As a firm with roots in Cleveland, the city is abuzz with excitement surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers run to the NBA Finals. It is great to experience the excitement that cities like Cincinnati and Philadelphia have  enjoyed in the past and our hope is that this team will end Cleveland’s 51 year title drought. The Cavs will need to play great team basketball to beat the Golden State Warriors but when it comes to investing; sometimes it’s best to separate certain parts of the “team” or businesses. This is often referred to as spin-offs on Wall Street.

Growing up on the bond side of the business wasn’t always easy. There was never any snappy cocktail party conversation about what’s going on in the bond market like I often overheard on stocks…go figure.

With the high level of the stock market and an aging population demographic, my how times have changed. The bond market looks mighty interesting to a lot of folks. As a $38 trillion global bond market (vs. the S & P market cap at $18 trillion), I’m glad to see it’s not being totally ignored, but I am concerned as well. A lot of people these days view bond funds as a placeholder to park cash, like a money market vehicle with return, unaware of the downside risks. Bond funds are especially susceptible to volatility and erosion when rates rise (and, oh by the way, rates will rise at some point). 

In talking with clients, we often hear the following questions; 

“My children (or I) had U.S. Savings Bonds that are missing. Is there any way of ever recovering the money?” 

“My parents’ affairs are a mess. How can I be sure I’ve found all of their assets?”

 “When I moved to Florida, I never chased several checks. Is it too late to try and get my old utility deposit refunds, etc.?”

“I have a stock certificate for a company that I can’t seem to find out anything about. Can you help?”

Often times on the news, you may hear the names of famous CEOs like Tim Cook, Warren Buffett and Bob Iger. Why are they discussed so often? What separates them from their peers? Besides being at the helm of some of the most well-known and companies in the world, these CEOs, among many others have done a very good job of creating value for shareholders. How did these CEOs do such a wonderful job of creating value?

Over ONE TRILLION DOLLARS is managed by the top ten bond mutual funds, according to Forbes. This vast pool of assets controlled by a few players affects the whole asset class. In our whitepaper, "Bondmageddon: A Whitepaper on the Hidden Risks and Costs of Bond Mutual Funds," we discuss the current landscape of these investments and the risks investors face today. We also outline the five critical strategic considerations we make when constructing a bond portfolio.

It’s tax time--don’t lose sight of your financial planning goals. It’s not too late to make your IRA contribution for 2014.  You can make 2014 IRA contributions until April 15, 2015. Be sure you are taking full advantage of the opportunity to save for retirement. 

You may have heard about low interest rates in the newspaper, online or on TV, but what do low interest rates really mean for the general public?

Interest rates are based primarily upon the supply and demand for money. What are some of the positives and negatives of low interest rates? Watch our video or continue reading below. 

“Everything is Awesome!!!” is the theme song of the Lego Movie.  It is a good theme song title for U.S. equity investors in 2014. The fourth quarter concluded with the S&P 500 returning 13.7% for the year (4.9% in the fourth quarter alone).  This is even more impressive considering a violent downdraft after Thanksgiving.  Almost all major market indexes are at record all-time highs.  Small Cap U.S. stocks, while still slightly trailing large cap for the year, returned an impressive 9.4% in the fourth quarter.  Since bottoming in March of 2009, the S&P 500 has posted a 246% total return.  

Do you know how many buzzwords there are? Just the word “Buzzword” brings up over 6 million results on the Internet.  There is even a Buzzword of the Day.  Dictionary.com defines Buzzword as a word or phrase, often sounding authoritative or technical, that is a vogue term in a particular profession, field of study, popular culture, etc. 

Financial planning has become such a buzzword resulting in over 22 million Internet search results. The term, “Financial Planning” appears quite often in all types of media.  But, what is it?

Last night, the Senate passed a one year extension on a number of tax items. One of them is an extension to individuals 70 1/2 years of age the ability to donate to a charity directly from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), without triggering taxes on such a donation as a withdrawal from the IRA. This exemption retroactively covers any such gifting done earlier in 2014.

But don't delay! This charitable transfer expires January 1, 2015.  The President has indicated that he will sign the bill before leaving on his family vacation. 

If you wish to proceed with such a gift, please let us know as soon as possible considering many custodians are already processing year end paperwork on a best efforts basis. Frustratingly, we will likely need to wait until next year to see if this is again renewed for 2015 giving. 

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