Tips to Teach Kids About Money

We may not even realize it, but most of our attitudes, fears and habits around money are formed when we are kids. How much our families made, how much they spent and even how much of an allowance we got, greatly influence how we feel and react to the lack of or the abundance of the greenback.

Kids learn the basics in school -- reading, writing and arithmetic. But schools avoid almost any instruction about money. If they do offer a class, it may be an elective in high school, long after money habits have been formed.

I believe it’s important to start talking about finances early, when kids are young. You can begin to share your values and help kids shape their views on money in a culture that places a premium on “things,” not savings.

While we can’t shelter our children, we can teach them. It’s why I am sharing a guide of practical tips that I believe will help put your kids on the right path.

1. Teaching delayed gratification. This is the hard part. Some of us are better than others, but few have truly mastered the art of patience. After all, we are human!

Look at it another way for kids. Anticipation can be half the fun! It’s the journey. Think about it:  your kids awaiting the arrival of Santa, or the excitement that precedes going to an amusement park or on an upcoming family trip.

If they want to buy a pricey item, help them save for it. You can lend support by setting up various methods for savings. I remember the piggy bank. Money goes in, but never really comes out. Instead, consider setting up three jars: One for savings, one for giving, and one for spending.

2. Incorporate giving it away. I believe the giving jar is as important, if not more important, than the savings jar.

Do your children have a cause that resonates in their heart? Do they want to give to their church? Is there a local food bank or animal shelter your daughter or son can assist with donations?

Learning to let go and help those who are in need will create a stronger sense of altruism and selflessness that, if taught early, will blossom in them as adults.

When it comes to charity, let their treasure follow their heart.

3. Kids need money. Theory without practice won’t work. Kids need a hands-on lesson. You may start with an allowance (some refer to it as a commission)—you may pay kids for various chores, or both. That’s a parenting preference, and there are advantages to both.

What is an appropriate allowance? According to a study by RoosterMoney published by The Balance, the weekly allowance earned by a 4-year-old averages $3.76. At 8 years of age, an allowance averages $7.27 per week. At 12, the allowance is $9.85 and $12.26 at 14.

The study offers reasonable guidelines, but you may adjust at your discretion.

What about birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, etc.? Set goals with your children, but I lean heavily toward the savings bucket. Those annual gifts will add up over the years. Your kids could graduate high school with a tidy sum of cash if they have the discipline to save.

4. Teach by example. I remember a time I paid for my purchase at the gasoline pump, got back into my car, and drove away.

 My young daughter accused me of stealing!

She understood the idea that “what’s not ours isn’t ours,” but she didn’t grasp the concept of “plastic money.”

 I explained how I paid without going into the store, discussed the concept of a credit card, and emphasized these purchases are always paid in full at the end of each month. Today, I still impart the benefits and dangers of credit cards.

Was this a lifetime lesson for her? I certainly remember helping my parents pay their credit card balances off in full each month.

In addition, consider using lists when shopping. Your children will see that it helps avoid impulse buys. And, as kids grow older and the discussions are age appropriate, explain why you try to avoid impulse purchases. Oh and it goes without saying: never shop for groceries/food when you're hungry.

Use various examples from your own life when you teach your kids about the importance of money and savings.

5. Encourage summer and after-school jobs. Trading time for cash via a job helps kids learn the invaluable lesson of hard work. It also supplements savings and provides spending money.

Cutting your own or the neighbor’s grass, shoveling your own snow or the neighbor’s snow, yard work, a lemonade stand, babysitting, helping in the family business, working retail, household chores, or working as a lifeguard are options.

Besides the extra cash, they will learn a strong sense of pride and responsibility that will carry over into adulthood.

6. Open a savings account. Not that long ago, a savings account earned a respectable interest rate. That’s not the case today. Still, a savings account helps kids learn.

