2017 extended the domestic equities bull market to nine years. Over this span, equities were able to continuously ascend through a litany of worries and slow earnings growth because of low valuations, low interest rates, low inflation, and an accommodative Federal Reserve. Over time these variables slowly shifted, and now as we enter the second … Continue reading The New Environment For U.S. Equities
The alternatives asset class is one that typically doesn’t garner much attention and can be easy to overlook. The individual holdings themselves typically aren’t flashy, and, on balance, alternatives make up a smaller portion of your portfolio than U.S. stocks, international stocks or bonds. Despite this, its significance to your overall portfolio shouldn’t be ignored … Continue reading Navigating Turbulent Waters
For middle to high income earners, there are IRS limitations on the tax benefits allowed for both Roth IRA and traditional IRA ownership. For an individual with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) exceeding $135,000 (single filers) and $199,000 (married joint filers), the ability to contribute to a Roth IRA is completely phased out. 1 To … Continue reading Backdoor Roth IRAs
Towards the end of the first quarter, the U.S. slapped tariffs on imported steel, aluminum, solar panels and washing machines. At first it was on all countries. Then several countries were exempted. China was not exempt and responded by putting tariffs on wine and pork. Then, the U.S. announced further tariffs on a variety of … Continue reading Are We In A Trade War?
We are pleased with OPCM’s 2017 returns. The OPCM Global Moderate Growth Composite was within a few percentage points of the return of the S&P 500, with less than 65% allocated to global equities, while the Global Balanced Composite returned approximately 14% net of fees with around half of the portfolio allocated to global equities. … Continue reading Osborne Partners 2017 Year-End Review
Both domestically and throughout the globe, most equity markets generated 20%+ returns in 2017. Last year was a record for equities in many ways. Domestically, U.S. markets saw record low volatility. Additionally, it was the first year equities rose in every single month. Finally, U.S. equities ended 2017 with a record streak of 681 days … Continue reading Our 2018 Global Equities Outlook
As if December wasn’t already one of the busiest times of the year. In between planning menus, shopping for presents, getting groceries, lighting candles, coordinating travel arrangements, and taking care of the regular year-end checklist of charitable gifting and tax-loss harvesting, we had to add to our list a call to our accountant for help … Continue reading Tax Reform And Us
The roller coaster for cryptoassets (digital assets that use cryptography for security) hit a euphoric point in late 2017. Since we published “Time to Bet on Bitcoin?” in October, bitcoin, the largest cryptoasset, has appreciated from around $4,000 to almost $15,000. Despite this move, bitcoin’s prominence among cryptoassets has shrunk: bitcoin was 80% of total … Continue reading Beyond Bitcoin – A Look at the Cryptoasset Craze
The fourth quarter brought greater clarity to the future of interest rates as the Federal Reserve began to shrink its huge $4.5 trillion balance sheet and followed through with a third interest rate hike for the year in December. The Fed also indicated they plan three more rate hikes in 2018 as economic growth improves … Continue reading Credit Markets: Is Inflation Finally Coming?
My first job was as a real estate appraiser for Crocker Bank. I visited hundreds of homes and commercial properties over the course of two years and learned some things about cyclicality and the quality of demand. Real estate, especially residential real estate, is a very important part of the economy. Over 60 million homeowners … Continue reading Home Prices
