Welcome to our May 2024 Viewpoints, a monthly bulletin from PDS Planning to our valued clients and friends. Our goal with each issue of Viewpoints is to provide you with a wide variety of perspectives on life and wealth. Feel free to share with others. By Drew Potosky, CFP®, Posted: 5/22/2024 GameStop Rollercoaster Ride Roaring Kitty [Keith Gill] tweeted a meme on Sunday, May 12th and caused GameStop stock to vault from $17.50 to $36.70 overnight. Keith was the main holder and essentially the front man to the GameStop meme-stock craze of 2020. The short interest in the stock is still sig ..read more

By: Kevin Doll Posted: 5/17/2024 Evolution of Financial Advisors and Fee Structures Can you believe the stock market is over 400 years old? Many things have changed over the years from trading platforms and technology to the types of assets you can buy and the way you can buy, sell, and hedge them. The financial industry has also evolved, including the way advice is delivered and even more important in our opinion, the way you pay for advice. You may recall scenes from one of my favorite movies Trading Places with traders on the floor of the stock exchange calling out prices and writing ..read more

Posted: 04/22/20024 You want peace of mind you are prepared for retirement, and with that may also come the desire to know your adult children are also positioned for financial success. The fact is, being financially dependent isn’t good for either the adult child or the parents. What can you do to set them on a path to financial independence that doesn’t require your financial support through adulthood? A good place to start is by providing guidance, instilling valuable habits, and sharing a commitment to their long-term success.   Guidance, not financial support It’s a delicate balance ..read more

Welcome to our April 2024 Viewpoints, a monthly bulletin from PDS Planning to our valued clients and friends. Our goal with each issue of Viewpoints is to provide you with a wide variety of perspectives on life and wealth. Feel free to share with others. By Drew Potosky, CFP®, Posted: 4/19/2024 Inflation The services sector of inflation has been a primary reason for unexpectedly higher readings the last couple months. Services account for 57% of the consumer price index [CPI] and are up 5.27%. This compared to the total CPI inflation reading of 3.50%. With the chance of energy creeping h ..read more

Published: 4/5/2024 Spring is in the air! The trees are blossoming and we’re finally reminded of what the sun looks like! It also means the first quarter of 2024 is officially in the books. Below and to the left is a look at how the major asset classes performed to start the year. For US Large cap stocks (the S&P 500), their run of dominance that began in 2023 has continued through the first three months of 2024 returning 10.6%. About double the performance of international developed markets and US small cap stocks. The economy has continued to show strength which has extended the intere ..read more

By: Kyle Euton Posted: 3/25/2024 Whether or not you have ever been fortunate enough to be a stock award holder for your company, you’ve likely seen headlines about executives who have. Those from Fortune 500 companies who have sold an enormous quantity of shares or received a large compensation package that included stock options. So, what exactly are stock options and what role can and do they play in compensation plans?   You don’t have to be a corporate executive to receive options and other stock awards. In fact, many public and private companies today are utilizing stock m ..read more

Welcome to our March 2024 Viewpoints, a monthly bulletin from PDS Planning to our valued clients and friends. Our goal with each issue of Viewpoints is to provide you with a wide variety of perspectives on life and wealth. Feel free to share with others. By Drew Potosky, CFP®, Posted: 3/20/2024 Mag 7 is so 2023 The now famed Mag7 stocks [MSFT, AAPL, NVDA, AMZN, META, GOOG/L, TSLA] tore through 2023, but 2024 has been a different story. Nvidia and Meta have continued their dominance and increased their size near the top of the S&P 500 index, but the other 5 companies have normalized ..read more

Published: 3/19/2024 While people often think about charitable giving around the end of the year, planned giving strategies can and should be discussed and optimized year-round. Today, individuals and families are increasingly seeking to incorporate philanthropy into their financial plans to help maximize their impact and wealth goals. Types of Charitable Contributions Charitable contributions are donations made to qualified tax-exempt organizations, such as charities and non-profit entities. These donations can include cash, assets, or property and typically provide significant financial adv ..read more

Posted: 3/12/2024 Artificial Intelligence Mania Stock markets around the world performed quite well in 2023 and so far in 2024, especially those involved in artificial intelligence. The “Magnificent 7” (Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Apple, Alphabet, Nvidia & Tesla) have a focus on AI and have driven the majority of the S&P 500 performance.  These 7 stocks rose over 85% from 1/1/23 to 1/31/2024, while the other 493 stocks in the S&P 500 only delivered 8.7%. Many companies are attempting to join the AI craze as over a third mentioned it in their earnings calls last year, compared t ..read more

Welcome to our February 2024 Viewpoints, a monthly bulletin from PDS Planning to our valued clients and friends. Our goal with each issue of Viewpoints is to provide you with a wide variety of perspectives on life and wealth. Feel free to share with others. By Drew Potosky, CFP®, Posted: 2/20/2024 Super Bowl Winners and the S&P 500 The Kansas City Chiefs came away victorious after a last second touchdown in overtime and became the first back-to-back Super Bowl winners since the Patriots in 2003-2004. And none could be happier than Chiefs Fans, Swifties, and…all investors? In research ..read more