A 5-year-old may not need a savings account, but adulthood isn’t far away for a teen or pre-teen. As young adults they will have a checking account, debit card, and eventually a credit card. Baby steps in the right direction will ease the transition.

As they grow older, discuss the benefits of investing with your kids. Outside of a college savings account, you may open an investment account or Roth IRA in their name and teach them about investing. You could start it with seed money and have them contribute on a regular basis (they need earned income to contribute to a Roth IRA). More importantly, help them buy into a savings goal. That way, they will take ownership.

If you’re unsure about how to start the process, we’d be happy to point you in the right direction.

7. There’s an app for that. Today, there are mobile apps that can help kids. Bankaroo, iAllowance, and PiggyBot are just a few. Feel free to look online for one you feel is most appropriate for your child.

8. Guide them with goal setting. Are they trying to save for something? Help them come up with a plan and incentivize with matching funds. Companies do this with 401(k)'s, why can’t parents?

Discuss the importance of needs versus wants. A teenager may need a bicycle. But do they need one with all the bells and whistles? Or, are there reasonably priced bikes that won’t bust the savings account?

9. Money isn’t everything. Yes, it’s important. It gives us choices. But by itself, money can’t buy happiness.

10. Let them make mistakes. Ashley LeBaron, a graduate student at the University of Arizona, said, “Let them make mistakes so you can help them learn from them, and help them develop habits before they’re on their own, when the consequences are a lot bigger and they’re dealing with larger amounts of money.”

Not surprisingly, her research showed those who had practical experience with money during childhood learned how to work hard, how to better manage money, and how to spend it wisely.

That may be the most important desired outcome.

If you would like to review your current investment portfolio or discuss any other financial planning matters, please don’t hesitate to contact us or visit our website at http://www.ydfs.com. We are a fee-only fiduciary financial planning firm that always puts your interests first.  If you are not a client yet, an initial consultation is complimentary and there is never any pressure or hidden sales pitch. We start with a specific assessment of your personal situation. There is no rush and no cookie-cutter approach. Each client is different, and so is your financial plan and investment objectives.

What's Going on in the Markets: April 28, 2019

It's no surprise to anyone paying attention to financial news that the stock market, as measured by the S&P 500 index, closed at an all-time high last Friday. It was one measly point away from the all-time intra-day high set on September 21, 2018 (2940.91). The technology heavy NASDAQ indexes have already surpassed their all-time 2018 highs.

You'd think at new all-time highs, the masses would be euphoric and pouring money into the stock market hand-over-fist. But alas, that's not the case at all. The rise from what I like to call the "Christmas Eve Stock Market Massacre of 2018" has been one of the most distrusted and hated rallies I've ever seen in my over forty years of following the stock markets. Ironically, that's what might keep the market from falling over and moving higher, at least temporarily.

I'll be the first to admit that I personally haven't fully embraced the 24% rally from the Christmas Eve bottom. It's been a torrent advance that has given latecomers (as well as early sellers) very few low-risk opportunities to jump in. That's to say, pullbacks since Santa Claus came calling have been shallow and fleeting. Bull markets tend to be that way. Virtually every portfolio manager and investor I talked to was over-invested going into the 4th quarter 2018 swoon, and under-invested during the 1st quarter 2019 relentless advance.

Such is life investing in the stock markets.

Pundits would say that it was the Federal Reserve Chairman's walking back talk of planned interest rate hikes in 2019 as the proximate cause for the rally. Markets love low interest rates (cheap money) as companies borrow even more money to buy back their own stock. Lower interest rates for longer have always meant corporate earnings can grow a bit faster with less drag from servicing (paying down) debt and financing expansion plans.

If the promise of lower interest rates for longer is the proximate cause for the rally, then recent positive economic news might cause the "data dependent" federal reserve to rethink the interest rate pause. A federal reserve board meeting is scheduled for this week, though the chance of an interest rate hike announcement at this meeting is virtually nil.

