A look back at the shaky financial predictions in this wild year Paul Fain, CFP® Is it a Christmas miracle? Did the financial forecasters get it right in 2021? Well, Santa should probably have given coal to most of the pundits and prognosticators. For instance, one of the largest banking institutions predicted a 5% return
Rollercoaster markets don’t have to take you for a ride Paul Fain, CFP® It is Disney World’s 50th anniversary. If your investment portfolio was a Disney ride, what would it be? Maybe Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride or Space Mountain? Despite the bumpy ride, most every theme park ride ends up where it started. In the third
Don’t let FOMO or a golfing buddy rule your investing decisions | Paul Fain, CFP® Where do you get the financial information upon which you base your investment decisions? If we are being honest, the answer for many people is probably: a family member, a cable television show, or a magazine or newsletter. “Well Paul, you
Feeling Pessimistic? Zoom Out. | Kevin Miller The sky is falling! The world is coming unglued! We all feel this way at some point. I think most of us know, and are grateful for, the fact that life is much easier now for most people than it was for folks a century ago. But it’s
Want results from your investments? Don’t get emotional | Paul Fain, CFP® Famed investor Benjamin Graham once said, “The investor’s chief problem, and even his worst enemy, is likely to be himself.” DALBAR, a financial market research firm, conducts an annual study of investor behavior. With 25 years of data, the study’s conclusion is frighteningly
Investment Themes for the Next 10 Years | Paul Fain, CFP® When is the best time to invest in the stock market? What about now? Are stocks too over-priced? One of the U.S. stock market’s measures of value, price-to-earnings ratio, is running high by historical standards (37 today vs. 17 historically). In other words,
After a Long Year, There’s More Clarity Ahead For Investors | Paul Fain, CFP® After a long year, these spring days seem particularly sweet. Unlike 2020, when uncertainty was so widespread, we now see more clearly looking ahead. The recent government checks to consumers, plus the big infrastructure project on the drawing board, could boost
Tempted to Speculate? Don’t Risk More Than You Can Afford | Paul Fain, CFP® It’s madness, March Madness! It is always fun to fill in a NCAA basketball tournament bracket, whether for family bragging rights or for the office bracket pool. As the tournament unfolds, most of the basketball powerhouses smash lesser rivals while a
Should I Buy GameStop Stock? | Paul Fain, CFP® Hello all! Just when you thought it couldn’t get any wackier!? It did. Several weeks ago, my son asked me if I had seen what was happening with GameStop, AMC and Blackberry stocks. My honest reply was, “No, but are those companies still in business?” In
Expect the Unexpected for the 2021 Stock Market, and Plan Accordingly | Paul Fain Last year was a paradox: The second quarter was the worst GDP performance on record. However, November was one of the best months for the stock market on record, led by long-lagging small caps and value stocks. The Russell 2000 Index