Resources

While nature offers four seasons, Wall Street offers only one – four times a year. It’s called “earnings season,” and it can move the markets. So, what is earnings season and why is it important? Earnings season is the month of the year that follows each calendar quarter-end month (i.e., January, April, July, and October). … Read more

For as long as there has been a stock market, investors have sought a reliable framework to determine the future direction of prices. Success has been elusive. But thanks to the work of three American economists, we operate today with a better understanding than prior generations of what determines an asset’s price. For their work, … Read more

At first blush, the idea of a bond that doesn’t pay interest seems oxymoronic. After all, isn’t a bond a debt instrument that pays periodic interest and repays the principal at maturity?1 Zero coupon bonds are indeed debt instruments, but are issued at a discount to their face value, make no interest payments, and pay … Read more

Chris Rock once remarked, “You don’t pay taxes – they take taxes.”1 That applies not only to income, but also to capital gains. Capital gains result when an individual sells an investment for an amount greater than their purchase price. Capital gains are categorized as short-term gains (a gain realized on an asset held one year … Read more

The city of Detroit emerged from bankruptcy in 2014. Still, its previous inability to pay investors left some questioning their long-held assumption about the relative safety of municipal bonds. Without question, in the wake of Detroit’s troubles, gaining a better understanding of municipal bonds makes more sense than ever.1 At their most basic level, there … Read more

Whether it’s sports, music, or politics, life holds any number of “great debates”– debates that never seem to reach a conclusion. In investments, that great debate asks the question, “Active or Passive Investing: Which is Better?” The fascinating aspect of this debate is that equally intelligent people can argue polar opposite positions, leaving the rest … Read more

With international stock markets comprising about 45.5 percent of the world’s capitalization, a broad range of investment opportunities exist outside the borders of the U.S.1 For investors who are looking to diversify their mutual fund portfolio with exposure to companies located outside the U.S., there exist two basic choices: A global mutual fund or an … Read more

Whether through inertia or trepidation, investors who put off important investment decisions might consider the admonition offered by motivational speaker Brian Tracy, “Almost any decision is better than no decision at all.”1 This investment inaction is played out in many ways, often silently, invisibly and with potential consequence to an individual’s future financial security. Let’s … Read more

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates the cost of raising a child to the age of 17 for a middle-income family will be about $285,000.1 That’s roughly equivalent to the median value of a new home in the U.S.2 And if you’ve already traded that supercharged convertible dream for a minivan, you can expect your little … Read more

In January, the White House released its 533-page book, “Economic Report of the President (2021).” If you haven’t yet made time to peruse this weighty tome, don’t beat yourself up. Most people don’t take the time to read the report—still others don’t even know it exists.1 What is the “Economic Report of the President” and … Read more

If you live in or have visited a big city, you’ve probably run into street vendors – people who sell everything from hot dogs to umbrellas – on the streets and sidewalks. Many of these entrepreneurs sell completely unrelated products, such as coffee and ice cream. At first glance, this approach seems a bit odd, … Read more