Just this past Friday, what was widely forecast as a coming dismal 1st quarter 2019 gross domestic product figure (under 1%), turned out to be more than thrice as good, coming instead at 3.2%.

Also this past week, while existing home sales came in 4.9% below expectations, new home sales came in almost 4.5% above expectations. In addition, durable goods orders also came in much better than expected. Finally, weekly jobless claims continue to be low. The March monthly jobs report will be announced on Friday May 3.

Expected to be dismal as well, first quarter 2019 corporate earnings reports have also continued to surprise to the upside. So far, 230 of the S&P 500 have now reported Q1 2019 earnings, and the reported Earnings Per Share (EPS) growth rate for the index is up about 2%. Granted, when companies lower expectation ahead of time, beating them becomes the norm (games companies play!)

So should we throw caution to the wind, set aside all hedges and invest all idle cash since so little seems to derail this charging bull market (e.g., the still unsettled trade wars, the Mueller Report, rising debt levels, the never-ending Brexit debacle, slower global growth, higher gas prices, etc.)?

In a word, no.

While it appears that the markets will continue to move higher in the near term, the risk-reward ratio at these levels does not favor heavy deployments of capital. Getting to a previous market high doesn't necessarily mean we're going to smash through those old highs and rally another 5-10% immediately. After all, there are many regretful buyers from the 2018 highs who can't wait to get out at even-money if given that opportunity (exclaiming the famous phrase anyone unexpectedly caught in a nearly 20% stock market drop "never again!").

That incoming supply of shares from regretful buyers will likely cause a long battle around last year's highs, making for a pause in the upward momentum. Besides, after a nearly 25% run, the market is way overdue for a break.

A Wall of Worry?

In addition to the still unresolved trade wars and ongoing Brexit discussions, we have the following worries on the table (acknowledging that the market likes to climb a wall of worry):

1. Recession Fears: an inverted interest rate curve, where short term rates are higher than longer term rates, has historically been a warning flag for the economy, though the lead time to a recession has been 11 months on average. In fact, there has been only one instance where the yield curve inverted without a U.S. recession, in January 1966. It is worth noting, however, that there was still a bear market during that period, which began just one month after inversion.
2. Inflation Fears: as inflation indicators have eased since the middle of 2018, investors and economists alike have pushed this all-important economic barometer to the back of their minds. However, inflationary pressures, in the form of wage hikes, could reemerge in the near future, forcing the Federal Reserve to again take action when they least want to do so.
3. Corporate Debt: over the course of this economic cycle, business debt has skyrocketed as U.S. corporations have issued record amounts of debt.  Non-Financial Business Debt as a percentage of GDP is close to an all-time high, and well in excess of the levels reached at the beginning of the last three recessions. If the economy slips into recession, marginally profitable companies will be unable to pay back interest on their debt, let alone the principal.
4. Small Business Optimism: both small business owners and CEOs are not as enthusiastic as consumers or investors. Small business confidence fell sharply in the closing months of 2018 and has shown little propensity to recover. Corporate CEO confidence experienced an even bigger hit, with the same inability to rebound from these depressed levels. Business owners are most likely feeling the pressures of a tight labor market, rising wages, and squeezed profit margins. That could spell trouble for earnings and business spending ahead.

So What To Do Now?

The economy is stable and employment is strong. At this point, blue chip indexes have surpassed or are very close to surpassing their previous highs, tempting investors to climb aboard for another potential leg upward. But should you?

The financial planning answer to that question is that it depends on your goals, time-frame and risk tolerance. But the more realistic answer is that it really depends on your current investment level and your confidence that we're just going to sail higher. While in the long run the market trends higher, no one I know of is a fan of investing at a potential top.

I suggest that you think back to how you were feeling in December of 2018, and if you felt that you were over-invested, or were surprised or uncomfortable reading the balances on your year-end account statements, take this gift the market has given you and reduce exposure to the markets. Even if you weren't, ask yourself this: should I be taking some profits off the table? This is not a recommendation to buy or sell anything; only you and your financial planner can make that decision (we can help!)

