Now’s a Good Time to Add Bonds to Your Portfolio Paul Fain, CFP® For the last several years, with short-term interest rates close to zero, bonds have been the Rodney Dangerfield of the investment world: “I get no respect!” However, since March 2022, the Federal Reserve has lifted interest rates 11 times. This hit bond…
When to be a Contrarian Investor Paul Fain, CFP® As an investor, do you follow the crowd or march to your own beat? If more the latter, you might be a contrarian: “A person who opposes or rejects popular opinion.” When is it appropriate to be a contrarian investor? When markets are experiencing extreme highs…
Good News: Inflation is Down, the S&P 500 is Up, and Humans are Resilient Paul Fain, CFP® You can find good news, if you look for it. On the other hand, bad news is easy to find: war, inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic. Bad news is typically unexpected. Financially, bad news is often cyclical. Periods of…
Don’t Believe Everything You Hear About Money Paul Fain, CFP® When it comes to money, some people believe ridiculous things. Where do we get these money beliefs? Usually from family or society. Here are some examples: “Money can’t buy happiness.” To a degree, sure it can. While money can’t buy a feeling, having money can…
Uneasy Investors Should Focus On What They Can Control Paul Fain, CFP® Current events remind me of a rip current at the beach. Once swept into it, you have two choices: 1) fight against the undertow and risk a bad outcome; or 2) go with the flow until you are carried to calmer, more predictable…
Do Your Homework Before Hiring a Financial Professional Paul Fain, CFP® So you need financial advice. Where will you get it? Often a specific event or a long-term need will trigger the search for professional guidance. Furthermore, you may not have the expertise, the time or the desire to research, plan or manage certain aspects…
How did Financial Predictions for 2022 Fare? Paul Fain, CFP® “Forecasting is difficult because it concerns the future,” goes an old Danish proverb. What makes forecasting so unreliable? The unknown. At the beginning of last year, we didn’t know that Russia would invade Ukraine, that China’s stringent zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy would strangle its economy, that…
For Some, Bonds are Like a Horror Movie Paul Fain, CFP® This year feels like watching a horror movie in the bond market. Van Helsing (the Federal Reserve) is combating Dracula (inflation), trying to put a stake (interest rate increases) through the cash-flow sucker’s heart. Only eight months into these aggressive rate increases, it is…
Investors have questions about inflation, the possibility of a recession Paul Fain, CFP® What is on the mind of investors this month? Mostly concern. There is much negative chatter about inflation, recession and a double-dip bear market. Here are some of the frequent investor questions that I am hearing: ∎ “Is the bear market…
Fair doesn’t always mean equal when distributing wealth Paul Fain, CFP® When the final bell tolls, how much money do you want to leave to your children? How much is too much? How much is too little? It is almost a rhetorical question since there isn’t a right or wrong answer. Years ago, I…