It was a very busy week on Wall Street as investors seemed inclined to rotate out of Mega-cap tech and into this year’s laggards. A failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump last Saturday in Pennsylvania only bolstered his chances for reelection...
Planning for retirement is hard for many reasons, including the challenge of answering one key question: Just how long will I be retired? Knowing how much time you’ll have to enjoy your golden years is paramount to budgeting; after all, you can’t determine how much...
-Darren Leavitt, CFA It was an extremely busy week on Wall Street. First-quarter earnings results were highlighted by Apple and Amazon. Investors encouraged by their results sent higher shares on the back of increased dividends, increased share buyback programs, and...
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Maybe you made a Roth IRA contribution for 2022 and then discovered your income was too high. Maybe you contributed to a traditional IRA but later discovered that the contribution...
Monthly Commentary – June ’22 -Darren Leavitt, CFA It was just an ugly month of June for investors and for that matter the 1st half of 2022. All asset classes seemed to fall except for the US dollar. The month started with a “peak inflation” narrative...
Monthly Market Commentary – April ’22 -Darren Leavitt, CFA Global financial markets had a rough month in April. Inflation continued to be top of mind for investors as data continued to show historic increases in prices. The Federal Reserve still appears to be behind...
Monthly Market Commentary – March ’22 -Darren Leavitt, CFA In March, global financial markets continued to be volatile, focused on the Russian/Ukraine war and inflation rates not seen in decades. Countries worldwide condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine...
Monthly Market Recap for January 2022 -Darren Leavitt, CFA It was not a pleasant start to 2022 for investors as global financial markets took a few steps back. Increasing inflation concerns and the prospect for higher interest rates dampened sentiment. The Omicron...
-Darren Leavitt, CFA US financial markets rallied in December in volatile trade. It seemed markets would take two steps forward in one week only to give up a step in the following week. The emergence of the Omicron variant rattled markets initially, but investors were...
-Darren Leavitt, CFA September proved again to be a difficult month for financial assets. A narrative that the growth of global economies has peaked was evident during the month. Market sentiment was further dampened by fears that inflation has become persistent...
-Darren Leavitt, CFA Global markets rallied in August as economic data revealed strength across the globe. However, delta variant infection rates soared during the month, especially in unvaccinated populations, which dampened sentiment and global growth...
Weekly Market Commentary – 8/6/2021 -Darren Leavitt, CFA US equity indices forged new all-time highs on the back of an impressive Employment Situation Report and an upward S&P 500 price target revision by investment bank Goldman Sachs. However, the US...
Monthly Market Review for July 2021 -Darren Leavitt, CFA US equity markets forged new all-time highs in July despite fears of a slowdown in global economic growth due to the delta variant of Covid. A bipartisan infrastructure bill made its way through the House and...
Going from saver to spender is mostly a matter of psychology It’s Time to Wind Down You’ve done all the right things—financially speaking, at least—in saving for retirement. You started saving early to take advantage of the power of compounding, maxed out...
Monthly Market Recap – June 2021 -Darren Leavitt, CFA US financial markets were able to rally to new records in June despite a more hawkish Federal Reserve and rhetoric that suggested the US economy had seen peak growth and peak inflation expectations. A...
-Darren Leavitt, CFA Financial Markets ended the month of May with mixed results. A prominent rotational trade was again present throughout the month. Inflation was top of mind and debated by investors as some economic data fueled concerns of a systemic increase in...
-Darren Leavitt, CFA A prominent rotational trade out of mega-cap growth stocks into value-oriented cyclical issues extended US equity indices gains in March. Covid-19 inoculations continued to ramp up in the US as broader segments of the population became eligible...
-Darren Leavitt, CFA Financial markets started 2021 in strong form but lost some ground in the final week of trade. Covid-19 vaccines continued to be developed, and inoculations continued to be administered to front line workers and the elderly. A light at the end...
-Darren Leavitt, CFA Financial markets rallied in December on the prospects and ultimate agreement of another tranche of Coronavirus stimulus. Covid-19 vaccine emergency use approvals from the FDA aided market sentiment even as daily infection rates,...
-Darren Leavitt, CFA Global markets rallied in November. A historic US election played out as one of Wall Street’s best-case scenarios. Three effective Covid-19 vaccines were announced over the month, which further stocked investor enthusiasm. Third-quarter earnings...