I'm personally not so confident we're going to just continue to rally without a near term pullback, and therefore I continue to position client and my personal portfolios with a defensive tilt. Mind you, I see nothing in the price action to tell me that a pause is imminent, but severe downside action can change that and repossess weeks' worth of gains in a matter of a day or two. This, however, should be meaningless to investors with a long-term investing horizon.

While we have participated robustly in this rally since 2018, I believe that the market’s ability to achieve notably stronger gains from here is somewhat questionable. And from a safety-first strategy viewpoint, the longer-term outlook is more ominous.

The recent inversion of the yield curve is a classic warning flag, regardless of whether it remains inverted over the intermediate term. And the simmering wage inflation pressures are not going to subside anytime soon, especially when initial claims for unemployment are hitting 50 year lows. That means the Federal Reserve might have to renege on their “no rate hike” promise before this year is over. Few on Wall Street are anticipating that the Fed might take away the low interest rate punch bowl again.

As Jim Stack of InvesTech Research warns, "One of the most difficult aspects of negotiating the twists and turns of a late stage bull market is keeping one’s feet objectively planted on firm ground. It’s hard to argue against positive economic reports, except with the historical knowledge that bull markets peak when economic news is rosiest. And with consumer confidence near the highest levels of the past 50 years, one would have to think that we are approaching a peak. That inherently leaves a lot of room for potential disappointment."

Even if it means leaving a few dollars of market profits on the table, my safety-first approach leaves me cautious/defensive with an abundant level of cash and hedges for the time being. Now is a good time to take stock of your investment level, and decide for yourself whether you're prepared for the next downturn.

If you would like to review your current investment portfolio or discuss any other financial planning matters, please don’t hesitate to contact us or visit our website at http://www.ydfs.com. We are a fee-only fiduciary financial planning firm that always puts your interests first.  If you are not a client yet, an initial consultation is complimentary and there is never any pressure or hidden sales pitch. We start with a specific assessment of your personal situation. There is no rush and no cookie-cutter approach. Each client is different, and so is your financial plan and investment objectives.

Is "Smart Money" Really that Smart?

Ask ten people if they think they're a good driver, and I'm willing to bet that most, if not all of them, will claim to belong to that camp. The other guy or gal is the bad driver, not me. But someone is causing all of those car accidents and traffic snarl-ups, so we can't all be considered good drivers.

The same can be said about investors. We often hear financial pundits on TV talking about what the “Smart Money” is doing. Who are these smart people? What makes them so smart? And if they are smart, what are we? I won't keep you in suspense: yes, you might be considered "dumb money".

Defining “Smart Money”

Terms that Wall Street throw around such as “smart money” and “expert” can sound very alluring to us. Before we jump and listen to what they have to say, we should first find out more about what makes them so smart or deemed an expert. The truth is there is no standard definition.

In all my years in the industry, I still don’t know what makes someone a media proclaimed “expert” or “smart”. Based on my experience, an expert is someone who makes confident predictions and is right only about half the time. “Smart money” generally refers to a person/institution with a lot of money, but it can also be used to describe people who run complex investment schemes (so complex that we common folk can’t understand it).

Forget Smart Money; Be a Smart Investor

Historically, “Smart Money” has not translated into outsized returns. Their returns are often in line with straightforward (not complex) investment strategies. In fact, the Barron’s Roundtable of Smart Money in 2018 handily underperformed the markets (and that was not an anomaly).

Wall Street Journal personal finance writer Jason Zweig recently opined, “the only smart money is the money that knows its own limitations.”

Legendary investor Warren Buffett said, “What counts for most people in investing is not how much they know, but rather how realistically they define what they don’t know.”

As Zweig writes, it's surprisingly easy to find instances where smart money managers can sometimes behave just as irrationally as individual investors who chase prices up to parabolic levels, and join in the panic at the lows. They are, after all, humans just like us, subject to the laws of fear and greed innate in all of us.

