The Retirement Coach℠

We hope you enjoy these helpful articles about retirement planning, investment management, tax planning, and business issues.

The Fed Risks A Recession To End Inflation, As Expected

Friday, 26 August 2022

The Retirement Coach

At an economic policy symposium sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Friday that the Federal Reserve would slow the economy to fight inflation and that it would cause “some pain” in the economy. The top of The Wall Street Journal’s website Friday evening heralded news of a 1,000-point plunge in the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 60 stocks. The Fe..

Financial Disappointment Can Darken Your Financial View

Wednesday, 24 August 2022

The Retirement Coach

The unusual financial economic events of the last couple of years have caused great financial disappointment for some Americans. Losing the money to give your children a down payment on their first home, going through a divorce or business failure -- losing wealth -- is a deeply personal bad emotional experience. Giving up on that retirement dream home, losing the money to pay for a grandchild’s education, or suddenly lacking the wherewithal to..

Is Your Portfolio Strategy Informed By History?

Saturday, 20 August 2022

The Retirement Coach

Is Your Portfolio Strategy Informed By History?

Investment regulators require financial advertisements to state that past performance is not indicative of future results...

Stocks Snap Four-Week Win Streak

Friday, 19 August 2022

The Retirement Coach

The stock market declined -1.3% Friday and -1.2% from a week ago, snapping a four-week win streak. Inflation cooled in July and may even have peaked but that does not mean the worst of the financial economic turbulence is behind us, and it’s prudent to expect current conditions to worsen. Here’s perspective on current financial economic conditions, if you’re a retirement investor or building a legacy. &nbs..

Why Knowledge Of Financial History is Critical To Investors

Wednesday, 17 August 2022

The Retirement Coach

The extreme financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic seemed unprecedented to most investors. Over the past two years, Americans witnessed a sudden stop financial crisis in March 2020, the injection of nearly $10 trillion of monetary and fiscal stimulus within a matter of months, and an unanticipated burst of inflation that caught even the Federal Reserve off guard. The truth, however, is that these events seem anomalous only because many histor..

Investing In An Economy Beset By Multiple Anomalies

Saturday, 13 August 2022

The Retirement Coach

Investing In An Economy Beset By Multiple Anomalies

As a rule of thumb, a recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth. As a rule of thumb, a recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth...

Stocks Have Soared Lately, But What Should You Expect Near And Long-Term?

Friday, 12 August 2022

The Retirement Coach

Securities regulators require financial advisors to state in their public statements that past performance is not indicative of future results because investing is complicated, and nothing is guaranteed. Ironically, however, a mountain of evidence exists showing that achieving investment success depends largely on understanding lessons from the past. Since the post-war era began in 1957, at least 27 financial crises have c..

Inflation Declined And Stocks Rallied Today

Thursday, 11 August 2022

The Retirement Coach

Inflation cooled in June, according to Labor Department data. Compared to the +9.1% inflation rate in the 12 months through June 30, the consumer price index (CPI) in the 12 months through July 31 increased by +8.5%. The Standard Poor’s 500 rallied +2.1%. However, just because inflation cooled in July and may even have peaked does not mean the worst of the financial economic turbulence is behind us. For long-term retirement investors and ..

Investing In An Economy Beset By Multiple Anomalies

Friday, 05 August 2022

The Retirement Coach

The nation created twice as many new jobs as expected in July, according to the July employment situation report. It is likely to mean that, despite two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, the United States is not in a recession but is undergoing an inventory correction. That’s one of multiple concurrent anomalies making the financial economic outlook more complicated than in living memory. As a rule of thu..

Second Quarter Economic Growth Forecast By Fed’s Robo-Economist Was More Accurate Than Leading Economists

Friday, 05 August 2022

The Retirement Coach

Second Quarter Economic Growth Forecast By Fed’s Robo-Economist Was More Accurate Than Leading Economists

When the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced on Thursday, July 28th that gross domestic product shrank by nine-tenths of 1% in the second quarter, the economy was teetering on recession, but stocks rose sharply – by 1.2% that day! and another 1.4% the following day!..

Amid 2Q '22 Turmoil, Fed’s Robo-Economist Forecast Was More Accurate Than Leading Economists

Tuesday, 02 August 2022

The Retirement Coach

In the three tumultuous months of the second quarter, the Federal Reserve of Atlanta’s algorithm for estimating quarterly economic growth was far more accurate than consensus forecasts by leading economists. That’s unusual. The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow predictions are sometimes wildly wrong. Though consensus forecasts of economists are far from perfect, the humans have been more reliable than the GDPNow algorithm. The Fe..

