Is 2022 Shaping Up To Be A Stock Market Disaster?

Is 2022 Shaping Up To Be A Stock Market Disaster?

As of this writing the S&P 500 is currently down almost 6% since the start of the year, one of the worst January performances in a long time. Does this indicate 2022 is likely to be a terrible year for the stock market? Let’s start with a basic tenet: nobody can predict the future. There…
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New Tax Reduction For Some IRA Owners

It’s always nice to get a tax break. Starting in 2022 required minimum distributions (RMDs) by seniors from qualified retirement plans such as IRAs and 401(k)s will be reduced, courtesy of a change to life expectancies instituted by the IRS. Here’s an example to illustrate the change. Suppose Mary Taxpayer, born on March 1, 1950,…
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Key Tax Changes For 2022

It’s a new year and that generally means inflation adjustments to qualified retirement plan contribution limits as well as changes to other tax benefits and penalties. Here’s a brief summary of the changes most commonly utilized for 2022: 401(k) & 403(b) plans: Salary deferral limited to $20,500 (plus $6,500 if over age 50). Total additions…
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How Well Is The Stock Market Really Doing?

The year 2021 is coming to an end and the stock market is experiencing a level of volatility not seen for some time. The stock prices of previously high-flying companies such as Facebook are down from their previous highs. Could this be the beginning of a major downturn? One indicator that many technical stock analysts…
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Will Tech Stocks Keep Growing?

The technology sector of the U.S. stock market has been on a tear. During the last decade the T. Rowe Price Science & Technology mutual fund (which I will use as a proxy to represent the sector) rose over 300% (see chart below). Younger investors who started buying stocks or mutual funds less than ten…
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More Bad Advisors

It seems that during good times or bad there will always be financial advisors who violate the trust their clients place in them. Although the miscreants below actually represent only a tiny fraction of the many reputable and trustworthy CFPs out there, I am sharing their stories in the hope that it will make you…
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