Let’s not forget that professional hedge-fund analysts, fund-of-fund managers and other such purportedly expert advisers, put thousands of investors into Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. They ultimately lost millions of dollars of clients' money.

Another example: among the eager clients of the Foundation for New Era Philanthropy, one of the most notorious fraudulent investment schemes of the 1990s, were such billionaires and philanthropist as Laurance Rockefeller, former Goldman Sachs co-chairman John C. Whitehead and ex-U.S. Treasury Secretary William E. Simon.

Smart investors recognize that it’s OK they don’t know everything. And neither do the “smart money” nor the so called “experts”. Once we define the limits of our knowledge and understanding, we can focus our time and energy on what matters most – those things we can control.

As investors, we can control our decisions and reactions to uncontrollable market events. Following a disciplined and deliberate decision-making process is one of the smartest things investors can do. Working with a fee-only advisor can not only help you sort through all of the investment options and risks, but can also keep you from panicking at the lows, and feeling overly euphoric at the top.

If you would like to review your current investment portfolio or discuss any other financial planning matters, please don’t hesitate to contact us or visit our website at http://www.ydfs.com. We are a fee-only fiduciary financial planning firm that always puts your interests first.  If you are not a client yet, an initial consultation is complimentary and there is never any pressure or hidden sales pitch. We start with a specific assessment of your personal situation. There is no rush and no cookie-cutter approach. Each client is different, and so is your financial plan and investment objectives.

Source: (c) 2019 The Behavioral Finance Network, used with Permission

What's Going on in the Markets: November 25, 2018

Here's hoping your Thanksgiving holiday and weekend spent with loved ones were reasons to be thankful for the past year of blessings. Certainly, the markets didn't give us much to be thankful or joyful for as all major market indexes dropped between 2.5% and 4.4% last week. Normally, Thanksgiving week can be counted on for an upside bias, but instead we got the worst Thanksgiving week since 2011 as the correction that began in early October rolls on.

As bad as the week was, we could be setting up for a pretty good rally into year end, if we could just get a positive spark of some sort this week. Some possible good news could be forthcoming on the trade war front from the G20 Summit, scheduled for November 30 and December 1, where President Donald Trump and China President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet and have a discussion. This may bring hope for some type of agreement on the tit-for-tat tariffs imposed.

To be clear, the price action in the markets to-date has shown no evidence of a robust bounce coming, but there are some signs that a market reversal (upward) is brewing.

Market corrections, defined as a decline from the top of 10% or more, are always gut-wrenching and difficult to "watch".  In fact, this past week, the S&P 500 index finally closed 10.1% below the all-time high made in September.  Under the surface, some stocks, specifically the technology and infamous FAANG stocks (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google), have been hit hard with declines of up to 40% from their highs seen earlier this year. I could list a ton of stocks and market sectors that are in their own bear markets (20% below their recent highs), but you already know them because you probably own them.

Why the Long Face Mr. Market?

So what has the market in such a tizzy, seemingly all of a sudden, especially after a great 3rd quarter performance and record quarterly corporate earnings reported? A few things actually:

