Insights

Weekly Market Commentary September 10, 2018

Markets dropped last week as concerns about inflation and trade disputes pushed stocks lower. Additional concerns about the government regulating technology companies pushed that sector down 2.8%. Read more

September Monthly Newsletter: All Your Pencils Sharpened – A Financial Fine-Tuning for Autumn

We all remember it. You have your pencils all sharpened, your new outfit on, and a fresh new school year ahead of you. Long after our academic days are over, we can’t help feeling that autumn is the time – after the exuberance of summer – to re-check and re-tighten everything to prepare for the colder seasons ahead. Read more

Weekly Market Commentary September 4, 2018

Markets continue to produce positive results without much volatility. The S&P 500 edged up 0.2% last week. The MSCI ACWI climbed 0.6%, and the Bloomberg BarCap Aggregate Bond Index dropped 0.1%. Read more

4 Easy Ways to Diversify Your Investments

Published By Jake Bleicher, Equity Analyst

The benefit diversified investments has for a portfolio is simple, in theory. It reduces the impact any individual investment has on the portfolio, and proper diversification can help mitigate losses during a market downturn. In practice however, portfolios can become a large hodgepodge of various assets rather than a methodical allocation. The key is to reduce the correlation between assets so that they generally perform independent of one another. Read more

Weekly Market Commentary August 20, 2018

News of trade talks between the U.S. and China helped support a rally in U.S. stocks last week. The talks are scheduled for next week, and officials say the two nations hope to sign a compromise by November. Read more

August Monthly Newsletter: 4 Financial Lessons Your New College Student Needs to Hear from You (and 2 Important Items for Parents)

As summer comes to a close, many parents and teenagers are packing up the station wagon (or hybrid crossover) for a trip that, for at least one passenger, is one way. You’re ready for this. You’ve done the shopping trips, you’ve packed the boxes, you’ve even shed a few tears. Now it’s time to send your child(ren) off to college. Read more

Weekly Market Commentary August 13, 2018

Concerns over declines in the Turkish currency and the risk of a trade dispute between the U.S. and Turkey pushed stocks lower last week. Turkey and the U.S. are sparring over the jailing of a U.S. pastor by Turkey. Read more

Weekly Market Commentary August 6, 2018

U.S. stocks rallied, while global markets lagged. The S&P 500 rose 0.8%. Global stocks slipped as the MSCI ACWI fell 0.2%. The Bloomberg BarCap Aggregate Bond Index rose 0.1%. Read more

Weekly Market Commentary July 30, 2018

Strong U.S. economic growth made additional interest rate hikes likely. The likelihood of additional hikes and weak earnings from a couple key technology companies was not enough to overcome positive news earlier in the week on trade between the Europe Union and U.S. Discussions are moving forward to rescind the announced metal tariffs and reduce tariffs on industrial goods. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% for the week. Global stocks, as measured by the MSCI ACWI, climbed 0.9% higher. The Bloomberg BarCap Aggregate Bond Index dropped 0.2%.

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5 Reasons It’s Important to Set Financial Goals

Published by Rob Furlong, Portfolio Manager

The alarm sounded promptly at 1a.m. Shortly after some rustling and grumbling the tent zippers opened and we stepped out into the frigid air. After a quick breakfast, we began heading uphill into the darkness. For the next eight hours life was little more than listening to the ice crunch with each step as we ascended over 5,000 feet into the thinning air. Shortly after 9a.m. we were at 14,200 feet-on top of one of the highest peaks in the Cascade mountain range. Read more