A bear market was made official last Thursday when the S&P 500 quickly fell below the -20% drop threshold. In the weeks leading up to the bear market and the past couple of days, volatility has raged with many investors asking how much worse could it get and is this the market bottom?
Managing your own portfolio can be a challenge especially in times of stock market stress like now. A broader context of market history during these volatile, stressor markets can be helpful.
When a global virus occurs, fear tends to spread faster than the virus itself. The good news is that the markets and economy will eventually get better. The not-so-good news is, like the coronavirus, there’s no defined timetable for it to occur.
The government is at it again, trying to “help us” with new legislation, this time signing into law sweeping changes to retirement savings. The law is intended to positively impact American’s ability to save but it also includes an unfavorable change for many planning to leave a retirement nest egg to their beneficiaries.
I generally believe that New Year’s resolutions are made to be broken and often evaporate as quickly as they are made. Given unrealistic goals and feeble results with resolutions, I am focusing on building blocks to be a better person and family member. I believe a building blocks approach can also be used for better investing habits.
TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab Corp. announced plans to merge forming the largest custodian of investor assets. This tie-up of goliath custodians may impact you and your nest-eggs considering that the combined company will hold over 24 million accounts and $5 trillion of client assets.