After a turbulent 3rd quarter, markets rebounded in the 4th quarter. For the year, the S&P 500 index was down 0.7% to 2044. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.3% for the year, closing at 17,245. Technology stocks fared better with the NASDAQ Composite Index up 5.2% to 5,007. In fact, some of the […]
The Danger of Reaching for Yield in a Low Interest Rate World
Recently, high-yield bonds, otherwise known as junk bonds, have been in the news following the collapse of the Third Avenue Focused Credit Fund. This mutual fund invested in some of the riskiest and least liquid bonds and corporate bank loans. The fund was already down 27% in 2015. As investors tried to get their money […]
My mutual funds are down. How can I have capital gains?
It’s that time of year when mutual funds make their capital gains distributions. As of Nov 23, the S&P 500 is up a little over 1% for the year. The Dow (DJIA) is actually fractionally down for the year. However, many mutual funds will be paying out large taxable distributions in the coming weeks. How is this […]
Big changes that affect Social Security claiming strategies
The recent budget bill signed into law on November 2 contained some surprising changes that limit Social Security claiming strategies. The legislation made some major changes to the “File and Suspend” and associated “Restricted claim for spousal benefits”. These strategies allowed retirees to optimize their Social Security payouts, and many advisors had incorporated these into clients’ retirement plans. […]
September Market Recap
Market volatility continued in September with US markets down 2.5% for the month as measured by the S&P 500 TR Index. US markets are now down 5.3% for the year. International markets continued to struggle as well with the MSCI ACWI TR Index down 4.6% in September. Emerging markets have been especially hard hit and […]
A Financial Lesson for the New College Grad
It’s that time of year again when college seniors head into the real world. First of all, we would like to congratulate all the new grads on their achievement. Luckily, the job hiring environment is better this year than it’s been in a long time, with the unemployment rate around 5.5%. New grads are often bombarded […]
Is Bad Service Ever a Good Thing?
At L Squared Wealth Management, excellent service is one of our core values. It surprises us when a company that provides poor service is very profitable. Spirit Airlines is one of the fastest growing airlines in the US, with revenue growth over 20% per year for the last five years. Spirit has specialized in a la […]
Manifest Destiny
24 years ago, I quit my job at IBM’s East Fishkill semiconductor facility to go to work for a small, high tech company in California. It wasn’t an easy decision at the time. I had grown up in an IBM family in the Hudson Valley. IBM was in my blood. At that time, very few […]