Well, that was a bit unnerving. Last week the stock market took a pretty good dive and investors were shaken alert. The drop, as measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average, was about 1,300 points or 5%. That qualifies as an official “pull back.” The market quickly stabilized and closed Friday with a modest gain. […]
Why This Year’s Medicare Open Enrollment Period May Be Extra Important
If you’re younger than 65, you probably don’t understand all the commotion. Why are there all these advertisements for Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans all over the TV, radio and print media? Medicare is the federal government program that provides health care coverage (health insurance) if you are 65 or older, under 65 and […]
Springwater’s Q3 2018 Market Commentary
Click here to read our third quarter market commentary. PLEASE SEE important disclosure information at www.springwaterwealth.com/blog-disclosure/.
B is for Beta
A few weeks ago, we provided a brief introduction to the concept of investment “alpha.” Now that school has resumed across the country, we’ll turn our attention to the next letter in the Greek alphabet, “beta.” You’ll recall that alpha (denoted by the symbol α) is a measurement of an investment manager’s ability to generate […]
Could Applying For College Financial Aid Be Getting Easier?
Could it be that applying for financial aid for college will finally get a bit easier? The federal Education Department recently announced that the notoriously complicated federal financial aid form known as FAFSA will shortly be available in a user-friendly mobile form. The FAFSA (or Free Application for Federal Student Aid), which calculates how much […]
Buckets for the Storm
Ten years ago (September 15, 2008), Lehman Brothers, a prominent Wall Street investment bank filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The financial system had been deteriorating for months and the federal government had already stepped in on several occasions to provide support. But the government decided to allow to Lehman to fail. That decision helped to […]
Big Changes to Oregon’s 529 College Savings Plan
With school back in session for Oregon’s students, it’s time for parents to respond to recent changes made to Oregon’s 529 education savings plan. TIAA CREF has been replaced as the Plan Administrator by Sumday Administration, LLC, a subsidiary of BNY Mellon. As a result, current Oregon 529 plan account owners are temporarily unable to […]
Insuring for Care Later in Life
It’s a subject most of us would rather avoid. What if one day you’re no longer able to safely move around, feed yourself, bath yourself, or complete other activities of daily living? What if you find you need care just to live your life? Those who reach a point where they can no longer perform […]
A Bear Lurks Ahead
If you have ever gone hiking or backpacking in a remote wilderness, the thought probably wasn’t far from your mind. An encounter with one might be exciting, but possibly dangerous or even deadly. A bear. The US stock market reached another major milestone on Friday, when the S&P 500 index closed at another all-time high […]
Fund Expenses Hit Zero
We have been waiting the major investment management companies to announce this for a few years now. The fees these companies charge investors to their manage mutual funds and exchange-traded funds have been declining for some time. Investment management companies like Vanguard, BlackRock, and Dimensional Fund Advisors have been able reduce their fees for several […]