If there’s one thing you can count on in both life and investing, it’s uncertainty. It’s why we save and invest to begin with. We save and invest today, hoping our money will grow. We act on our aspirations for a bright financial future. But we never know for sure. It stands to reason, then, […]
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Second quarter has come and gone, along with the usual mixed bag of “what next?” news. There were the typical ugly players such as potential trade wars and rising interest rates. There were also the usual market darlings, such as this quarter’s big, bold tech stocks. Each in their own way can tempt you to […]
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By GARDNER SHERRILL |Investor’s ColumnJune 12, 2018 A Widow’s Guide to Financial Decisions Nothing can prepare you for losing your spouse. Grief affects each of us uniquely, but as if to add insult to injury – at a time you are least prepared to respond – the world seems to demand rapid response to a […]
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Here at Sherrill Wealth Management we try to keep the financial jargon to a minimum. But even where we may succeed, you’re likely to encounter references elsewhere that can turn valuable information into mumbo-jumbo yet to be translated. Consider us your interpreter. Today, we’ll explore correlation, and why it matters to investing. A Quick Take: Correlation […]
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For investors, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the relentless stream of news about markets.Being bombarded with data and headlines presented as impactful to your financial well-being can evoke strong emotional responses from even the most experienced investors. Headlines from the ”lost decade”[1] can help illustrate several periods that may have led market […]
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It’s been approximately a decade since the Great Recession began. By year-end 2008, the U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed) had lowered the target federal funds rate to near-zero and embarked on an aggressive quantitative easing campaign, hoping to resuscitate the economy with a big booster shot of lending, borrowing and spending dollars. Perhaps the economic […]
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If you were a member of the popular press, you’d probably be happy with 2018’s first quarter performance. At last – some volatility-fueling news in early February, with plenty of enticing “largest,” “fastest,” and “worst” market superlatives to savor after a long, languid lull. Download PDF As usual, there are plenty of potential culprits to […]
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Now that the 2017 tax season is a wrap for most Americans, it’s time to start contemplating how the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will impact your current and future tax plans. One of the frequently asked questions we’ve been fielding is on charitable giving: How can you keep giving, and get a […]
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Experience and evidence alike show us how severely bear markets test investor resolve, sabotage otherwise solid plans, and just plain hurt. We’ve also seen how damaging it can be to act on rash fear rather than rational resolve during market downturns.
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It has been more than 3,280 days since we hit the bottom of the Financial Crisis on March 9, 2009. The 17-month drop in Market Values that began on October 10, 2007 saw the Standard and Poor’s 500 lose more than half of its value as it dropped from a high of 1565 to its low point of 676. If you had retired at the start with $1,000,000 fully invested in the S&P 500 you would have watched your nest egg shrink to $430,000.
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