Every investor I’ve met has, at some point, asked a version of this question: “Given what’s going on right now, what should I do?” As a financial advisor, I always consider this a reasonable thought. The world is unpredictable: Wars flare up, elections divide, inflation gets sticky, interest rates go up and down, markets swing, […]
When a top American business leader starts rattling off reasons to fear today’s market, investors get uneasy. But in the echo chamber of media-made doubt, Jamie Dimon’s recent message got lost. To prepare for the worst, he recommended beefing up reserves, fortifying capital, and stress-testing for varied shocks. He didn’t advise hiding under the nearest desk but rather putting in the work, preparing and carrying on.
Toward the end of the Cold War, a new kind of landscape emerged — defined by turbulence, ambiguity and interconnection. In that moment, folks at the U.S. Army War College coined the term VUCA, an acronym for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity.
If we believe the headlines, an artificial intelligence revolution is upon us. For investors who experienced the dot-com boom, the vibe sure feels similar. But remember what human nature loves most: the chase. As history shows, it rarely ends well.
Remember that as investors, we are constantly on the precipice of uncertainty. We can never confidently know how anything will play out. No one can. So what should we do? With everything changing, we think we should be adapting. New circumstances require portfolio changes, right?
As a student of markets, I believe history is a roadmap for the future. The past may not repeat, but it certainly tends to rhyme. So when I came across “A History of the United States in Five Crashes” by Scott Nation, I was hooked.
As we enter fall 2025, the S&P 500 is in the green for the year. It’s as if April’s panic never happened. This isn’t a fever dream, but a reminder: Stick to your plan.
Being told in 1979 that two yet-to-be-founded companies would be worth more than the entire output of the U.S. economy would have sounded like science fiction. But this history offers a valuable reminder that the future is so big, it’s almost incomprehensible.
What if there were a way to raise your income during retirement — one that doesn’t require working or selling off your possessions? Let me introduce you to the quiet but powerful concept of dividend growth.
Can you name five companies whose products or services you use almost daily? What top brands are your family members unable to live without? We consistently rely on — and budget for — these brands and businesses in our daily activities.
Perspective is in increasingly short supply right now. Business news and market commentary is ever focused on urgency. But good investor behavior requires thinking long-term, staying grounded, and resisting the belief that daily market machinations are important enough to warrant changes.
What would it look like to have a conversation with “The Market” (the embodiment of the S&P 500)? What knowledge might we learn from this nebulous thing if only we could ask it? Let’s find out.
Gut check: How have you been over the past month? When my last column was published a scant four weeks ago, markets were knocking on the door of all-time highs, and the overall feeling was one of cautious optimism. A lot can change in four weeks.
On occasion, someone pursues a deeper understanding of what drives markets and investors. Charlie Munger, the late vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett’s lifelong business partner was one of them.
As of December 31, the “Magnificent Seven” accounted for roughly half of the Index’s 2024 gain, according to CNBC. This has left many people wondering, are these companies deserving of this much capital, or is a bubble inflating America’s largest enterprises?
Most investors instinctively define risk as market volatility — the uncomfortable reality of stock prices rising and falling over time. When markets drop sharply, the losses feel immediate and visible. Investors see account balances decline, and the headlines only amplify their fear — creating an emotional impact that is powerful and persuasive.
But volatility is only one kind of risk.
