The stock market has been very generous to investors since the recession of 2008. Over the past 15 years the S&P 500 large cap index rose 13.9% on average each year (source: Morningstar). The same, however, cannot be said for smaller company stocks. The Russell 2000, a popular small cap stock index, grew only 10.4%…
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A long time ago before the inception of email and the Internet, some investment advisors made a living selling investment books and/or newsletters. There are still plenty of investment authors and books around today, but the newsletters have given way to investment emails, web sites, podcasts, and TV pundits hawking everything from stocks and cryptocurrencies…
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Every year since 2011 the Gallup Poll canvasses Americans about their personal finances. The most recent survey was completed in April. The findings reveal how we collectively feel about the various types of investments we have access to, as well as some interesting demographic differences. What do we think is the best investment? Real estate,…
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You probably hadn’t noticed it but the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) just shortened the trading settlement period for securities. As of May 28, 2024 all U.S. securities must settle within one day. What does this mean and how will it affect you? Whenever you buy or sell a stock, bond, mutual fund, or other…
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That’s the title of an article that I wrote back in 2020 (https://www.cognizantwealth.com/2020/07/22/is-the-stock-market-overly-concentrated-today/) when the market capitalization of the top ten stocks in the overall U.S. stock market topped 20% (30% of the S&P 500 index). Today the contribution of the top ten stocks has climbed to 32% of the S&P 500’s market cap. The…
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