From the perspective of stock and bond markets, the third quarter (Q3) of 2024 felt tied to the hip of Fed policy. The “Will they or won’t they” question about the Fed finally lowering interest rates seemed to pervade just about everything and even caused a short but nasty bout of volatility mid-quarter. Also due in large part to interest rates, sizeable shifts took place across styles and sectors in the stock market. However, the major indices still performed well…

Last week we took a break from our list of year-end considerations to review the third quarter. Now let’s get back into it by looking at generating cash from your portfolio and how to think about gains and losses as we approach year-end. As with other topics we’ve covered, taking income from your portfolio and realizing gains and losses are specific to the calendar year. This is something you can leverage if you know how. Here’s an example of what I’m referring to…

Just like that it’s October and we’re done with the third quarter. It was raucous at times but ended well for most investors. I’ll send out my Quarterly Update letter next Tuesday instead of today so we can stay on track with our theme of financial decisions that have a year-end deadline. This week let’s discuss Roth conversions. You can do as many of these as you like within the year but they must be completed by December 31st to count for 2024. Conversions…

As you’ve no doubt heard, the Fed finally lowered its short-term benchmark interest rate last week. That’s a sea change in the financial world and should, hopefully, provide a bit of a tailwind for the economy and markets in the near-term. The Fed opted for a 50 basis point (half a percent) reduction. Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated further reductions in the coming months without guaranteeing anything. However, markets are pricing in about a 50/50 chance the Fed…

I don’t know about you but it sure seems like the post-summer pace is increasing. We’re almost in October and the start of the fourth quarter, so it’s a good time to consider lingering financial considerations and deadlines. But first, the highly anticipated Fed meeting is upon us this week. As I type the CME FedWatch tool indicates an almost 65% chance the Fed will lower rates by half a point when it meets tomorrow and a 35% chance of a quarter point decrease. A…

Last week wasn’t a good one for stocks but, as I mentioned in a recent post, September is usually a volatile month so some bumpiness is to be expected. Major market indexes were down from about 3% to nearly 6% for the week with the largest losses impacting small companies and big tech names most. These were also areas of the market with the highest returns lately. The more broadly-based S&P 500 was down a little over 4%. Bonds were up a percent or so and that h…