The ValueAligned Model portfolio (VAP) was up +22.8% in 2021, while the S&P 500 Index was up +28.1%, including dividends reinvested into the index. In the first three weeks of this year the VAP is down -7.6% while the S&P 500 is down -7.7%. On January 11, we...
Key Financial Deadlines For 1Q 2022
Do you know what days the market closes for 2022? Or when different tax forms are due? Or when the various enrollment periods for Medicare and health insurance begin and end? Each year brings with it a host of new dates, deadlines, and observances to track. But I like...
Mid Year Report
As America continued to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2021, the U.S. economy and the stock markets made significant progress.The ValueAligned Model Portfolio ("VAP") is up +16.10% for 2021 as of Friday July 2, 2021. The S&P 500 Index is...
U.S. WORKERS STILL LAG IN RETIREMENT SAVINGS
The executives noted that retirements are getting longer. Three-quarters of people who turn 65 will be alive at the age of 90 and nearly half will be alive at 95, said Tim Seifert, vice president and head of annuity sales at Lincoln Financial Group.“Only one-third of...
THE No. 1 FINANCIAL FEAR AMONG RICH PEOPLE
Even the richest Americans are worried about having enough for retirement. 51% of affluent investors — defined as those who have total investable assets of $500,000 or more — say they are concerned about being financially secure in retirement. That’s according to a...
A Cup of Coffee and a Second Opinion
Ready for the next stock market crash?
After nine years since the last crash ended, can you afford even one devastating year? The devastation to portfolios is often ugly when the stock market crashes. We have experienced two major market meltdowns in the last 17 years. One occurred between 2000 and...
Beginning of the End for Bonds – Pop Goes the Great Credit Bubble
The Great Credit Bubble is unraveling at the bottom in "junk bonds", below BBB- ratings. This will quickly make its way into all debt. I don't know if the Federal Reserve is ready for this. If you have been reading my Blog - you are ready for it. Bonds of all types...
Investment Fees: ValueAligned Folio Accounts Cheaper than the Biggest Brokers’
Mirror, mirror on the wall, do I pay the smallest fees of all? Thanks to Personal Capital's new report, The Real Cost of Fees, you can finally answer that question. Defining the Real Cost of Investment Fees For its new report, Personal Capital ranked 11 brokerage...
Six Years Since the Great Recession of 2009: What’s New?
How much has your salary increased since 2009? What about the value of your home? If it’s less than 1