top chart shows that over the last 15 years the stock market was the place to be, bottom chart shows real estate performed better over 30 years

Chart of the Day

Real Estate vs. Stock Market

Past performance is no predictor of future success, but it is interesting to compare the past performance of different investments. These charts show..

chart shows the spread between best and worst performing sectors

Estate Planning

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..

chart shows the level of dividends for all the stocks in the S&P 500

Chart of the Day Managing your Wealth

Sale and Dividends

There are two ways to make money in stocks:

Chart shows risk of large single stock holdings

Chart of the Day Managing your Wealth

100% of the Time

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

chart shows that In the past, an average house in the U.S. cost five times the yearly household income (aka our labor). As of November 2021, that ratio was 7.5 times

Chart of the Day

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..

chart shows that Austria issued a 100-year bond with a duration of 66 years at a price of $98 and an interest rate of 0.88%.

Chart of the Day Managing your Wealth

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.

chart shows the percentage of funds that underperformed the S&P 500 in the last 12 years.

Chart of the Day Managing your Wealth

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,..

Chart of the Day Managing your Wealth

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..

Chart 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%.

Chart of the Day Managing your Wealth

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..

Business Commercial Real Estate Community Bank

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,..

Chart of the Day Managing your Wealth

Vanguard vs. iShares by BlackRock

Since we use both Vanguard and iShares by BlackRock Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) extensively, one of my pleasures over the last few years has been..

Older couple looking at paperwork with a bank employee

Estate Planning

Why Should You Begin Your Estate Planning Now?

Google “things to do before you die” and you’ll get over four billion hits. Most will involve experiences like “go on an African safari,” “visit the..

two story home with palm trees blowing in the wind

Managing your Wealth

Best Practices for Financial Planning in Florida: Include Hurricane Season

If you’ve lived in Florida for any length of time, you know what happens every summer: Hurricane season. Longtime residents know the drill – protect..

Man looking at a laptop and using a calculator

Business Managing your Wealth

5 Financial Planning Strategies Business Owners Can Use to Control Expenses

Before you can begin to control expenses en route to lowering them, you must know where your money is going. Numerous financial management programs..

Chart indicates Year to Date of $100 Invested

Market Update Economy Chart of the Day

The Market Response after Eight Days of Conflict

It’s hard to do commentary when in the morning, the markets are down, and by lunch they are level, and by the close they might be up, and vice versa.

On Our Minds

List Grid

Chart of the Day

04/27/22

Past performance is no predictor of future success, but it is interesting to compare the past performance of different investments.

These charts show the value of $100 invested in real estate (red) and the stock market (blue.)

The chart above shows that over the last 15 years, the stock market was the place to be.

Estate Planning

04/25/22

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.

Chart of the Day, Managing your Wealth

04/7/22

Sale and Dividends

There are two ways to make money in stocks:

Chart of the Day, Managing your Wealth

04/5/22

100% of the Time

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

Chart of the Day

03/30/22

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.

Chart of the Day, Managing your Wealth

03/23/22

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.

Chart of the Day, Managing your Wealth

03/16/22

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.

Chart of the Day, Managing your Wealth

03/14/22

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.

Chart of the Day, Managing your Wealth

03/12/22

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%.

Business, Commercial Real Estate, Community Bank

03/11/22

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.

Chart of the Day, Managing your Wealth

03/9/22

Vanguard vs. iShares by BlackRock

Since we use both Vanguard and iShares by BlackRock Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) extensively, one of my pleasures over the last few years has been seeing each company try to outdo the other by lowering costs. As they continue to lower costs, they gather more and more investments. As referenced in a recent Bloomberg article, together they account for 64% of the ETF market as Vanguard is getting close to the size of BlackRock.

Estate Planning

03/8/22

Why Should You Begin Your Estate Planning Now?

Google “things to do before you die” and you’ll get over four billion hits. Most will involve experiences like “go on an African safari,” “visit the Grand Canyon,” “see a live Broadway show,” “swim with dolphins,” “ride in a hot air balloon,” etc.

Managing your Wealth

03/8/22

Best Practices for Financial Planning in Florida: Include Hurricane Season

If you’ve lived in Florida for any length of time, you know what happens every summer: Hurricane season. Longtime residents know the drill – protect yourself and your loved ones in terms of shelter, safety and supplies.

Business, Managing your Wealth

03/8/22

5 Financial Planning Strategies Business Owners Can Use to Control Expenses

Before you can begin to control expenses en route to lowering them, you must know where your money is going. Numerous financial management programs are available to help you keep track of your expenses, but they won’t help unless you or your business manager enters the proper information.

Market Update, Economy, Chart of the Day

03/4/22