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Best vs. Worst

Some investment managers promote a strategy called “Sector Rotation” where they try to time the market by trading between the 11 major sectors of the economy. The gains can be tempting, but the risk is high. For instance, if you owned all energy stocks, you would be up +40% year to date, but if you thought communications was the place to be, you would be down -20%. This is a possible difference of 60% in your returns. According to the chart, which includes more sub sectors, the difference is the highest since 2000.

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Choose Local: 10 Benefits of Community Banks

Community banks are threaded into the local economy of many towns in the country. By serving the local residents and businesses with necessary financial services, community banks help them get ahead in their corner of the world. 

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Sale and Dividends

There are two ways to make money in stocks:

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100% of the Time

I think about this chart often during discussions with clients on having too much exposure to single stocks.

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Real Estate Prices vs. Income

Real estate is unique since humans need a physical place to live and work. Economics says the price of those physical places is constrained by the cost of the physical labor to build them.

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Bond Length Matters

Duration describes the time it takes for a bond holder to get all their money back and/or the change in price for each 1% change in the interest rate.

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S&P 500 Wins Again

This chart from an article in today’s Wall Street Journal shows the percentage of funds that underperformed the S&P 500 in the last 12 years. Again, passive indexes beat 85% of the active managers last year, and the majority have done so for 12 consecutive years. This is one of the reasons why we champion passive index funds. 

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Car Dealer Profits

I am reminded of this chart every time I drive by a car lot. Before the pandemic, financing and insurance profits made up 70% of the dealer’s profits. Now, due to price appreciation of their inventory, that percentage has changed. However, the dollar profits from financing and insurance continue to increase. Car dealers have become more like finance and insurance companies.

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Stay Invested

Below is a great chart from Putnam, which shows that over the last 15 years, if you missed the top 10 best days of market gains, your return would have gone from 10.66% to only 5.05%.

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How to Afford the Down Payment for a Commercial Loan

A commercial loan is a type of loan that is available for businesses to fund growth, equipment, property, and more. Depending on the type of loan, how much money you need, and your credit history, the down payment for commercial loans varies. 

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