Well, here we go again. This election marks the 60th time we’ve voted for a president since our nation’s founding. Polls via www.realclearpolling.com/latest-polls and the betting odds sight www.electionbettingodds.com have been all over the place but generally indicate a tight race. We won’t know until we know but if what’s past is prologue, this could be a long day. In the markets, as I type the S&P 500 is set to open up a bit after a…

Last week we looked at options for stashing cash. This week lets add a layer by looking at bonds. The topic is timely because rates and prices have been on the move in the bond market. You might be looking to rebalance your portfolio by moving some money from stocks into bonds, or maybe moving longer-term money out of cash, but what should you look at buying? Bonds have had a rough go over the past few years and I won’t detail that here. However, it’s important to…

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…