Calm Before the Storm?
One beautiful morning last October I was driving into work and my gas light went on. As I passed a gas station I figured I would just get to work early and grab gas later. Well around 3 PM that day, then Governor Nikki Haley held a press conference saying Hurricane Matthew was headed our way and everyone should fill up their tank. As I drove home a few hours later I was not amused. The lines at the pump stretched seemingly forever and clogged up traffic in every direction. I had to run by the vet to pick up a prescription and pick up little Henry from day care. I most certainly didn’t have the time to sit in line for an hour to get gas, much less the traffic already on the roads. It was as if our lovely seaside paradise went bonkers for gasoline…and I had none.
Dispatch from the Middle of Nowhere
I recently found myself right where I like to be…standing in the middle of a river waving a stick. More specifically, my brother and I were fly-fishing the N. Tongue River in the Bighorn National Forest, just a few Wyoming miles east of Yellowstone National Park. It was a boys’ trip and despite a series of character building exercises including cancelled flights and missed connections, we made it.
The Hidden Reasons People Spend Too Much
The Wall Street Journal has a great article, "The Hidden Reasons People Spend Too Much," which highlights some of the shortfalls of our thinking when it comes to budgeting and saving. Behavioral Finance has taken off in the past few years and hopefully our understanding of it will improve the financial security of all.
Aging in Place
Recently Charleston Financial Advisors, LLC, held a roundtable for clients and friends on the subject of Aging in Place (AIP). AIP is more a mindset than a place to live: it is the ability to transition and adjust as changes occur.
My Biggest Financial Lesson
The New York Times has a great Your Money Special Edition series called "My Biggest Financial Lesson" in which contributors share stories that mark a turningpoint in their thoughts about money.
Nothing Average about Index Returns
There is this notion among investment professionals and investors that indexes produce the average return...and who wants to be average? The only problem is, there is nothing average about it. According to the newest SPIVA scorecard, the S&P 500 yet again beat the vast majority of US large-cap fund managers in 2014, 86.44% of them to be exact.
The Panic About the Dollar Revisited
This has been an interesting few months. Quantitative easing officially ended. Oil prices dropped substantially and pose interesting geo-political implications yet to be seen. And through all of this, markets continue doing their thing: absorbing new information and attempting to create a fair price for an asset.
The Curve Ball
Market expectations about interest rates change because of news. This makes it very difficult to build a coherent investment strategy around a forecast.
Reaffirming Truths of Bond Investing
Vanguard has a great synopsis of bond investing principles here.
Interview With David Plecha - Sensibleinvesting.tv
Sensibleinvesting.tv talks bonds with David Plecha from Dimensional Fund Advisors here. A few key take-aways: