FINANCIaL
FIELd NOTES
Back Testing a Popular Market Timing Strategy
When we are in the middle of a bear market, sitting on our hands can be unbearable. This is also the time when you’ll start hearing about market timing strategies. I was recently listening to a market analyst describe timing the market as a simple supply and demand equation.
It sounds simple enough, but I know the data does not support this. So, I decided to stress test it. I back-tested the following strategy – one that follows a popular strategy following recent market trends…
How To Think Critically About Fear-Inducing Market News
Earling this year after a down day in the stock market a headline read “Dow falls more than 500 points…” These attention grabbers are designed to do just that – grab your attention and then sell ad space while your anxiety rises.
It reminded me of the book I read a few years ago, Factfulness, in which the author talks about the importance of bringing in the denominator to any statistic…
The Entry Fee to Invest
Some of the best things in life come with a significant cost.
At the top of my list is being a dad. Zeke’s face, as he comes barreling across the living room to tackle me, will never get old. But being a dad cost me time with friends, time with Emily, and time by myself.
A great family vacation comes at the cost of a hectic few days upon reentry into reality.
And the 8th wonder of the world – compound interest – comes with the cost of immense volatility and sometimes long periods of time where no money is made…
Knowing Your Personal P/E Ratio Can Bring Comfort in a Bear Market
This first half of the year was the worst for a balanced portfolio in decades, with both stocks AND bonds performing terribly. If there is any silver lining, it is that valuations have come down.
That might seem obvious if your investments are down, but that is not always the case. Sometimes, companies can start earning much less, so valuations stay high even in a down market. In this bear market, earnings expectations have held up reasonably well…
Using Direct Indexing to Maximize Charitable Giving
Direct Indexing is an investment strategy where the investor purchases the individual stocks of an index instead of the underlying index fund itself. You may be wondering why someone would go through the hassle of owning so many stocks when the cost of index funds is so low, and they can be purchased very easily. I tend to agree that in most situations, direct indexing is not the solution.
However, there are some situations where they can provide a tremendous benefit. One of those is for investors with non-retirement investments who donate to charity…
Growth Investors Are Feeling Some Pain
Staying committed to a diversified portfolio is difficult when one particular asset class consistently outperforms everything else for several years in a row.
That is what investors have had to deal with as growth stocks, particularly tech stocks, outperformed value 6 years straight…