The Week Ahead – December 31, 2018 – Focus on Pressure Points

By Debra Taylor, CPA/PFS, JD, CDFA™ Investors cheered as the The S&P 500 was up >12.5% the past month.  Previous big months have usually lead to better than average returns. Yes, during the tech bubble burst this didn’t work, but most other times the past 60 years have been rat …

By Debra Taylor, CPA/PFS, JD, CDFA™   Dear Friends, A historically weak quarter, six months, and year for both stocks & bonds, is now behind us. With stocks and bonds both showing weakness, even a well balanced portfolio didn’t stand a chance for positive returns. As most of …

By Debra Taylor, CPA/PFS, JD, CDFA™ Dear Friends, There is a lot of pessimism in the markets right now. We know the list of concerns is long and includes an aggressive Federal Reserve agenda with a not-so-soft approach to a soft landing. Stagflation, ongoing China lockdowns, disrupted suppl …

By Debra Taylor, CPA/PFS, JD, CDFA™   ear Friends, Summer is finally here, but 2022 is still shaping up to be one of the worst years for investors ever. That’s the bad news. The good news is, the year isn’t over and we have several reasons why we believe the bulls shouldn’t throw in th …

By Debra Taylor, CPA/PFS, JD, CDFA™   Dear Friends, The S&P 500 is in a bear market, after closing on Monday, June 13th, with a greater than 20% decline from its recent peak. A look back at past bear markets shows that there is good news and bad news once the large-cap index has cr …

By Debra Taylor, CPA/PFS, JD, CDFA™   Dear Friends, Stocks rallied hard the week of May 31st, as the S&P 500 Index broke a seven-week losing streak in resounding fashion. That strong week was followed by last week’s losses, creating a see-saw effect that has everyone wonderin …

By Debra Taylor, CPA/PFS, JD, CDFA™   Dear Friends, After a late-month rally, we can say goodbye to the month of May, which now opens the door to June. Here’s the bad news, June is historically a weak month and it is actually the worst month of the year during a midterm year, down 1.8% …

By Debra Taylor, CPA/PFS, JD, CDFA™   Dear Friends, It has been a historically bad year so far for stocks. However, the S&P 500 Index rose 6% last week, a welcome relief to all. With lots of “market chatter,” we wanted to discuss Six Things to know regarding bear market …

By Debra Taylor, CPA/PFS, JD, CDFA™   Dear Friends, When the markets correct, it can be confusing and even frustrating. There are, however, opportunities in every market, if you move boldly and with thought. With that being said, below we review the Nine Key Opportunities that could be …

By Debra Taylor, CPA/PFS, JD, CDFA™   Dear Friends, With the S&P 500 Index in correction territory (down more than 10% from the previous peak) investor anxiety levels are understandably elevated. The market faces a number of threats, including inflation, a hawkish Federal Reserve, …