What About The Traditional 60/40 Portfolio?
with No Comments

In our age-appropriate asset allocation models, we don’t recommend a 60/40 portfolio until you are between age 80 and 87.

Radio: How COVID-19 Changed Real Estate
with No Comments

City real estate will be a little less expensive and suburbs and the countryside will be a little more expensive.

How to Self-Insure for Long-Term Care Health Expenses
with No Comments

If you save this target, your assets have a better chance of seeing you all the way to the end.

Radio: David John Marotta On ‘Real Estate Matters’ with Michael Guthrie
with No Comments

On November 16, 2019, David John Marotta appeared on “Real Estate Matters” with Michael Guthrie.

Stay Invested After Volatile Quarters
with No Comments

This data shows that there is no historical justification for selling to cash during volatile market movements.

Comparison Charts Are Meaningless
with No Comments

They vary in the slope, depth, and duration of the downturn.

#TBT How to Budget for Emergencies: Trip to Hospital
with No Comments

This is the financial shock of a trip to hospital. It is upsetting, expensive, and unexpected.

The Inconsistency of Compliance is Demonstrated by SEC ADV Part 1: Item 8G(1) Soft Dollar Benefits
with No Comments

Identical firms answer questions like these differently making the resulting data meaningless and useless. If anyone wants to use this data, the SEC will need to standardize answers first. If no one wants to use this data, we should eliminate the burden of providing it.

#TBT Give Generously During Hard Times
with No Comments

This 2008 article has wisdom for our current downturn, “As a response to the recent market correction, you can enrich your life in three healthy ways: Cut back your spending, increase your savings, and give more generously to charities of your choice.”

Seven States Sue The SEC To Vacate Regulation ‘Best Interest’
with No Comments

At stake is if the SEC is allowed to redefine what the phrase “best interest” means to make it mean something less than your actual real-world best interests.

Radio: The Markets in June 2020
with No Comments

On Tuesday, June 9, 2020, David John Marotta appeared on Radio 1070 WINA’s Schilling Show with Rob Schilling to talk about the markets.

Radio: A Discussion on Welfare Hypocrisy
with No Comments

On Tuesday, May 12, 2020, David John Marotta appeared on Radio 1070 WINA’s Schilling Show with Rob Schilling to refute the hypocrisy of taking a tax credit while opposing the legislation.

Should I Change My Strategy During the Presidential Election Cycle?
with No Comments

Should investors get out of the markets during an election year?

Should I Take Everything Out Because the Markets are Recovering?
with No Comments

Dare to be dull. When you rebalance instead of following the crowd, you set yourself up for greater expected returns and are the definition of being a contrarian.

False Prophets Claim to Have Accurately Predicted Each Crisis
with No Comments

Already the COVID-19 predictions have started to come in. Do not be deceived by them. Do not be afraid of them.

The Stock-Bond Shuffle of Asset Location
with No Comments

Oddly, this technique might involve selling a bond position in the taxable account for a small capital gain, and buying that exact same position in an IRA in order to keep the portfolio in balance.

How To Spend: Purchase In Season
with No Comments

When I was really young, I did not realize that food had a season. What a privilege of our modern era!

Did Gold Do Better Than The Markets? (2020)
with No Comments

Gold is extremely volatile and still doesn’t do much more than vaguely keep up with inflation. You can do better.

You Deserve More Than Investment Management and a Retirement Plan
with No Comments

We strive to provide the necessary resources for anyone to prepare their own investment plan and meet their financial objectives for free on our blog, but we offer more services than that to our clients.

Energy Stocks Have Been Disappointing Recently (April 2020)
with No Comments

Diversification means always having something to complain about. Recently, it has been energy.

Harry Dent Has Another Prediction; Should I Follow His Advice?
with No Comments

We would suggest not listening to Dent’s commentary.

Remembering The 2008 Crash as a Financial Planner
with No Comments

Sometimes, you don’t get a second chance to be brave.

#TBT Safety Second
with No Comments

In 2013, we went whitewater rafting on the American River in California. Our guide’s speech inspired this powerful thought piece about disaster recovery that has a message for today.

