Keeping up with the Jones’s is not something anyone should strive for – but in the case of saving for retirement, knowing how you compare could help you develop an awareness of the need for saving for retirement. Every situation is different due to guaranteed sources of retirement income; current and future bills; lifestyle; helping others; location of residence; expected longevity, etc. A qualified financial planner can help you determine how much you need to retire.
Here’s the latest from Investopedia on the subject.
An interesting piece of research from Crestmont Research reveals that if a recession does not occur before the end of the year, it will be the first decade without a US recession in 170 years. As you will see in the graphic below, it is common to have 3 or 4 recessions per decade. What has caused this? A probable main reason is the Federal Reserve’s Quantitive Easing program where trillions of dollars were pumped into the economy which kept both the economy and the market on positive footing.
Back in 1965, Martha and the Vandellas sang “Nowhere to run,
baby, nowhere to hide”.
That was true as well in 2018, at least in the world of
investing. The graphic below, from
visualcapitalist.com, shows just how tough the investing environment of 2018
was.
Bonds were flat, the US dollar was modestly higher…and that
was it. Non-US stocks fared much worse
than US stocks, and the near-universal prediction that Emerging Markets would
be the best bet for 2018 was a complete bust as Emerging Markets were the worst
of worldwide equity indexes.
December has been turbulent for the market. Declines like we have recently witnessed are beyond usual as shown in the graph below. If this in fact is the beginning of a new bear market, we’re off to a rip-roaring start.
As of Tuesday, 10 of 14 market days in December were down days for the Dow, which isn’t a first – but seven of those ten were down -350 points or more. Here’s a listing – from best to worst days. (Source: Yahoo! Finance.)
Since September, the market is on a roller coaster and many wonder what role the government shutdown is having in all of this. The chart below is an interesting study of previous shutdowns, and as you can see, they have not had a big or consistent negative effect on the market.
Especially after suffering their worst week since 2008, pretty much everyone knows that stocks are struggling of late. But with each of the major indexes falling into bear market territory, many are probably unaware of just how swiftly and severely individual stocks have been hit. Many of Wall Street’s recent favorites are down a ton, with the popular “FAANG” stocks (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google) down anywhere from 20% to 40%. Research firm FactSet created the following graphic, showing just how bad the carnage has been – and keep in mind that the losses are through the 20th, and don’t include the further damage done on Friday the 21st:
As the major market indexes have fallen of late, one after another has experienced what’s known as a “Death Cross”, a technical market pattern that occurs when an index’s 50-day moving average crosses below its 200-day moving average. Its dreadful name would suggest that every investor in the world should run for the hills whenever one occurs—but is that the prudent thing to do? Mark Hulbert, financial columnist at Marketwatch, decided to take a look. Going back to 1970, Hulbert found that the Dow Jones Industrial Average has endured 34 “Death Crosses”, followed eventually by the opposite, the so-called “Golden Cross” when the 50-day moving average crosses back above the 200-day moving average. His study showed that on average, the market has actually performed somewhat better following Death Crosses than it has following Golden Crosses over the following month, quarter and 6 month periods! As he notes, this is exactly the opposite of what market folklore would lead us to believe.
Disclaimer: The information in this post is not a recommendation to buy or sell securities. Investment decisions should not be made upon a single chart or graph. You should consult a qualified investment advisor before making an investment decision.
Investor anxiety is running high. CNN’s Fear & Greed Index has swung from a reading of 70 indicating “Greed” down to just 7 indicating “Extreme Fear” in the span of just one month.
Market blogger and Chartered Market Technician Ryan Detrick looked for other instances of similar market turmoil in previous Octobers. Detrick found that since 1950 there have been 7 other years that were positive year-to-date going into October and saw the S&P 500 turn negative year-to-date during the month. “The good news”, he writes, “is the final two months were higher 6 times and up 4.1% on average.”
Disclaimer: This writing is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation to buy, or a recommendation regarding any securities transaction, or as an offer to provide advisory or other services by Capital Retirement Planning, LLC in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. The information contained in this writing should not be construed as financial or investment advice on any subject matter. Capital Retirement Planning, LLC expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken based on any or all of the information on this writing. You should seek the advice of a qualified investment professional before making an investment decision.
Legendary investor Warren Buffett’s favorite metric of stock valuations is currently suggesting that a stock market setback could be coming. While anything from Buffett brings up memories of the television commercials from the 1970’s that with the tag line “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen”, Buffett’s favorite indicator is both historically effective and remarkably simple to calculate. The indicator is simply the ratio of the total market capitalization of all U.S. stocks divided by the latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reading. Of concern is that the current value of this ratio has never been higher. While no indicator is correct 100% of the time, the Buffett indicator is remarkably accurate. As a general rule, if the indicator falls below 80-90%, it has historically signaled that stocks are cheap. Likewise, levels significantly higher than 100% can indicate stocks are too expensive. For example, the Buffett indicator peaked at 145% right before the dot.com bubble burst, and reached 110% before the financial crisis. Where does it stand now? 149%. (Chart from motleyfool.com)
The market has had a very good year – in my opinion it is partly due to the expectation that we will see tax cuts this year. But what happens to those expectations if tax cuts are not passed?
This, from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin…
“There is no question that the rally in the stock market has baked into it reasonably high expectations of us getting tax cuts and tax reform done,” Mnuchin said in the interview. “To the extent we get the tax deal done, the stock market will go up higher. But there’s no question in my mind that if we don’t get it done you’re going to see a reversal of a significant amount of these gains.”
Yet another reason why having a plan for dealing with the downside of the market is so important.
This is not investment advice. You should consult a qualified investment advisor before making investment decisions. Past performance does not indicate future results.
My goal for this blog is to provide information and help as many people as I can to have a successful retirement and to make informed financial decisions for retirement.
The opinions expressed on this site are those solely of Danny Holder and do not necessarily represent those of Capital Retirement Planning, LLC, or Capital Retirement Insurance Planning, LLC. Danny Holder is registered as an investment advisor and licensed as an insurance agent in Texas. Capital Retirement Planning, LLC is registered as an investment advisor in Texas and only transacts business in states where properly registered or licensed, or is excluded or exempted from securities registration requirements. This website is intended for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute a complete description of the investment services or performance of CRP. Nothing on this website should be interpreted to state or imply that past results are an indication of future performance. A copy of CRP's Part II of Form ADV and privacy policy is available upon request. This website is in no way a solicitation or an offer to sell securities or investment advisory services. Mr. Holder and CRP disclaim responsibility for updating information. In addition, Mr. Holder and CRP disclaim responsibility for third-party content, including information accessed through hyperlinks. No graph, statistic, or market condition described can be used to make an investment decision. An investment decision should only be made after a consultation with a qualified investment advisor.
