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Six Retirement Tips From a Woodbridge, CT, AIF® Financial Advisor

For high-net-worth individuals, retirement planning is not simply about building a nest egg. It involves a complex web of considerations, from maximizing retirement savings to planning for health care late in life. As a fee-only, fiduciary financial advisor based in Woodbridge, CT, I’ve helped hundreds of successful individuals and families create sustainable retirement plans over the last 30 years.   As your wealth accumulates, so should your need for a highly experienced financial professional who has earned the Accredited Investment Fiduciary […]   Read More
Date: June 26, 2023

Bearish Trend Playing Out – Bonds Need to Shape Up

On Tuesday I discussed a few reasons why this week would be challenging for the bulls in Post Expiration Gives Some Ammo to The Bears. With the exception of Thursday, the holiday-shortened week has been weak with the bears have something to latch on to. I do like it when the market cooperates with the trends. Pre-market trading indicates a weak opening after Thursday’s bounce back. I do not believe the bull market has ended. Let’s get that out of […]   Read More
Date: June 23, 2023

Post-Expiration Gives Some Ammo to Bears

I hope everyone had a great Father’s Day. For me, label it anything you want as long as I get time at my house with family. We are a small family so it’s always a highlight to have my kids, mom, brother, nieces and in-laws over. I beg my kids all the time to not buy me any gifts, just more family time, like staying in Vermont on Sundays through dinner. Like most weekend days, I wake up and make […]   Read More
Date: June 20, 2023

7 Essential Retirement Planning Tips for High-Net-Worth Individuals

Retirement planning is a critical aspect of prudent financial management, and it becomes even more complex when dealing with substantial wealth and income. High-net-worth individuals face unique challenges and opportunities when preparing for their golden years, and having the right strategic plan in place is essential. In this article, we will explore seven key considerations that can help you navigate the complexities of retirement planning as a high-net-worth individual and your family.    Read our Quick Guide on Connecticut Retirement […]   Read More
Date: June 19, 2023

Know When to Hold ‘Em, Know When to Fold ‘Em – Media’s Parade of Pundits

So the Fed stood pat. Powell was hawkish and left the door wide open for another rate hike in July. I think they are done. I have said they should have been done before 5% as the 2-Year Note told us. Stocks sold off on the news. And then went straight up to the close and followed through on Thursday. I can’t imagine what the bears thought and did after they finally saw some market weakness on the announcement, only […]   Read More
Date: June 16, 2023

The Fed is Woefully Wrong & Jay Powell Has Become a Cocktail Party Punchline

As the popular 80s band, Whitesnake, once wrote, “Here I go again on my own. Going down the only road I’ve ever known.” You can substitute the “I” for “we” and you have the FOMC of the Federal Reserve. You know that group. The ones that raise and lower interest rates without fully assessing the markets and economy. The ones who are supposed to be smartest financial minds on earth and the greatest bankers. Before I continue, let me offer […]   Read More
Date: June 14, 2023

Big Week Ahead – Bears May Get Something to Chew On

The markets return from the weekend with two highly anticipated “events” this week. First, we have the CPI (inflation) report on Tuesday and then that pesky ole group at the Fed concludes their meeting on Wednesday. Right now, markets expect another benign inflation report resulting in the Fed standing pat on interest rates. While that’s all well and good and you know how bullish I have been all year, I feel like the bull camp has become a bit too […]   Read More
Date: June 12, 2023

Harvesting Some Acorns & Reducing Risk

It has been a quiet few days, but certainly not an opportunity-less few days. The major stock market indices have been bullishly digesting some very sizable recent gains. Gold and bonds have not. During the week, I used some of the continued abnormally strong action in the NASDAQ 100 to lower risk by rotating into the Dow Industrials. This comes at a time when I sense lots of investors recognizing what my readers have known since October; this is a […]   Read More
Date: June 9, 2023

Bears in Tougher Spot w/ Small Caps & Junk Jumping

Tuesday’s market action in the downtrodden mid and small caps certainly answered the question as to whether Friday was a one-day wonder. It also kicked the bears right in the teeth. You remember those bears? The ones who claimed the mid and small caps couldn’t rally and were the “real” market indicating impending doom. Well, on the far right of the chart below, you can see a monster two-day rally in the Russell 2000. And it looks like it has […]   Read More
Date: June 7, 2023

WHAT Will The Bears Say NOW?

