A Change in Format For as long as we can remember, we have been sending a paper market commentary by mail every quarter to our clients and friends. You probably wouldn’t have guessed it, but we have always felt a bit constrained by a 2 or 3 page paper commentary. How can we highlight what
It’s More Than Money
Financial Industry Lost in Translation
Petanque Pétanque is a Bocce-like game that is fun-loving, raucous and peasant-inspired with large doses of heckling the opposing team. This winner-take-all game includes bragging rights and the losing team furnishes Veuve Clicquot champagne. Below I will show you our discovery of this game and how it often relates to financial literacy. Petanque Discovery Through
Giving Back: Donor Advised Fund (Part 3 of 3)
This is the third in a three part series on charitable giving. At Smith Partners Wealth Management, we love Giving Back and see it as part of our every day mission. You can read more about what we have learned and what we value on our “Lessons in Giving Back” page. Why Use a Donor
Giving Back: Cash vs. Stock (Part 2 of 3)
This article is the second in a three-part series on charitable giving. At Smith Partners Wealth Management, we love Giving Back and see it as part of our everyday mission. You can read more about what we have learned and what we value on our “Lessons in Giving Back” page. Would You Rather: When I
The Double-Edged Sword of Retirement Savings
How 10% Can Save You 10 Years in Retirement It’s hard to get out of my head that “10 minutes could save you 15% on your car insurance” thanks to GEICO’s never-ending cavemen commercials. Along those same lines, did you know that 10 percent could save you 10 years in retirement? Michael Kitces, whom I
Mama, Where Do Stock Returns Come From? (An Update)
The Birds and The Bees In our 2016 3rd Quarter Market Commentary, Justin wrote a wonderful “birds and bees” explanation of where stock returns come from based on Vanguard founder and investing pioneer Jack Bogle. You can find the full commentary here. The return on any stock, we concluded, is it’s Dividend Yield + Earnings Growth +
Giving Back: Why Give? (Part 1 of 3)
This is the first in a three part series on charitable giving. At Smith Partners Wealth Management, we love Giving Back and see it as part of our every day mission. You can read more about what we have learned and what we value on our “Lessons in Giving Back” page. The Gift of Giving
Dow 20,000 – Irrelevantly Monumental
There are two equally true sides to this story: 1) it’s irrelevant and 2) it’s monumental. It’s irrelevant Bruce Almighty If we had all been born with 7 fingers and 7 toes we would have celebrated when the Dow broke 14,000 (first in 1999, then again in 2006 and, like your friend who has celebrated
Market Commentary Q4 – 2016
“Look at me, look at me, I am the Captain Now!” On Election Eve, pollsters predicted Donald Trump’s probabilities of winning at around 12%. By Election night, the world experienced a low probability, high impact event. As Mr. Trump neared 270 Electoral College votes, investors flew to safety: bond prices soared, the dollar sank, and
Giving Back: Chuck Feeny, The James Bond of Philanthropy
“You can only wear one pair of pants at a time” – Chuck Feeny The New York Times has a great profile of Charles F. Feeny, an intentionally unknown name in the world of philanthropy who is living his motto of “Giving While Living”. What makes him so rare? For someone who has given away