1. Trade Wars & Tariffs: Initially thought to be immune to the trade wars, the markets have succumbed to the thought that the current trade war may be drawn out, not just for months, but for years. While a minority of companies that reported earnings this past quarter pointed to tariffs as a concern, the ones that did, were very vocal about how a dragged out tariff war will significantly drag on future earnings. Needless to say, China features prominently in this picture, so a resolution next week would give Wall Street a reason to cheer.
2. Interest rates: There's nothing like cheap money to keep the money flowing and the stock market buoyant, as companies issue bonds (debt) to buy back their shares in the open market and finance capital expansion plans. Home buying obviously works better with lower rates. So higher interest rates curb the debt appetite by companies and potential homeowners. In addition, investors, with the availability of lower risk and higher interest rate government bonds, will cash in their stocks for the safety of Uncle Sam's treasury notes and bills. Why take all the stock market risk for an extra potential 1%-2% returns?
3. Economic Data Slowing: While gross domestic product, employment, consumer confidence and housing data have been near their highest levels, there are emerging signs of growth slowing in many areas of the economy. For example, home builder confidence dropped 8 points in November – now confirming the message that the housing market is slowing. The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index barely eked out a gain of 0.1pts, which suggests that next month could see the first decline in over 29 months. Finally, durable goods (e.g., appliances, aircraft, machinery and equipment) orders for October came in worse than expected. While none of the data signifies an imminent recession, a slowdown in growth looks to continue, hardly surprising given the long slow economic recovery we've been in for almost ten years.
4. Oil Prices Crashing: Oil prices have lost over 35% from their highs in the first week in October. While lower oil prices mean more money in consumers' pockets and higher profits for oil consumers such as airlines, the swift decline in prices unnerves investors and traders. Questions arise as to the robustness of the economy and worldwide demand for oil if the price can lose 1/3rd of its value in a period of less than two months.

When you consider that stock markets trade on future company profit expectations, all of the above worries weigh on prices investors are willing to pay for those future earnings. Companies may start to alert Wall Street that their initially published profit expectations may not be met. So, as a forward looking mechanism, the market starts to price in those worries 6-12 months before companies actually start to report those earnings.

Will Santa Claus Visit Wall Street This Year?

As mentioned above, there are some "green shoots" of hope that a rally may be near:

1. Investor Sentiment has been decimated in this correction. Any number of investor surveys, professional or retail (that's you or me), has shown them to be despondent and sure this bull market is done and over with. In this business, excessive investor pessimism or optimism tends to act as a contrary indicator (when so many are sure the market will do one thing, the market tends to do another).
2.  The markets are oversold in the short-term. When the selling has been as persistent as it has, without much in the way of a rally, the markets tend to reverse and rally up, if only for a day, a week, a month, or two.
3. Seasonality favors a rally. The period from mid-November through the following May tend to be very positive from a market standpoint. I should be clear in mentioning that seasonality has not worked very well at all in 2018 (e.g., August and September are usually down months but were up big this year).
4. We haven't made a new market low in this correction since October 29. With the exception of some technology and NASDAQ stocks/indexes, the overall market has not made any new lows. While this could change when the markets open on Monday morning, the fact that the market didn't push to new lows last week when it had the chance, means that we may be running out of sellers. In addition, some positive technical signs, one in the form of small capitalization stock strength on Friday, bode well for a potential near-term rally.
5. Although an interest rate increase of 0.25% is a 78% certainty in December, it's possible that the federal reserve, when it meets in mid-December will signal a willingness to pull back on it's plan for three interest rate hikes in 2019, given the apparent slow-down in economic growth.
6. Announced today (Sunday), the European Union and the United Kingdom have reached an agreement on Brexit. The removal of that uncertainty can help spark a rally.

So What Do We Do Now?

The weight of the evidence at the moment gives the benefit of doubt to the bears and the evident short-term downtrend. Therefore, caution is still warranted, even if a short-term rally emerges.  Although the odds of a recession over the next 6-9 months remain very low, things can change in a hurry if the global slowdown continues or accelerates downward.

If you haven't sold or trimmed any positions to-date, and you're losing sleep over the market action, then you should take advantage of any rally to reduce your exposure to the markets to the "sleeping point" or add some hedges.  It may be too late to sell right now, or into any further decline, but you should have your own plan for your investments that matches your risk tolerance, investment goals and time-frame. If you're not a client, then I cannot possibly advise you, so this should not be construed as investment advice. Of course, if you would like to become a client, we'd love to talk to you.

