How Barron’s Top Advisors Are Reacting to Coronavirus

The uncertainty of the times has been reflected in the markets amid the coronavirus crisis. During these times, investors are seeking sound advice from experts on how to manage their investments through an unprecedented situation. Barron’s annual ranking of the Top 100 Financial Advisors spotlights the leading individual financial advisors from across the U.S. Advisors…

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What Should You Do When Markets Are Volatile?

By Chris Young, CFP®, CPWA®, CMFC® Volatility in the stock market is back after having gone missing for the last 18 months. In 2017, the S&P 500 was up every month and the largest peak-to-trough drawdown was roughly three percent. That lack of volatility is the lowest on record since the mid-1990s (Source: Barron’s). Such a benign market environment…

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INVESTMENT BASICS GLOSSARY

A quick overview of common terms used in the investing and finance industry: Arbitrage – the simultaneous purchase and sale of a related asset in order to profit from a difference in the price. It is a trade that profits by exploiting price differences of identical or similar financial instruments. Commodity – a basic good used in commerce…

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With Volatility, Emotions Can Get in the Way

by Steve Cassaday, CFP®, CFS When we distill out all of the noise in the world of investment advice there remains an essential immutable truth: The presence of volatility in individual investments and portfolios is the reason most people don’t get the investment outcome they would like. Here’s why: Volatility in the investment lexicon means variance…

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Beware, Bonds May Be The Next Bubble

by Steve Cassaday, CFP®, CFS Although considered to be “safe,” or at least safer than stocks and hard assets, bonds have risks that, if fully understood, would strike fear in the hearts of most lay investors. With the unprecedented volatility in the stock markets and blood-curdling daily headlines about the impending collapse of the universe, investors…

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Consolidation Can Yield Huge Benefits for Investors

by Steve Cassaday, CFP®, CFS Having all financial affairs in one institution has many significant potential benefits and is one of the essential components of a good long-term investment plan. Consolidation should include brokerage, checking and savings accounts, charge cards, and retirement accounts. Obviously, not all accounts can be consolidated in all cases, but to the…

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Plan for Fewer Entitlement Dollars and a Robust Recovery Ahead

by Steve Cassaday, CFP®, CFS The size of our federal debt (the amount owed by the U.S. Treasury) and our deficit (the shortage of our federal revenue versus our federal spending) are alarming to most Americans. Not surprising, given the level of election-year drumbeat about both. Trillion-dollar annual budget deficits are projected for the next decade…

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Three Simple Steps Help Blaze Through the Investment Maze

by Steve Cassaday, CFP®, CFS One of the major problems with investing in today’s information-drenched environment is that there is so much noise out there that investors are totally confused about what is going on and what they should do. Many people feel like a lost child at the mall because they can’t even figure out…

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Managing Risk Means More Than Meets The Eye

by Steve Cassaday, CFP®, CFS Risk is what it is all about in the investment world. If there were no risk, everyone would be a successful investor, and there would be no need for an advisory industry. And yet, most investors do not understand what real risk is, how to measure it and how to better…

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