September 8, 2023 by David Maddux, CEO | CIO We sent the following note to clients on September 1st. 20 Months And Counting, But Bonds Look Great The longer I invest in liquid markets the more I appreciate how dynamic they can be. As last year was coming to a close, stock prices were attempting
April 25, 2023 by Heidi Ellingson, Executive Assistant | Marketing Coordinator Where Did All My Money Go? I think we’ve all asked that of ourselves. If you’re like most people, you think of making a budget as a way to force us to control our spending (and ourselves). In all reality, it can help you
February 3, 2023 by David Maddux, CEO | CIO We sent the following note to clients on January 25th. Higher Interest Rates Are a Good Thing My note this time last year was “This Is Not Normal,” in which I shared a variety of anecdotes that the environment had gotten frothy and complacent with abnormal
January 30, 2023 by Barry Brindise, Financial Planning Director Tax Loss Harvesting When it comes to investing in any type of asset, experiencing losses can be very frustrating. However, there is an investing strategy called, “Tax Loss Harvesting” or “Tax Loss Selling,” which can be used to take those losses and use them to offset
January 30, 2023 by Barry Brindise, Financial Planning Director Yield to Maturity (YTM) and How to Think About Fixed Income Returns At Brightwater Advisory, our process invests client resources in a diversified portfolio of assets. Depending on each client’s needs, an investment plan will reflect an allocation between growth assets like stocks and exchange traded
November 8, 2022 by Barry Brindise, Financial Planning Director, Brightwater Advisory Roth Conversions in Retirement Planning Retirement accounts come in many shapes. Beyond plans offered by employers to their employees, the ”Traditional Individual Retirement Arrangement” (Traditional IRA) is a very popular savings tool for workers with earned income. For those without an employer plan, the
September 20. 2022 by Barry Brindise, Financial Planning Director, Brightwater Advisory Series I-bonds: The Good: Series I bonds are an alternative to TIPS that are worth consideration when seeking a higher rate of return than, for example, short term treasuries, etc. There are two components to the bonds rate of return, the “fixed piece” has
June 28, 2022 We sent the following note to clients on June 17th. Stocks* are down since the beginning of the year (another 6% since my note in early May to put their decline from their peak at 23%, which is the average selloff for US stocks over time in non-recessionary environments, Ned Davis Research),
May 25, 2022 We sent the following note to clients on May 9th. The mood around stocks throughout 2021 seemed to be “comfortable” and seems to have shifted to a mixture between “nervous” and “hopeful.” Whether we need to go through a “desperation” phase or not remains to be seen. The two main pieces
January 24, 2022 I hope this letter finds you well. As I write to you, I am reflecting on how dramatically the world seems to have changed in just the first three weeks of 2022. Conversations seem to have shifted away from Covid and are centering more now on the increased prices we are
September 8, 2023 by David Maddux, CEO | CIO We sent the following note to clients on September 1st. 20 Months And Counting, But Bonds Look Great The longer I invest in liquid markets the more I appreciate how dynamic they can be. As last year was coming to a close, stock prices were attempting a recovery from their late summer lows and the consistent, conventional thinking was that we were barreling into a recession that was virtually guaranteed to begin
April 25, 2023 by Heidi Ellingson, Executive Assistant | Marketing Coordinator Where Did All My Money Go? I think we’ve all asked that of ourselves. If you’re like most people, you think of making a budget as a way to force us to control our spending (and ourselves). In all reality, it can help you see the light at the end of the tunnel and bring you peace of mind. It could also help get you out of debt… or keep
February 3, 2023 by David Maddux, CEO | CIO We sent the following note to clients on January 25th. Higher Interest Rates Are a Good Thing My note this time last year was “This Is Not Normal,” in which I shared a variety of anecdotes that the environment had gotten frothy and complacent with abnormal risky behavior. The shine has come off quicker than I would have thought, as nosebleed territory priced stocks have cascaded lower. For example, the largest 100
January 30, 2023 by Barry Brindise, Financial Planning Director Tax Loss Harvesting When it comes to investing in any type of asset, experiencing losses can be very frustrating. However, there is an investing strategy called, “Tax Loss Harvesting” or “Tax Loss Selling,” which can be used to take those losses and use them to offset other gains in your portfolio and thus reduce your overall tax liability (all while maintaining the target asset allocation). Tax Loss Harvesting can also be used
January 30, 2023 by Barry Brindise, Financial Planning Director Yield to Maturity (YTM) and How to Think About Fixed Income Returns At Brightwater Advisory, our process invests client resources in a diversified portfolio of assets. Depending on each client’s needs, an investment plan will reflect an allocation between growth assets like stocks and exchange traded funds and fixed income instruments like bonds and CDs. This summary focuses on the fixed income side of the portfolio and describes how investment returns for
November 8, 2022 by Barry Brindise, Financial Planning Director, Brightwater Advisory Roth Conversions in Retirement Planning Retirement accounts come in many shapes. Beyond plans offered by employers to their employees, the ”Traditional Individual Retirement Arrangement” (Traditional IRA) is a very popular savings tool for workers with earned income. For those without an employer plan, the Traditional IRA may be their primary retirement savings tool. These plans were established by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). In order to
September 20. 2022 by Barry Brindise, Financial Planning Director, Brightwater Advisory Series I-bonds: The Good: Series I bonds are an alternative to TIPS that are worth consideration when seeking a higher rate of return than, for example, short term treasuries, etc. There are two components to the bonds rate of return, the “fixed piece” has recently been 0% (still 0% at 6/28/22) and then the “semi-annual inflation component” comes on top of that each year in May and November. The current
June 28, 2022 We sent the following note to clients on June 17th. Stocks* are down since the beginning of the year (another 6% since my note in early May to put their decline from their peak at 23%, which is the average selloff for US stocks over time in non-recessionary environments, Ned Davis Research), but the primary market news is that interest rates are up substantially. Interest rates are still low by historical standards, but in October a 5-year US
May 25, 2022 We sent the following note to clients on May 9th. The mood around stocks throughout 2021 seemed to be “comfortable” and seems to have shifted to a mixture between “nervous” and “hopeful.” Whether we need to go through a “desperation” phase or not remains to be seen. The two main pieces that seem to be affecting the mood are Ukraine and declining stock prices. It is the combination of the two that can make it easy to
January 24, 2022 I hope this letter finds you well. As I write to you, I am reflecting on how dramatically the world seems to have changed in just the first three weeks of 2022. Conversations seem to have shifted away from Covid and are centering more now on the increased prices we are paying at the store and gas pump and whether or not Russia will invade Eastern Europe. Thankfully, the Omicron variant seems to be less virulent but