Despite Bad Economic News, Stocks Rose 4% In The Week Ended July 29, 2022

Friday, 29 July 2022

The Retirement Coach

Real disposable personal income (DPI) per capita in the United States declined from $46,985 to $45,356 in the past 12 months, according to data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer buying power shrunk by -3.5%. Here’s the breakdown of income and spending, crucial factors in the consumer driven economy of the U.S: Disposable personal income was up +3.3% compared to June 2021 – before adjusting for inflation. Inflatio..

A Long-Term Perspective Amid The Bear Market Of 2022

Wednesday, 27 July 2022

The Retirement Coach

Volatility in the stock market has increased. Recently we actually hit some down days of -3.6% and -4% in the stock market. That shakes people up. But remember why you bought stocks. The basic axiom of investing in the stock market is that you deliberately looked for an asset class that was volatile. After all, if you don't own an asset class that's going to be volatile, why are you entitled to 10% long-term total return in the stock ..

Why The U.S. Stock Market Remains The Best Equity Investment Worldwide For The Long Run

Wednesday, 27 July 2022

The Retirement Coach

Why The U.S. Stock Market Remains The Best Equity Investment Worldwide For The Long Run

The growth potential of the United States economy in the long run looks rather gloomy against the backdrop of modern history...

Amid Bad Data Releases, Leading Economists Predict No Recession

Friday, 22 July 2022

The Retirement Coach

Housing slumped again and the Leading Economic Indicator Index plunged for a third straight month, but the consensus forecast of leading economists is for no recession. The economy remains on the edge of a recession but the stock market this past week acted like the worst of the bear market may be over. Housing starts dropped for a second straight month. However, permits to start construction of a new single-family home are “holding up,” acco..

Since A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words, We’ll Be Brief

Wednesday, 20 July 2022

The Retirement Coach

By our count, the bear market of 2022 is the latest of more than 20 market crises that came and went since 1957. The bear market of 2022 began June 13, when the Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed more than -20% lower than its all-time closing high on January 3, 2022. No one knows how long the bear market will last. The average bear market in modern history lasts about 11 months. On the other hand, having come off its low of June 16, this be..

A Family Tax Strategy To Help Widows, Children, And The Disabled

Tuesday, 19 July 2022

The Retirement Coach

A Family Tax Strategy To Help Widows, Children, And The Disabled

If a family member or friend is disabled, suffers from a chronic illness, or is a minor child, they are entitled to special break under federal tax laws that can change their lives...

Estate Gift Tax Planning For Large Estates

Sunday, 17 July 2022

The Retirement Coach

Estate Gift Tax Planning For Large Estates

Individuals with estates of about $6 million and up should be planning now for the estate tax hike coming in 2026...

Good News: Real Retail Sales Dropped Fractionally In The Past Year

Friday, 15 July 2022

The Retirement Coach

Retail sales climbed by +8.8% in the 12 months through June, according to the release Friday at 8:30 a.m., by the Census Bureau. The news brightened the near-term economic outlook, and it sparked a +1.9% one-day surge in stock prices. The sharp rally in stocks followed Wednesday’s worse-than-expected inflation release showing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) soared +9.1% in the same 12-month period through June. To be clear, the +8.8% retail sale..

Estate Planning For The 99.5% Of Americans

Thursday, 14 July 2022

The Retirement Coach

In 2017, the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2018 (TCJA) effectively repealed estate tax by doubling the amount of wealth that could be transferred tax exempt from $5.5 to $11.2 million. In 2022, lifetime and post-mortem gifts of $12.06 million are exempt from taxation. Allowing joint filers (read: couples) to pass $25 million to their heirs tax-free redefined the rules of estate planning not only for the top one-half of 1% of taxpayers, it also rewro..

The Retirement Coach℠

The Fed Risks A Recession To End Inflation, As Expected

Financial Disappointment Can Darken Your Financial View

Is Your Portfolio Strategy Informed By History?

Stocks Snap Four-Week Win Streak

Why Knowledge Of Financial History is Critical To Investors

Investing In An Economy Beset By Multiple Anomalies

Stocks Have Soared Lately, But What Should You Expect Near And Long-Term?

Inflation Declined And Stocks Rallied Today

Investing In An Economy Beset By Multiple Anomalies

Second Quarter Economic Growth Forecast By Fed’s Robo-Economist Was More Accurate Than Leading Economists

Amid 2Q '22 Turmoil, Fed’s Robo-Economist Forecast Was More Accurate Than Leading Economists

Despite Bad Economic News, Stocks Rose 4% In The Week Ended July 29, 2022

A Long-Term Perspective Amid The Bear Market Of 2022

Why The U.S. Stock Market Remains The Best Equity Investment Worldwide For The Long Run

Amid Bad Data Releases, Leading Economists Predict No Recession

Since A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words, We’ll Be Brief

A Family Tax Strategy To Help Widows, Children, And The Disabled

Estate Gift Tax Planning For Large Estates

Good News: Real Retail Sales Dropped Fractionally In The Past Year

Estate Planning For The 99.5% Of Americans

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