#TBT Lessons from the Crash of 2007-2008
with No Comments

Think we’re headed to another financial crash? Take a minute to learn from our last one.

The Dot Com Bubble: The Bear Market of 2001
with No Comments

Diversification is important. Diversification did not eliminate losses, but it did lose less and recover more quickly.

Stock Buybacks Have Exceeded Fund Flows. So What?
with No Comments

This disappointment with good stock market returns explains their need to criticize stock buybacks.

‘You Make Most Of Your Money In A Bear Market; You Just Don’t Realize It At The Time’
with No Comments

You don’t have to time the market to make money in the market. In fact, timing the market is usually a losers game as the market often pushes your emotions to do exactly the wrong thing.

The Lower The Market Falls The More Important It Is To Stay Invested
with No Comments

A recovery after a significant downturn in the markets is often market by steep growth.

Is ‘Sell The Bounce’ A Good Investing Strategy?
with No Comments

“Sell the bounce” is never a good strategy because of the first word.

13 Financial Actions to Consider During Market Downturns Like This
with No Comments

Market returns are out of your control. These thirteen actions are in your control.

#TBT Revisiting 2008 When The Markets Were Dropping
with No Comments

In retrospect, it is clear that it was a good time to rebalance your portfolio, selling some of the bonds that you were so glad you had and buying more of the very stocks you were so worried about.

How Can I Sleep at Night with My Assets in the Stock Market?
with No Comments

There are two critically important investment principles during retirement: 1) Stay calm and 2) Rebalance.

When Will The Markets Stop Dropping in 2020?
with No Comments

For many investors glued to the news, the global outlook appears to be perilous with no prospects of growth for the world economy.

Radio: Financial Peace in Days of Volatility
with No Comments

As the stock market trends upward, this dip in market prices can be perceived as stocks being discounted and is likely a great time to buy low.

#TBT A Short History Of Wall Street
with No Comments

Only recently has Main Street been so fully invested. This 2007 article chronicles how it all got started.

Don’t Let Politics Make You Afraid of Investing
with No Comments

Don’t let your political emotions cause you to be fearful about the economy. Those misplaced fears may impoverish your financial well-being.

#TBT Realize Some Capital Gains Each Year To Keep Taxes Low
with No Comments

There are at least four different capital gains tax rates. This 2017 article has how to minimize your tax owed at each one.

Financial Planning for Success and Significance in Retirement (LIFE007)
with No Comments

The class will be held March 19 through April 2, 2020 each Thursday from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM at Homewood Suites in the Albemarle Room.

The Price of Listening to Dire Predictions
with No Comments

We do not try to time the markets and instead we believe it is always a good time to have a balanced portfolio.

Marotta’s 2020 Gone-Fishing Portfolio Calculators for Schwab, Fidelity, eTrade, and TD Ameritrade
with No Comments

In 2019, several custodians switched to have no transaction fees for exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Looking Backward On Socialism: Socialism Is Intolerant
with No Comments

The space of disagreement between tolerance and intolerance is often lost in the socialist perspective.

An Overview of Marotta’s 2020 Gone-Fishing Portfolios
with No Comments

A gone-fishing portfolio is a portfolio of just a few stocks which should weather the ups and downs of the market fairly well while only rebalancing twice a year.

Marotta’s 2020 Gone-Fishing Portfolio Calculator
with No Comments

This gone-fishing portfolio is our default portfolio which can be used at any custodian.

Marotta’s 2020 Vanguard Gone-Fishing Portfolio Calculator
with No Comments

We recommend this gone fishing portfolio for accounts hosted at Vanguard.

#BestOf2019 – An Overview of Marotta’s 2019 Gone-Fishing Portfolios
with No Comments

Our gone-fishing portfolios are used by thousands of people, so it makes sense the article about it would be among our most popular of 2019. Our 2020 gone-fishing portfolios will come out in February.

Longest Economic Expansion In United States History
with No Comments

A long expansion is nothing to fear.

To What Benchmark Should I Compare My 2019 Returns?
with No Comments

Use the following table to look up the 2019 blended index to benchmark your returns.

Inverted Yield Curve Uninverted Without Recession
with No Comments

Investors hurt their finances more by missing out than they do by staying in.

1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40

Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter!