Tax planning is a critical component of a successful financial plan. As you search for the right financial advising partner, you’ll want to understand their tax planning capabilities. Many people think about a financial plan as investment advice, helping them feel secure for retirement and ensuring their legacy. …

If you thought small cap stocks were the winners in the market’s climb back from 2020’s pandemic lows, you’d be right. But did you realize the extent of their outperformance?

We’re asked about rising interest rates a lot, and in a blog post last month Roger Hewins addressed the stabilizing function of a bond allocation in a diversified portfolio. This chart looks at it in another interesting way: The red diamonds indicate the largest drawdown (drop from peak to trough)…

In a reversal of the fear and uncertainty that gripped many in the first quarter of last year, investors appear to be looking to the future with a sense of optimism about a US economy poised to reopen. After the rapid market decline last year, the Fed stepped in quickly…

The rotation continues The first quarter of 2021 saw more of the so-called “rotation” into small and value stocks that started last November with the announcement of the first vaccine. …

A lot has happened in the world over the past year, and while everyone’s physical health is top of mind, financial health is also a concern for many. You may be considering ways to better prepare for the next time something unexpected happens in your life. …

A few years ago, in a desperate attempt to make Fed policy even mildly interesting, we introduced our little friend[i] to you. At the time, after massive intervention into the fixed income markets in response to the 2008 financial crisis, the Fed hinted that it might start “tapering back” on…

“In the short-run, the stock market is a voting machine. Yet, in the long-run, it is a weighing machine.” — Warren Buffett[i] While the last week in the markets has felt like being on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at Disneyland, Warren Buffett’s famous quote on stock market behavior seems more…

2020 was a year that no one will forget. A devastating pandemic wreaked havoc on our lives, and the resulting shelter in place orders wreaked havoc on the economy. US GDP dropped a historic 32.9% in the second quarter, and the unemployment rate peaked at 14.7%, a record outside the…