
Will the European Union ever get it together and decide on a plan to save the Euro? Or will the debt-laden nations (specifically Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy) abandon their attempts at austerity causing further stress on an already weak banking system?