Wealth Management

The Baylor Bears are enjoying an excellent football season. They currently rank 9^th in the polls after trouncing The University of Texas. With a record of 10-1, they’re headed to the Big 12 Championship Game for the first time in school history for a rematch against Oklahoma. Hopefully, they’ll be able to avenge their gut-wrenching loss.

The stock market is soaring this year with index returns topping 20 percent. The NASDAQ, S&P 500, and Dow Jones have risen 27.3%, 23%, and 18.4%, respectively. It’s a good year to own stocks despite Brexit, The Trade War, and the Boeing disasters.

While working at Morgan Stanley, I hired scores of individuals for the firm’s financial advisor training program. Directly or indirectly, I talked to hundreds of individuals about our firm. To hire hundreds, I reviewed thousands of resumes.

November is the beginning of the giving season. From now until the end of the year, charities and non-profits will receive much-needed dollars to help fund their mission. For several organizations, the money they receive in the next few weeks will subsidize most of their annual budget. Individuals typically wait until the end of the year before they give because they don’t have a giving or philanthropic plan.

Webster dictionary defines endurance as the “ability to withstand hardship or adversity, especially 

It’s easy to fall in love with a stock, especially if you handpicked it yourself. Over the years, I’ve talked to scores of investors about their favorite stocks, and most prefer to hold on to them forever regardless of allocation or performance. If you’re emotionally attached to a company, try not to overlook several risk factors.

The Washington Nationals are going to the World Series for the first time in their history. The Nationals moved to Washington DC in 2005 from Montreal where they were the first major league baseball team in Canada. The Expos played in Montreal from 1969 to 2004. The combined franchise has had some phenomenal players like Vladimir Guerrero, Stephen Strasburg, Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, Pedro Martinez, Gary Carter, Jayson Werth, and Bryce Harper.

Full stop. The end. Period. No more. No Mas. I’ve noticed lately that politicians, commentators, and other public figures have been using the term “full stop.” I guess they want to punctuate their point, so the viewer or reader knows they’ve stated their position, and there will be no more discussing the issue. They’re moving on to the next item.

Twice a year, my neighborhood holds a yard sale. It’s well advertised, so people come from all over town to hunt for trinkets and treasures. The buyers arrive with a plan and a purpose.

Schwab dropped a bombshell on Tuesday when they announced they’ll reduce commission rates on stocks, ETFs, and options to zero! Not to be outdone, TD Ameritrade and E*Trade quickly followed suit. As a result of the announcement, Schwab’s stock fell 14%, TD Ameritrade slumped 28%, and E*Trade plunged 19%. The loss of trading commissions will result in a significant drop in revenue for these firms. Their pain is your gain.