For our clients, we lightened up on positions, raised cash and increased our hedges over the past several months as short-term signs pointed towards a bit of over-exuberance to the upside. We have tried dipping our toes lightly into a few positions during this correction, but mostly the market told us we were too early.  Of course, stocks become more attractive as their prices decline, so dipping your toes into this decline is not a bad idea; just be sure you know your time-frame for holding, and be sure to keep it light until the trend changes upward, and the overall market acts as a tailwind rather than a headwind.

While markets are acting bearishly at this time, we remain alert to a switch in trend and hopeful that Santa comes to Wall Street, bringing a robust rally. Remember that a rally always comes around, so if your portfolio is down, there will be better days ahead if you want to buy or sell. Until then, remember that investing in stocks is great...as long as you don't get scared out of them.

If you would like to review your current investment portfolio or discuss any other financial planning matters, please don’t hesitate to contact us or visit our website at http://www.ydfs.com. We are a fee-only fiduciary financial planning firm that always puts your interests first. If you are not a client yet, an initial consultation is complimentary and there is never any pressure or hidden sales pitch. We start with a specific assessment of your personal situation. There is no rush and no cookie-cutter approach. Each client is different, and so is your financial plan and investment objectives.

Second Quarter 2018 YDFS Market Review

I often remind my clients and prospects that judging market performance for periods shorter than a few years, isn’t very helpful. Market returns are simply random over relatively brief periods. However, over longer periods, such as five years, stocks are almost always profitable and offer very good performance. The S&P 500 has finished higher in 91% of the rolling-five-year periods over the last 50 years.

Nonetheless, it's helpful to check back and see how well the markets performed over the past quarter  While the U.S. equity markets suffered a small setback in the first quarter of 2018, the second quarter brought us back into positive territory.

The Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index—the broadest measure of U.S. stocks—finished the quarter up 3.83%, and is now in positive territory for the first half of the year, at +3.04%. The comparable Russell 3000 index is up 3.22% so far this year.

Large cap stocks more than recovered their earlier losses. The Wilshire U.S. Large Cap index gained 3.41% over the past three months, to finish up 2.62% for the first half of the year, while the Russell 1000 large-cap index stands at a 2.85% gain at the year’s halfway point. The widely-quoted S&P 500 index of large company stocks gained 2.93% in value during the year’s second quarter, rallying to a 1.67% gain so far in 2018.

Meanwhile, the Russell Midcap Index is up 2.35% in the first six months of the year.

As measured by the Wilshire U.S. Small-Cap index, investors in smaller companies posted a 7.87% gain over the second three months of the year, and now stand up 7.08% at the half-year mark. The comparable Russell 2000 Small-Cap Index is up 7.66% for the year. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index finished the quarter with a gain of 6.31%, and is now up 8.79% at the halfway point of 2018. Much of the over-performance of the NASDAQ can be attributed to a handful of stocks such as Amazon, Facebook, Google and Neflix.

International stocks are not faring quite so well. The broad-based MSCI EAFE index of companies in developed foreign economies lost 2.34% in the recent quarter, and is now down 4.49% for the year. In aggregate, European stocks were down 2.74% over the last three months, posting an overall loss of 5.23% for the year, while MSCI’s EAFE’s Far East Index lost 3.24% in the second quarter, down 3.33% so far in 2018. Emerging market stocks of less developed countries, as represented by the MSCI EAFE EM index, went into negative territory for the quarter, down 8.66%, for a loss of 7.68% for the year.

Looking over the other investment categories, real estate, as measured by the Wilshire U.S. REIT index, gained 9.73% during the year’s second quarter, and is just eking out a 1.52% gain for the year. The S&P GSCI index, which measures commodities returns, gained 8.00% in the second quarter, up 10.36% for the year, mainly due to the rising price of oil.

