If you are a supporter of ESG investing (combining traditional investing with environmental, social and governance related issues), then COVID-19 may have a silver lining for you. ESG investing has been playing an outsized role in investment decisions since the beginning of the year. The virus has exposed the critical need for companies to beef up practices that can lead...
You will often hear, “so goes the consumer, so goes the United States economy.” This is a phenomenon that has grown during my lifetime, as we shifted away from a manufacturing economy to a more service-based economy. Look below at the chart and you will see that consumer spending does make up almost 70% of US GDP and has for...
There is no perfect measure to say how the stock market in the US is performing. Every major index you see mentioned on the news has some pros and cons. Typically, every nightly news report will mention the daily returns of the Big 3: the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the NASDAQ and the S&P 500. The Dow Jones Average is...
So what gives with the markets? Let’s use the S&P 500. It was down 33.9% from its 2020 high on February 19th to its low on March 23rd (shortest bear market on record). It then rebounded 31.9% until April 29th (a dizzying bounce) and has remained essentially flat ever since. Unfortunately, the S&P 500 is still down 13.2% since its...
I get this question a lot from friends and clients: “Should I refinance my mortgage?” The answer is not always so simple. In fact, many of us thought the days of refinancing were almost over (well…not literally) because so many people who purchased homes or refinanced over the last few years have received such low rates that the thought of...
During these unprecedented times, many clients are wondering if their goals have been derailed and if so, what it will take to get them back on track. There is no doubt that things have changed, and as a result many of us will need to adjust accordingly. But just how much do you need to change? You may not have...
In hindsight, it appears surprisingly easy to shut down an economy - we just did it in a few short weeks. I suspect it is much harder to open an economy back up again. What inspired so many Americans to shelter in place was a combination of worry for their own personal health and an altruistic desire to save others...
One of the constant comments from market participants and the talking heads on TV is that the investing community has no historical experience to draw from on how this epidemic will affect the US economy, the global economy and, by extension, investments. There’s no model to use as a reference point. Sure, the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 theoretically could...
The relief bill known as the CARES Act was signed into law on Friday, March 27, 2020. It is designed to serve as a bridge between the time the US economy decelerates in response to Covid-19 and the time the economy is back up and running. Provisions of the CARES Act support a wide range of individuals and businesses to...
The first change I noticed was early last week, before any state of emergency had been declared in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, or the US. Suddenly, my commute was far easier than usual. I hit every light and breezed into work. By the end of the week I had shaved 20% off my commute time. I saw it as the first...
