Todd’s Blog

Last week, the government released the May inflation report. The news wasn’t good – and markets sold off. On top of that, we are apparently in one collective bad mood, at least according to the well-respected Michigan Consumer Sentiment survey. The lowest sentiment number ever recorded was just released in the most recent survey.[1] It’s hard to blame consumers when there is a gas “scoreboard” broadcasting the pain on street corners everywhere and, like the

“If you aren’t willing to own a stock for 10 years, don’t even think about owning it for 10 minutes.” – Warren Buffet, legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway The primary function of financial journalism seems to be terrifying us out of ever achieving our financial goals by shrieking about the market’s volatility. We are being reminded of this daily as some of the major stock indexes are now in

“When the facts change, I change my mind.  What do you do, sir?”– John Maynard Keynes, British Economist, and pioneer of Keynesian economics. Until recently, I’ve been an optimist about the direction and impacts of inflation. But two things have caused me to shift my thinking - at least for the near to moderate term. First, the war in Ukraine. Second, the money supply continues to expand at a concerning pace.

The market weakness that we saw last year with growth stocks has now spread to the rest of the market. The S&P 500 entered “correction” territory in January – meaning more than a 10% drop in value. The NASDAQ was worse. So why is Mr. Market in a bad mood? Corrections are Normal First, let’s not forget that 10% corrections are normal. Everyone is entitled to a bad mood from time

General Principles Last year was another good year for investors. The major U.S. stock indexes closed near record highs, but the story was more mixed under the surface. I thought it might be helpful to remember what guides us in our financial planning and investing decisions. As a reminder, here are the general principles you and I are following: You and I are long-term, goal-focused, planning-driven investors. The best course is

“Anyone may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to increase one's taxes.” – Supreme Court Justice Learned Hand in Gregory v. Helvering, 69 F.2d 809, 810 (2d Cir. 1934). Often, I like to remind clients gently that their money eventually will go to

Nobody can consistently time markets, but investors can lean into trends. And one powerful, current trend is a long-term bull market – oftentimes called a “secular” bull market. This discussion gets a little wonky, but please stick with it. If you stayed invested through Covid, then you most likely feel good about your account values. I am keenly aware, however, that much of the media will run with the apocalyptic crisis