In the bond markets, coupon rates on 10-year Treasury bonds have continued an incremental rise to 2.86%, while 30-year government bond yields have risen slightly to 2.99%. Five-year municipal bonds are yielding, on average, 2.00% a year, while 30-year munis are yielding 3.00% on average. Simply put, at present, investing in bonds with a term greater than 10 years is not rewarding you for the many years of interest rate risk you're taking. That may change.

So what’s going on? There appear to be several forces fighting for control over the investment markets. The current bull market started in March of 2009, and seemed to be running out of steam in the first quarter, before a sugar high—the stimulus provided by the recent tax bill—kicked in for companies that have traditionally experienced higher tax rates. This pushed a tired bull market forward for another quarter, and could do the same for the remainder of the year. A fiscal stimulus in the ninth year of an economic expansion is almost unheard of, but it is clearly having a positive effect: economic activity was up nearly 5% in the second quarter, unemployment has continued a downward trend that really started at the beginning of the bull market, and corporate earnings—with the lower corporate taxes factored in—are projected to increase roughly 25% over last year.

The other contestants for control of the economy seem destined to lose this year and possibly start winning in 2019. The Federal Reserve Board has raised short-term interest rates once again, and has announced plans to continue in September, December, next March and next June. Bonds' share of investors' dollars at some point will overtake stocks as government 10 year bond yields reach 4% or more, making it difficult for stocks to levitate at current levels.

Meanwhile, the labor markets are so tight that there are more jobs available than workers to fill them. Won’t this eventually force companies to share their profits in the form of higher salaries? And there are potential problems with the escalating trade war that America has picked with its trading partners that will almost certainly not have a positive impact in the long term.

Bigger picture, the flattening yield curve—where longer-term bonds are closer to yielding what shorter-term instruments are paying—is never regarded as a good sign for an economy’s near-term future. It’s worth noting that the financial sector—that is, lending institutions—was one of the economic sectors to experience a loss. Banks borrow short and lend long, and there isn’t much profit in that activity when the rates are about equal.

Beyond that, in a good year, corporate earnings would grow around 5%, so one could argue that the economy is now experiencing five years of earnings growth. Add these factors to the doddering age of the current bull market, and you have to wonder how long the party can continue. Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring, but everybody knows that bull (up-trending) markets don’t last forever. This may be a good time to mentally and financially prepare for an end to the long bull run, and to hope it ends gracefully. For our clients, we remain cautious bulls and are keeping our hedges in place. The higher volatility we've experienced so far this year shows no sign of waning, and the low-volume summer trading season is the ideal time for market shenanigans to show up.

If you would like to review your current investment portfolio or discuss any other financial planning matters, please don’t hesitate to contact us or visit our website at http://www.ydfs.com. We are a fee-only fiduciary financial planning firm that always puts your interests first. If you are not a client yet, an initial consultation is complimentary and there is never any pressure or hidden sales pitch. We start with a specific assessment of your personal situation. There is no rush and no cookie-cutter approach. Each client is different, and so is your financial plan and investment objectives.

Sources:

Wilshire index data: http://www.wilshire.com/Indexes/calculator/

Russell index data: http://www.ftse.com/products/indices/russell-us

S&P index data: http://www.standardandpoors.com/indices/sp-500/en/us/?indexId=spusa-500-usduf--p-us-l--

Nasdaq index data: http://quotes.morningstar.com/indexquote/quote.html?t=COMP

http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/indices/nasdaq-total-returns.aspx

International indices: https://www.msci.com/end-of-day-data-search

Commodities index data: http://us.spindices.com/index-family/commodities/sp-gsci

Treasury market rates: http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/rates-bonds/government-bonds/us/

Bond rates: http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/rates-bonds/corporate-bonds/

General: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stocks-see-broad-gains-in-the-second-quarter-but-not-without-turbulence-2018-06-29
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/08/gdp-for-second-quarter-on-track-to-double-2018-full-year-pace-of-2017.html

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jobs-report-4th-july-need-know-week-ahead-191630507.html

The MoneyGeek thanks guest writer Bob Veres for his contribution to this post