Retirement Watch Weekly
The Focus of Estate Planning After the Election
The 2024 elections are over and so is much uncertainty about estate planning. It’s now very likely the current lifetime estate and gift tax exemption amount won’t be allowed to expire after 2025. Estate and gift taxes should remain a concern for fewer than 1% of families. But don’t think that means estate planning isn’t […]
Bob’s Journal 01/08
Why You Should Obtain an IP PIN from the IRS To prevent having a false income tax return filed in your name and some other types of identity theft, obtain an identity protection personal identification number (IP PIN) from the IRS. IP PINs are free and fairly easy to obtain. An IP PIN is a […]
Bob’s Journal for 1/2
A Look Back and a Glimpse Forward I start 2025 with a review of some key events in 2024. This is done partly to remind us how much happened during the year. I also review the past year because it can remind us not to overreact to current events. Too often, investors and markets have […]
Bob’s Journal for 12/26
Post-Election Rally Fizzles Investor enthusiasm after the election ran too far ahead of events. The unexpected election results were followed by rallies in a range of risky assets, such as stocks and bitcoin. But December hasn’t been as kind to the riskier assets. Indeed, it hasn’t been a good period for any of the major […]
Bob’s Journal for 12/19
Households Close to Historic High Stock Holdings U.S. households are more exposed to ups and downs of the stock indexes than at almost any time. By several measures, household holdings of stock are at or near historic levels. The percentage of families that own stocks is at its highest level ever, even higher than at […]
The Fed Finally Pivots. How Long Will It Last? Investment and Economic Review
In my new Retirement Watch Spotlight Series, I’ll share my newest breakthrough strategies for protecting your assets and growing your portfolio, including how to prepare for the next market downturn. Click here now to learn more. […]
Bob’s Journal for 12/12
The Artificial Intelligence Boom After Two Years It’s been just over two years since OpenAI released ChatGPT and ignited the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The phenomenon affected stock markets, business investment, employees and many aspects of the economy. Bespoke Premium summarized the effects with the following highlights. Perhaps stocks have shown the biggest effect thus […]
Bob’s Journal for 12/5
Some Notable Events That Grabbed My Attention This Week The Best Investment of the 21st Century So Far Most people probably will be surprised to learn what has been the best-performing investment of the last 25 years. While stocks, especially U.S. stocks, have done very well the last 15 years or so, that’s partly because […]
