“Financial Mission - Major Life Events”   Here's this week's Financial Mission, if you choose to accept it.  Each week I'll send you a replay of my new podcast, "Your Financial Mission," where I discuss financial topics and share insight that impact your overall financial strategy. This week's Mission: Major Life Events If you choose to accept this mission, we'll discuss the major life events that can impact your retirement plan and different ways you can adjust for them. As always if you have any questions or [...]

“Will You Join Us?”   I wanted to personally invite you to our upcoming Memorial Day Celebration - we're remembering our veterans! Please join us Friday May 12 at Manor Hill Brewing! Please note:  We are capped at 50 people by the brewery, so register ASAP! Register online or by calling Gracie at 443-718-6311. Event Details Location:  Manor Hill Brewing -  http://manorhillbrewing.com/ Food provided by:  http://mission-bbq.com/ Date: Friday, May 12th  Time: 6:30-8:30pm About Manor Hill Brewing Manor Hill Brewing's Mission - In 2007, Victoria Gastro Pub redefined the pub experience… creating an inviting [...]

“A Scientist's View of Investing”   Hey there! I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter or Passover celebration. I ended up having a ridiculous case of bronchitis; I could hit the really high and low notes in choir, just not the ones in the middle! In continuing our story from a couple weeks back, we pick up on the science and math of investing. This article appeared in ThinkAdvisor and is written by Michael Fink, PhD, dean and chief academic officer at The American College of [...]

“When Small is BIG!”   The market’s been moving around lately (with the usual accompanying commentary), so I’d like to revisit some basics, plus the science. I’m always talking about ‘global diversification’ and proper allocation. But what exactly does that mean and WHY does it matter? This email will be divided into 3 parts, because otherwise, it’ll be too long and you’ll all glaze over. About a week ago, I was studying last year’s returns across all the asset classes. Do you know what the entire US market [...]

Presidential Elections & the Stock Market   Whaddya know...Trump assumed office and calamity has not befallen us. So let's regroup on some historical facts with regard to markets and elections. There is always a steady stream of opinions from pundits and prognosticators about how the election will impact the stock market. I remain the clanging gong to remind you (and everyone else) that you would be well-served to avoid the temptation to make any changes to a long-term investment plan based on these predictions. Let's look [...]

The Pessimistic Bull Market   Happy New Year to you! We're 6 days in and awaiting the first 'big' snow event. Ok...maybe some of us are awaiting the snow...and the rest of us are dreading it. I found this graphic in my recent readings and wanted to share it because it's a great example of how we need to ignore most of the wailing and gnashing of teeth in the media. More on this later. That last point - is critical to a successful investing experience [...]

Danger Will Robinson!   Danger Will Robinson! What a fun childhood memory that show is. And yes, I’m standing here flailing my arms with a warning - Danger! Danger! - about the market, the media and the hyperbole. Feeling good about your portfolio? The DOW is up 9% since the election! Woohoo! The S&P is up 7%. And the bond market is down 3%. We tend to focus on the stock market when things get moving. In fact, based on the call options pricing, Wall Street [...]