By Jay Pluimer, AIF® CIMA®
Monday, 26 March 2018
An important aspect of the Flourish investment philosophy is to help our clients find the right portfolio for them. We use a variety of tools to help clients identify their risk tolerance, then match that up with their long-term financial goals to build a customized investment solution.
The following article by Dave Goetsch, Executive Producer of “The Big Bang Theory”, provides helpful perspective about the importance of staying focused on long-term goals instead of reacting to short-term market movements. This is an important concept to connect with because big market changes can affect us emotionally and psychologically. Mr. Goetsch does a nice job of summarizing his connection with market performance without using investment jargon.
By Jay Pluimer, AIF® CIMA®
Tuesday, 06 February 2018
If we’ve been doing our job as your fiduciary advisor, you might already be able to guess what our take is on current market news:
Unless your personal goals have changed, stay the course according to your personal plan.
Still, it never hurts to repeat this steadfast advice during periodic market downturns. We understand that thinking about scary markets isn’t the same as experiencing them. For context, US stocks haven’t seen a one-day pullback of 5% since June 2006, when the S&P 500 Index was at 1,260 compared to its February 2018 level of 2,800. It’s also important to note that US equities are down 1% for 2018 despite the losses over the past couple of days and have risen 17% from a year ago.
So, what’s going on? Why did U.S. stock prices suddenly drop after over 13 consecutive months of positive returns, with no obvious calamity to have set off the alarms?
By Kathy Longo, CFP®, CAP®, CDFA
Friday, 17 February 2017
You probably have an emergency kit in the trunk of your car or in the storage space in your SUV. Jumper cables, flares and other tools come in handy if you get in an accident or are stranded on the road.
If you’re an exceptionally cautious person, you may also have an emergency kit in your home. Batteries, flashlights, bottled water and other essentials can be lifesavers in case you lose electricity or other vital services for several days.
But what if you face a financial emergency? If an unplanned event alters your financial situation—if you or your spouse lose a job, or an adult child moves back into your home—how would you manage with less income or more household expenses? What if you or someone in your family suffers a critical illness or debilitating injury? Are you and other family members ready to manage someone else’s financial affairs?
By Kathy Longo, CFP®, CAP®, CDFA
Friday, 03 February 2017
One of our responsibilities as an investment advisor is to help you put market news in its proper perspective, especially when the media is reporting global market corrections in the wake of political events.
If you're reading or watching the popular press, you're seeing a lot of storm and fury having to do with the new presidency, Brexit, rising interest rates, and general uncertainty of what is to come. As the popular media scrambles to explain the unexplainable – what is happening with the markets right now, what may happen in the future and how long it's going to last – we thought we'd share a headline of our own:
"The stock market is a giant distraction to the business of investing."
So said Vanguard founder John Bogle in his 2007 classic, "The Little Book of Common Sense Investing."
These are timeless words to invest by, as is Bogle's deeper explanation of them:
Thursday, 19 January 2017
A balanced portfolio is always a good idea--and now, more than ever
Keeping a portfolio balanced in accordance with your long-term investment plan is never a bad idea, but as we sit at nominal market highs and approach a changing of the guard in Washington, continued political uncertainty abroad, and other risks, we believe it makes all the more sense.
