September Surprise!On average, September is the worst month of the year for stock market performance. Going back to 1950, September has averaged an S&P 500 decline of 0.5%, but for September 2017, the S&P 500 gained 2.06% driven by strong corporate earnings and rapid global growth. I have never given any weight to trends like September being the weakest month of the year. Just when you might act on that trend and reduce your stock positions you miss out on a 2% gain in just 30 days. Market ResilienceSeptember overcame a series of threatening events: 1. Apple fell 6% in September after ..read more

Expectations are running high for President-Elect Donald Trump and the Republican majority. Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen in regard to Trump’s business-friendly policies for tax cuts, tax reform, looser regulations, and infrastructure spending. With Republicans in majority control of the federal government (House, Senate, and White House) for the first time in a decade, optimism is growing for businesses, investors, and consumers. The University of Michigan reports that consumer confidence, which has been growing for a long time, is now at a 13-year high. The Brexit and Trump v ..read more

There was no surprise yesterday when the Fed announced a modest 0.25% rate increase, which still leaves interest rates at historic lows. The move is not surprising because the US economy is accelerating, the stock market has reached all-time highs, unemployment has fallen lower and faster than expected, and wages are finally increasing. The Fed says it is data driven, meaning they take the economic temperature at their regular meetings every six weeks. They look at trends in employment, wage increases, economic growth, inflation, and other factors. With the Fed announcement yesterday, they pr ..read more

Before the November 8 election, the strength of the US economy was well established, as demonstrated by the upward revision of Q3 growth (due to strong consumer spending) from 2.9% to 3.2% annualized. This, plus seven straight years of job growth and the strongest increases in wages since the Great Recession, combined with US home prices reaching a record high from the previous peak in 2006, put an end to housing’s lost decade. All these factors provided a fundamental underpinning to the market euphoria following Trump’s surprising victory, including Q3 corporate earnings growing by 5.2%, the ..read more

Making contributions to your retirement accounts is guaranteed to strengthen your financial and retirement plan. This year December 31 is on a Saturday, which means you should be planning those 2016 contributions now and targeting Thursday, December 29 to have them completed. Take these actions to keep your retirement on track: Retirement Nest Egg 1. Make the maximum contributions to your employer-sponsored retirement plan — 401(k), 403(b), 457, or TSP. If you have not contributed the annual maximum amount of $18,000 to your employer-sponsored retirement account in 2016, you can reduce your ..read more

Last night was very unsettling to many Americans. There are many issues in this election, but as your Chief Investment Officer, I am focused on your money and your investments: 1. We do well when we separate our emotional reactions from our investment process. A first rule is to not make any immediate, knee-jerk moves in response to the election outcome. The US stock market is incredibly resilient, and a recent example is the market’s reaction to Brexit in June. After an initial, sharp drop, the market recovered within the month. Post-Election Investment Perspective 2. After the initial shoc ..read more

A Growth Spurt for the US Economy, a headline in the October 29 Wall Street Journal, refers to the Commerce Department’s announcement that the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose at a 2.9% annual rate for the third quarter ending in September. This is the fastest pace for GDP growth in two years, following the past three quarters below 2% growth. On October 31, another report announced that consumer spending climbed in September by the most in three months as incomes grew, signaling strength in the most important part of the US economy. These results show a solid handoff into the final quarte ..read more

If you are age 70 ½ or older and have money in an IRA account, you must, as you may know, take a “required minimum distribution” or RMD from your account (excluding Roth IRAs). Not doing so can result in big trouble and penalties with the IRS. If you want to meet this requirement without increasing your taxable income — and support your favorite charity in the process, you might consider utilizing the Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) rule before the end of the calendar year. A QCD is an otherwise taxable distribution from a traditional IRA, owned by an individual who is age 70 ½ or old ..read more

The decision by the Federal Reserve at their September meeting to not raise interest rates brought some sunshine to the market. Financial and Technology stocks performed well in the third quarter. This alleviated concerns that advances in stocks are not sustainable unless the financial sector participates in the gains. The financial sector is rallying in spite of a couple problems. One is the thinly capitalized Deutsche Bank facing a potential huge fine in the US for its role in the 2008 mortgage crisis.The other is the sordid scandal unfolding at Wells Fargo over its unethical sales ..read more

Millions of students will enroll in college this year, many using money from a 529 tax-advantaged savings plan to help defray the ever-growing cost of higher education. These plans have been in existence, in one form or another, since the late 1980s and have become the cornerstone for college financial planning. Two of the greatest benefits of 529 plans are: account earnings grow free from federal income tax, and withdrawals are tax-free as long as the proceeds are used for qualified higher education expenses. What if significant disabilities stand between your child and college? What if Dis ..read more