Hartford’s Top Financial Advisor Reveals Retirement Strategies for 2024
Gone are the days when a lifetime career with one employer led to a secure pension payment for the rest of your life. Now, the responsibility for building a retirement fund primarily falls on individuals with matching employer contributions. Retirement planning in 2024 is another opportunity to add to your retirement assets. For many, saving enough assets for a comfortable, secure retirement is a significant challenge. Several variables can impact the accumulation of these assets: Inflation, taxes, rising life expectancies, […]
Read More
Date: December 29, 2023
Final Day of 2023 Shaping Up To Be Down – Small Caps Have Been a Blockbuster
I have said this all year, but what a fun year it has been. Not only did the markets follow my script fairly well, but it was a blockbuster year for the bulls and investors. I don’t think 2024 will be a mirror image. I am sad to see the calendar turn, but random dates do not impact markets. I continue to formulate my 2024 Fearless Forecast and I look forward to sharing that with you next week. With markets […]
Read More
Date: December 29, 2023
Every Month Counts: 2024 Retirement Planning Made Simple
As a fee-only fiduciary financial advisor in Hartford, CT, taking a more defensive approach to retirement planning is important, especially when the securities markets are extremely unpredictable. Based on that, we have developed a 2024 retirement planning calendar that lists the many unknowns that could impact your retirement plans next year: persistent inflation, rising interest rates, a 2024 Presidential election, and continued market volatility. Regardless of what happens in the economy or stock market in 2024, your retirement plan should […]
Read More
Date: December 27, 2023
Bulls’ Stampede Continues – “BUT BUT BUT”
Stocks continue to creep higher as I have been discussing and as the various studies have suggested. I went back to see when I started mentioning strong seasonal tailwinds. It was at the end of October, coincidentally as the stock market was hammering in a major bottom. Since then with the exception of two weeks in December with seasonal headwinds, there has been study after study all suggesting higher and higher prices into year-end. This has been yet more evidence […]
Read More
Date: December 27, 2023
Panic Selling At All-Time Highs – What It Means
On Wednesday I wrote about runaway momentum and how it crushes everything in its way until it doesn’t. That very day and without notice, stocks saw a nasty downside reversal in matter of minutes that turned to hours. Some in the media made a federal case about it. I even heard one interviewer ask a guest to comment on the importance of the last 20 MINUTES. Come on. 20 minutes? Are we next going to discuss minute to minute trading? […]
Read More
Date: December 22, 2023
Runaway Momentum Crushing Everything In Its Way
It is pretty amazing what momentum can do in the markets. Once that ball gets rolling strongly in one direction it can powerfully build and build and then crush everything in its way, kind of like an avalanche which I know a little about. Let’s take a quick look. Below is the S&P 500. From the October bottom you can count only a few red days where the index closed below where it opened. Now, go see how many times […]
Read More
Date: December 20, 2023
Watching Small Stocks For Another Huge Opportunity As Dow Hits An ALL-TIME HIGH
We have an incredibly wet and windy start to the week in the northeast. Lots of power outages, school delays and trees down. It’s 60 with inches of rain and rumors of hurricane force wind gusts. I guess a white Christmas is a pipe dream. The bulls don’t seem to mind. We have the Dow Industrials at an all-time high. The S&P 500 is just a good one day rally away. The NASDAQ 100 could get there today. And while […]
Read More
Date: December 18, 2023
I Was Wrong
My head has been spinning this week. I definitely did not see the Fed discussing rate cuts in 2024. Was that the “pivot” the world has been hoping for all year? I don’t know. And frankly, I don’t care. We came into the Fed meeting with the spirit of our portfolios intact since early November. A few changes at the margin here and there. I thought there could be a 1-2% pullback between Thanksgiving and today as it is a […]
Read More
Date: December 15, 2023
10 Signs It May Be Time to Break Up with Your Financial Advisor
The stakes are undeniably high when you entrust someone with the critical task of helping you manage your liquid wealth. This is even more true when you are nearing retirement and have more to lose. You basically get one opportunity to get it right. Many investors rate their financial advisor’s performance based on their results during the recent bull market. When you see your statement balances going up, that’s a good sign. You may think, “My financial advisor must be […]
Read More
Date: December 15, 2023
Fed Rate Cut Next Move – Bears Remain Embarrassingly Wrong
Let’s start with the model for the day. The S&P 500 is most likely to be plus or minus 0.50% until 2pm and then rally. However, because the stock market has rallied sharply into Fed day and closed so strongly on Tuesday, the post-2pm strength has been muted away to a coin flip. Post-Fed Day, stocks are supposed to pause or pull back very mildly before another assault higher. So, as we have done all year, continue to buy weakness. […]
Read More
Date: December 13, 2023
