Category: Investing

Investing

Stock Options – How Do They Work?

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could lock in a minimum price that you’ll get when you sell your car a few years from now? The ability to lock in a minimum future sales price (or maximum future purchase price) is not readily available these days for personal use assets such as cars. However, a …View Article

Company Valuations – Why is a Stock Worth That Much?

Ultimately, the value of any item is what others are willing to pay for it. In the absence of government intervention, prices are set by supply and demand. Consumers typically decide what they are willing to pay for an item based on their tastes, preferences, philanthropic values, or sentimental attachment. However, the price an investor …View Article

Market Timing – Why We Never Go To Cash

The stock market has been volatile to say the least in 2020. Every time we see market volatility like this, investors are tempted to time the market. They do this by making short-term changes to their risk tolerance, selling some or all of their stocks and waiting until the market is lower to buy back …View Article

Investment Time Horizon – Most Common Investor Mistake

The most common mistake among investors of all ages is not matching the right type of investment to their intended time horizon (how long until they need the money). We are frequently asked by clients where to invest short-term money. Nobody wants to put it in the bank when interest rates are below 1%. The …View Article

Coronavirus Stimulus Plan: What It Means to You

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 seems to have something for almost everyone. The bill is 335 pages long, so today’s article is a summary of the few provisions most likely to affect our clients, specifically recovery rebate checks, which 90% of American households will receive, and the waiver of …View Article

Investment Risks That You Don’t See Coming

Most investors do some homework before buying a stock to avoid obvious investment risks. Typical analysis includes looking at company valuations and financial metrics, such as sales growth, price to earnings ratios, return on equity, dividend yield, and free cash flow. Another level of analysis looks at products, competition, and management team, and the final …View Article

Are Stocks Too Expensive?

This rally can’t last forever. We are due for a recession. This is already the longest bull market in history. The politicians are going to tank the market. The deficit is out of control. Ahhhh…. These are the same reasons we’ve heard for the past few years as the market continues to march higher. The …View Article

Dollar Cost Averaging: When Should I Invest This Money?

Most people think of market timing as trying to decide when to get out of the market in order to avoid the next downturn. However, market timing works the other way too. Sometimes investors have a lump sum to invest and they’re trying to determine a good entry point. I have seen several examples of …View Article

2018 Review & 2019 Outlook

I can sum up what happened in 2018 with just a few words: great year for the U.S. economy, not so good for the stock market. The average unemployment rate during 2018 was only 3.9% and it had fallen to 3.8% by the end of the year. That represented the strongest job market since 1969. …View Article

Worried About the Stock Market?

It’s hard to believe the stock market was hitting new highs just five weeks ago. October (2018) was a rough month and I know some people are getting nervous based on questions or comments I’ve heard from friends, neighbors, and clients. One person asked me whether they should proceed with buying a house in light …View Article