Portfolio goals

In our last piece, we introduced the importance of saving, which is the first of five basics that have served investors well over time. Today, we’ll look at where stock market returns really come from, and why that matters to your investing.

This has been a challenging year for investors. On top of the equity bear market, the steep losses in bonds¹ have been especially surprising, leading some investors to question whether the classic 60/40 portfolio is dead.

Well, it’s official. The third quarter has ended in bear market territory across multiple markets. To place that news in a meaningful context, we pose two questions:

It’s almost Election Day in the US once again. For those who need a brief civics refresher, every two years, the full US House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate are up for reelection. While the outcomes of the elections are uncertain, one thing we can count on is that plenty of opinions and prognostications will be floated in the days to come.

Inflation is seldom a good thing, but when it comes to investing, the U.S. Treasury Department has an inflation opportunity that’s downright amazing. You can buy bonds that pay 9.62 percent interest — tax-deferred — with no downside risk, and with no state or local income taxes when you cash them in.

There were so many big events competing for our attention this summer… said nearly every investor, almost every summer, ever.

Just when you thought there were no more financial innovations to be made, a (sort of) new one has been receiving extra attention lately in the financial press: direct indexing. If you’ve read about it, you may be wondering what it is, how it works, and whether you should consider it for your own investments.

Even though we know it was just dumb luck, can we get a round of applause for seeming to forecast last month’s surprisingly strong market returns? It’s almost (but not really) as if the market were reading our mind when three broad U.S.

Welcome to the second half of 2022. What’s up next? As always, your guess is as good as ours. If anything, the past quarter has demonstrated how even familiar shores can shape-shift on us with each tide.

Investors can always expect uncertainty. While volatile periods like the one we’re experiencing now can be intense, investors who learn to embrace uncertainty may often triumph in the long run. Reacting to down markets is a good way to derail the progress made toward reaching your financial goals.