I lost track of all the pundits and people who came into 2023 so negative, so defensive and so beared up. Those constant calls of a bear market, recession, inflation and the Fed gave me great chuckles for five months. And yes, some, many or much of the data pointed to recession coming, I kept hammering on the fact that the economy cannot be in recession or close to recession when hundreds of thousands of new jobs are being created […]   Read More
Date: June 5, 2023

The Masses Remain Very Wrong

Two days ago, I argued that selling the rally post-debt ceiling agreement was the right strategy. After all, stocks had rallied sharply into the announcement and the underpinnings have not been super solid. Rather, as the masses have reported, the rally has been well short of powerful and impressive with essentially 7 stocks accounting for almost all of the gains in the S&P 500 this year. However, most of these pundits are the same ones who have been holed up […]   Read More
Date: June 1, 2023

Behavior Befitting The Dotcom Bubble – Sell The Debt Ceiling News

The stock market continues to exhibit behavior that is really enjoyable if you are in the right indices, sectors and stocks, but not so much fun for the masses who are not. Specifically, the NASDAQ 100, semis, software and other technology at the expense of almost everything else. On the smallest level, it reminds me of the Dotcom Bubble. Yes, that Dotcom Bubble where it didn’t exactly end so well. Astute observers may also recall the inverted yield curve from […]   Read More
Date: May 30, 2023

Stocks Pull Back on Schedule

The media is all over the stock market decline that has been going on for all of two days. Two days after a super nice rally off of the March lows. And the decline began almost perfectly on schedule as the leading NASDAQ 100 exceeded the key high from last August and the S&P 500 breached its 2023 high. See the charts below. Many or most times when prices revisit a previous peak or trough, they back off before going […]   Read More
Date: May 24, 2023

Will the Economy Always Be Like This?

Without an adequate understanding of where their financial security stands in times like these, even high-net-worth investors sometimes feel as though stability is out of reach. However, with a firm grasp of economic trends and practices—and the insight for making informed investment decisions when times are tough—there is hope for a prosperous future.  The important thing now is to remember that we aren’t in a recession, not yet. It looks increasingly likely for the fourth quarter of the year or […]   Read More
Date: May 22, 2023

Still Talking Debt Ceiling But PGA Was The Story

With an upward bias, markets continue to be quiet as the debt ceiling gets closer and closer to being hit. The NASDAQ 100 remains the leading index followed by the S&P 500. The Dow Industrials are in no man’s land with the S&P 400 and Russell 2000 being the caboose. Nothing has changed. The market is being led by a handful of stocks that are being powered by the AI craze. Sooner or later there will be a swift pullback […]   Read More
Date: May 22, 2023

Will Pundits Finally Turn Bullish?

I am looking forward to seeing many of you tonight at the next Heritage Capital virtual event as we learn a delicious new dessert and bake it on our kitchens. Of course with Friday being here, adult libations are welcome and encouraged. We are working on the in person client event for late summer. Stand by. Markets are getting much  more interesting. I have been pretty much pounding the table positive since September. It hasn’t always been easy, but that […]   Read More
Date: May 19, 2023

Lots of Creeping Going On

Markets sniffed a little weakness into the close on Tuesday. That’s about all I can say. It was another dull, have/have not, kind of day. The NASDAQ 100 has crept higher. The S&P 500 has crept sideways. The S&P 400 and Russell 2000 have crept lower. Tech sectors are doing well. Banks are groping for a bottom. Discretionary is percolating for a move higher. Most other sectors and a tad weak. Everything is incremental. It seems like most people are […]   Read More
Date: May 17, 2023

Standoff at The O.K. Corral

Markets remain quiet. Early weakness seems to be find buyers. Early strength is not building on itself. We have a standoff at O.K. Corral. Last week I shared the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100. The latter being the market leader with the former getting to the top end of its range. To be fair and balanced, below is the laggard which is the Russell 2000 Index of small caps. It looks nothing like the leading indices. The 1700 area has […]   Read More
Date: May 15, 2023

The Masses Freaking Out Over the “Narrow” Market

It’s always good to be back home. While I really like the Valley of the Sun and the constant sunshine without humidity, there’s nothing quite like spring in New England. The annual Uncommon Knowledge conference of my trade association was once again an amazing and rewarding experience. The agenda was chock full of incredible speakers and I learned so much that I can’t wait to implement. The networking with fellow advisors was its usual enormous benefit along with meeting many […]   Read More
Date: May 12, 2023

Pause to Refresh But Hanging In as Media Discovers Russell Problem

Having survived the Fed, Apple and the jobs report, the markets scored a big win for the bulls on Friday. All of the concerns I had were almost all gone based on Friday’s action, but they do remain in place. Friday was one of those “rising tides lifts all ships” kind of day. The despair from the Fed was gone because Apple had good earnings and the February and March strong jobs reports were revised lower, something I started to […]   Read More
Date: May 9, 2023