After a six-month lull, volatility riled the stock market again in October. Prices on the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose or fell more than 1% in 10 of the month’s 22 trading days. While heightened activity can be disconcerting, it’s par for the course from time to time and reminds investors to balance their portfolios to risk levels they can tolerate. Kyle Tetting explains in a MONEY TALK VIDEO. […]

In a MONEY TALK VIDEO, Steve Giles notes how investors can plan against bears. […]

By Kyle Tetting
Stock market volatility abruptly returned in October after a stretch of 74 trading days without as much as a 1% change in the S&P 500. The CBOE Volatility Index – known as the fear gauge – doubled during the month, suggesting traders believe the wider swings may persist. Big fluctuations and a string of losses can be disconcerting, but it’s important to remember that volatility is the norm – especially this late in an economic expansion that has lasted more than nine years.

Find out in 10 questions how much you know from the 2018 Investment Outlook Seminar. We include a link to the video from the seminar as well a link to the quiz answers. (We trust you not to peek ahead before you finish the quiz.) […]

Bob Landaas delivers his annual investment outlook to hundreds of clients, sharing with them his insightful observations of global economic and market forces and what they suggest for long-term investors.

  Congratulations for completing the 2018 Investment Outlook Seminar Quiz. Please check your responses against the answers below. View the seminar video by clicking here. 1. Bob Landaas noted that the Federal Reserve is likely halfway through raising short-term interest rates. Which one of these DOES NOT follow? b) Reach for higher yield with lower-quality bonds.  […]

By Kyle Tetting
After the S&P 500’s best quarter since 2013, it’s tempting to want to take some action. […]

By Kyle Tetting
Like driving, it’s hard to invest looking in the rearview mirror. Of course, we can still stop to celebrate a bull market that, by many measures, is now the longest on record.
Precipitated by the global financial crisis, the S&P 500 declined more than 50%, bottoming on March 9, 2009. From that low, the S&P 500 has now advanced more than 3,460 calendar days without a decline of 20% or more.
It may not yet be the most profitable advance on record – that distinction goes to the bull market that began in October of 1990 – but the length and general calm of this bull has left many investors with plenty to be excited about.

With narrower spreads between the yields offered for high-quality and low-quality bonds, investors should be sure they’re getting paid for the risks they’re taking – especially with what’s meant to be the safer side of their portfolio. Kyle Tetting explains in a MONEY TALK VIDEO. […]

By Kyle Tetting
Cracks exposed in the most recent market correction should remind investors that market volatility can be driven by many factors.
The debate about the latest correction, the length of the bull market and the timing of changes in each are just some of the many signals investors attempt to decipher as they consider how to invest for the long run. […]

Halfway through 2018, investment advisors Brian Kilb and Kyle Tetting discuss the prospects for stock markets, fixed-income investments and the global economy in a MONEY TALK VIDEO.

By Kyle Tetting
While we still have a long way to go, 2018 has been a tougher year than most for bond investors. A big move for bonds looks nothing like a big move for stocks, but even a couple percent decline feels worse for bonds because they are, after all, the less volatile part of a balanced portfolio.