In reading the title of today’s edition, many a reader while sipping a cup of morning coffee or tea – with a grimace – may say,
Today’s edition will be brief but contains a critical message with more in-depth information to follow next week.
A wise client once told me, “Know when it is time for a break.”
With Superbowl LIX in the books and other national events having slowly passed – and another snowstorm on the ground – it may be time for a short break. And by the way, I recently had minor eye surgery that requires me to be sidelined for 10 days, through around February 22nd.
With that, please know that if you are a client reading this note, you are in excellent hands with my colleague, Mary, AND my team at Main Street Financial Solutions. Please email both me and Mary and our OOO (Out Of Office) messages will give instructions, if needed, for contacting a team member at Main Street Financial Solutions.
And it is Valentine’s Day, so a solid reason to take a break and do something fun with the person or people whom you love the most! The markets and the world can wait sometimes. Family, faith, real life and health are what matter.
This material has been prepared for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied upon for, tax, legal or accounting advice.
AS ALWAYS, thank you for reading and TGIF!
This may be the last weekend we can say, “Happy New Year!” to friends. And a fairly happy new year it has been for the markets… with a few bumps here and there. The “bump” was a mini-cavernous plunge for shares of Nvidia shares, down 15% in one day without a rebound. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 (tech focused index) promptly rebounded.
However, there may have been a few investors, especially those newer to the markets or those less patient among us, who need a “gut check” when markets get rocky. Here are a handful of questions investors can ask themselves, in order to stay put with current investments in down and seriously down markets – providing a plan is already in place:
Continue reading “Rocky (But Good) Start to the Year… PS. “Alts””
We have all been there. Whether it is not getting the promotion or appointment to the C-suite, not hitting the jackpot with a start-up company investment or hedge fund or not reaching a savings goal in order to buy a fancy new car or retire by a certain year. We miss winning our own, personal “national championship”.
The keys to recovery are resilience and focus (2 weeks ago’s TGIF 2 Minutes talked about focus, as well). In Atlanta this past Monday, resilience and focus were on display in the CFP National Football Championship between Notre Dame and Ohio State, as well as an economic mismatch… but more about the economic mismatches of college sports in another edition.
As for resilience and focus, these two concepts figure heavily into personal finance, saving and investing.
Continue reading “When You Don’t Win A National Championship”
At this time of the year, clients and friends love asking the question, “What do you think of the markets?” Long ago, I learned not to answer with what I believe the markets will do – because no one knows for certain what the markets will do – but rather to respond with a handful of “data points” about what events are taking place currently and what near-future events truly figure in to investor expectations.
So far this year, markets are UP. To be exact, in the first 11 trading days of 2025 the markets have been up, down and then up. On balance markets are UP 1% to 1.5% year-to-date with small companies marginally leading the way. Small companies tend to be more volatile and react positively when there is perceived value in stock prices.
TGIF 2 Minutes is celebrating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Victory!
For all Irish fans, enjoy celebrating with Coach Freeman and the Guys.
For all TGIF 2 Minutes fans (these two fan groups may be mutually exclusive*), more insights to come in 2025!
This material has been prepared for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied upon for, tax, legal or accounting advice.
Thank you for reading, Happy New Year and TGIF!
Anything could have happened in 2024. The uncertainties were immense:
The results – to date – in several of these categories have been positive or on-the-way-to-becoming-positive.
Today’s edition could be a risky one to write, as anything related to the recent US Presidential election can stir up division. BUT – there are a healthy handful of issues that unite all Americans. These issues, ironically, are similar to those facing the 2016 version of President-Elect Trump.
Below are excerpts (in italics) from a November 2016 edition of TGIF 2 Minutes with thoughts on updates for 2024 (in bold) –
Continue reading “Top of Mind Issues in US Presidential Transition”
If you clicked on and are reading this edition of TGIF 2 Minutes, give yourself credit for being smart! Awareness of the following is of paramount importance.
Fraudsters are targeting high-net-worth people and non-profit organization accounts.
A “fraud trend” (yes, there is such a thing) currently taking place is with bad actors using social engineering tactics to collect personal information and then using that information to open new credit card, investment, and bank accounts in a person or organization’s name. The fraudster then attempts to use these new, false accounts to take over high net worth people’s existing accounts and withdraw those accounts’ funds.
It’s time for “The Greatest Chart Ever”, updated for 2024.
Please make sure the chart above shows on your screen! If not, please ask me to email you a copy.
Long-time TGIF 2 Minutes readers know this particular chart truly is a great chart* with data illustrating reasons to invest in stocks – and stay invested – for the short-, intermediate- and especially long-term. The information focuses on US stocks, namely the S&P 500, and lends to globally diversified stock investing, as well.
“The Greatest Chart Ever” offers needed perspective in times of volatility and uncertainty. Over a period of more than 40 years of intra-year stock market performance, the chart illustrates valid reasons NOT to allow short-term market moves (monthly, quarterly – or even yearly) to lead to poor investment decisions. Why? Please read on.
