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Sanjib Saha 12 November 2024 The S&P 500 Index reached two celebratory milestones this year. The first was to top 5,000 for the first time in Feb 2024. The next was to surpass the 6,000 mark this week. Here’s a brief history of its journey to 6K. March 1957 – The current version of the S&P 500 Stock Index was introduced to capture the stock market performance of the 500 largest US companies. At that time, the index was at around 44. August 1967 – The index more than doubled in the preceding decade to end at around 94. May…

Sid Roy & Sanjib Saha 16 July 2024 If you’re questioning the value of bonds after a challenging 2022, you’re not alone. Many investors have learned the importance of balancing their investments between stocks and bonds. Stocks and bonds are expected to behave differently—when one falls, the other should stay put or even rise—creating a more stable portfolio overall. Yet, we've recently experienced a period that challenges these assumptions and shakes up our investment approach. Both stocks and bonds ended 2022 with significant losses. This wasn’t supposed to happen, right? How can bonds lose so much value when stocks are…

Sanjib Saha 29 December 2023 It’s hard to believe that 2023 is almost over. As we get ready to welcome the new year, here are a few trivia facts about how the US large company stocks did this year. After a disastrous show in 2022 and dropping by almost 20%, the S&P 500 Index has gained almost 25% this year. Investors who stayed course are handsomely rewarded for not panicking or switching to safety of cash/CDs offering juicy interest rates. While the S&P Index is yet to surpass its record close figure from December 2021, it’s total return reached an…

Sanjib Saha 22 November 2023 While heartbreaking and nerve-wracking headlines dominate the news—stories of innocent people suffering from wars and unprecedented natural disasters— there are still many reasons to be thankful for Falling Inflation: After surging above 9% last year, inflation is coming down steadily and hovering slightly above 3%. This doesn’t mean prices are coming down across the board, but they aren’t skyrocketing either. Rising Stock Market: Market goes up and down, there is no escape from it. Still, going through a bear market takes a toll on investor sentiments. After a steep drop last year, the market seems…

Sanjib Saha 1 July 2023 When it comes to seeking help about our finance and investments – whether from a professional financial advisor or a trusted mentor – it’s essential to consider the broader aspects of wealth and life instead of specific money questions. Why? Because money alone doesn’t guarantee happiness and fulfilment; it’s merely a means to help us navigate life’s challenges. Often, the biggest roadblocks to our satisfaction are non-financial, and money fails to do much about them. In fact, money can create roadblocks of its own in our life journey. Thus, it’s important to reflect on what…

Sanjib Saha 14 June 2023 We’ve heard this a million times already: Getting rich quickly is hard, but building wealth slowly isn’t. To be sure, becoming wealthy is neither automatic nor overnight. But with three foundational pieces in place, and some patience, we can achieve it sooner or later. What are the three ingredients of the wealth building recipe? I like the metaphor of a three-legged stool, where each leg represents a mandatory element on which our financial future rests. Each element is necessary, but not sufficient by itself. We need all three legs for the stool to be safe…

Sanjib Saha 31 December 2022 Any New Year resolutions for 2023 yet? A few of our favorites: 1. If you are the CFO of your household, prepare the annual financial statements – the balance sheet, income/expense summary and cash-flow – and share with family. 2. If someone else manages your household finances, help the person to prepare and walk you through the annual household financial statements– the balance sheet, income/expense summary and cash-flow. 3. If you are new to investing, learn the basics of different asset classes – Stocks, Bonds, Cash, Hard/Real Assets and Alternatives – to ponder which ones might be appropriate for you (or…

Sid Roy In our everyday conversations about money, we often assume that most people know what stocks and bonds are. At times it becomes apparent that some people don’t. A recent example is a casual chat with a friend of mine who wished she had a pension just like her dad. She did not understand why the stock market returns were so unpredictable and why could she not get a decent interest on her money without the uncertainty. This conversation certainly made me pause and realize something. There are possibly more people like her who do not feel grounded in…

Sid Roy “Sid, what is your number?” This was the odd question that came up during a career conversation with one of our senior leaders at work. I was taken aback by that question especially because it had come up at the office, not with a financial advisor. As I mulled over it, the amazing clarity of that blunt question really hit home.  I really had not thought that deeply about a concrete number – a dollar amount as a retirement goal. And yet, everything is connected to that number. How much do I need to live comfortably throughout my…

Sid Roy The word Asset Allocation comes up sooner or later once you get serious about saving for your retirement. Sadly, this is where most people hit a significant roadblock. I know I did. It took me a while to get over that hurdle. Let me address the five misconceptions I had around this topic. I hope my learning helps you to avoid the mistakes I made. 1. Asset allocation doesn’t need to be complicated. I wasted months in reading all kinds of books and browsing financial blogs to learn about all the different theories and model portfolios. In the…