By Kyle Tetting
Despite an incessant focus on the debt ceiling conversation and what appeared to be a surprisingly optimistic response by markets in recent weeks, actual progress on the matter has been slow. As I write this, there remains some time before the likely June 1 deadline. But, as with most market-related observations, by the time you read it, much of it could be dated. As a result, our current dependence on politicians has investors aiming their portfolio away from some risk that we aren’t even sure is out there.

By Kyle Tetting
It’s hard to argue with the year-to-date success of the vast majority of investment categories. As I write this on April 26, broad measures of stocks like the S&P 500 had gained more than 6% with only a few trading days left in April. Similarly, less volatile measures like bonds have added half as much or more. While the gains are encouraging, I am struck by how pessimistic many of the headlines remain. “Markets climb a wall of worry,” the saying goes, and that seems especially true now, though investing from a place of worry is tough.

By Kyle Tetting
While the postmortem on Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse is still being written, there’s plenty of blame to go around. From bank executives and their advisors to the bank’s largest clients, to the Federal Reserve itself. There may be bits of blame for each, but the harsh reality is that such a high-profile bank failure has resulted in many questions about who or what is next.

By Joel Dresang
We let too much cash build up in our checking account, and it was costing us money. […]

By Kyle Tetting
There’s a tendency in investing to speak about expectations for returns. Projections and forecasts are useful and necessary, especially as we try to plan for the future. However, those same tools are fraught with challenges. For starters, the crystal ball is always a little cloudy. Especially with the unknown timing and magnitude of the Federal Reserve’s remaining steps to fight inflation, long-term optimism can get overlooked.

By Kyle Tetting We’ve been through this before. In July of 2011, Bob Landaas shared his thoughts on Congress’s hesitation to raise the debt ceiling. As Bob commented then, “My respect for politicians continues to sink by the day.” In simple terms, the debt ceiling is a statutory limit on the amount the United States […]

By Kyle Tetting
The most common question as we turn to the new year is what to expect in the year to come. That’s a logical question, even more so in the wake of the challenges we faced in 2022. However, any answer to the question comes with a major caveat. For starters, 2022 was exceptional for how closely the calendar year encapsulated the market decline.

As interest rates have been rising, investors have seen the values of their bond holdings shrink. In a MONEY TALK VIDEO, Kendall Bauer points out some of the upsides of the rising rate environment. He spoke with Kyle Tetting as part of the 2022 Investment Outlook Video. […]

In a MONEY TALK VIDEO, Paige Radke explains how conditions have shifted favor between growth and value stocks – and what it means to investors. […]

In a MONEY TALK VIDEO, Steve Giles talks about how to handle occasional steep stock sell-offs. […]

A multiple-choice quiz covering the 2022 Investment Outlook Seminar includes links to further resources in the answers. […]

In the 2022 Investment Outlook Seminar, a Money Talk Video, Kyle Tetting and Bob Landaas explain the circumstances that brought about the current conditions, what investors might expect ahead and how they should be managing their wealth in the meantime. The video includes discussions with Steve Giles, Dave Sandstrom, Kendall Bauer and Paige Radke.