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Your Asset Allocation Depends On Your Financial Plan (and not the other way around)
~ Douglas R. Mewhirter, CFA, Vice President – Portfolio Manager One of the most common questions an investor will ask an advisor is “how much of my money should I have in stocks vs. bonds?” From an investing point of view, that is one of the most important questions you need to ask. Stocks have earned the highest…
What is the Right Mix of Stocks and Bonds for You?
Please take a moment to answer our Asset Allocation Questionnaire.
Ask a Trust Officer: Cryptocurrency Taxes
Dear Trust Officer: Last year I bought ten Ethereum coins for $2,000 each. I was planning to trade them for an NFT (a non-fungible token), an art investment that has become popular lately. My coins are now worth about $3,500 each, and I’ve found the NFT that I want. Do I have to worry about…
2022 Q1 Review and Outlook – Stocks and Bonds and Yield Curves, Oh My!
2022 got off to a rocky start as stocks (as measured by the S&P 500 SPDR ETF – SPY) lost 4.6% in the first quarter. Surprisingly (or perhaps not surprisingly) the U.S. bond market (as measured by the US Aggregate Bond ETF – AGG) was down 5.9%, and a 60% stock/40% bond portfolio lost 5.1%. Over…
Ask a Trust Officer: Crisis Investing
DEAR TRUST OFFICER: What portfolio management steps should I take on account of the new war in Europe? —UNSETTLED INVESTOR DEAR UNSETTLED: First, depending upon what you own, an impact will be made on your portfolio by the actions taken by multinational companies, many of whom already have cut their ties with Russia. So even…
2021 Q4 Review and Outlook – The Most Hated Bull Market in History
2021 charged across the finish line as the S&P 500 SPDR ETF (SPY) gained 11.1% in the fourth quarter. The U.S. bond market (as measured by the US Aggregate Bond ETF – AGG) was down slightly (-0.1% return), and a 60% stock/40% bond portfolio gained 6.6%. Again, that was just the fourth quarter. For…
Estate Planning For Cryptocurrency
Digital currencies (or cryptocurrencies) such as bitcoin are not just a fad. They are resources with potentially significant value, which is why the IRS is increasingly focusing enforcement efforts on collecting data in this area. In 2014 the IRS ruled that cryptocurrency is “property” rather than currency. Accordingly, cryptocurrency is subject to capital gains tax…
2021 Q3 Review and Outlook – Inflation, Stagflation or Neither?
The well-stimulated economy continued to power along in the third quarter of 2021, but the S&P 500 SPDR ETF (SPY) barely squeaked out a 0.6% gain. The U.S. bond market (as measured by the US Aggregate Bond ETF – AGG) was flat (-0.01% return), and a 60% stock/40% bond portfolio gained 0.3%. Year to date,…
Five basic benefits of working with a financial planner
Thanks to the internet and YouTube, doing-it-yourself has taken on a new life. For example, a young person we know was able to diagnose a problem with his clothes dryer, then order the key part and install it, thus saving the cost of an in-home repair. Information that once might have been hard to find…
2021 Q2 Review and Outlook: Inflation: Transitory or Here to Stay?
The U.S. stock market continued to power along with a well-stimulated economy and COVID reopenings, as the S&P 500 SPDR ETF (SPY) gained 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. The U.S. bond market (as measured by the US Aggregate Bond ETF – AGG) returned 1.8%, and a 60% stock/40% bond portfolio gained 5.7%. Year to date, the…