Hey Peoria! Let's Talk Money

What are stock splits? Why would a company want to split their stock? Did you know you can now by fractional shares of a company? In this episode of Making Finance Fun, I talk about what a stock split is and why companies do them. I also touch on Apple and Tesla’s upcoming stock splits and what could happen in the aftermath. Lastly, I refute some common misconceptions about stock splits. If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about stock splits, this is a can’t-miss episode. 

• [4:48] What is a stock split?
• [7:26] WHY do companies split their stock?
• [10:48] Buying fractional shares of a stock
• [14:05] Apple’s upcoming stock split
• [17:02] The Tesla stock split
• [17:39] Misconceptions about stock splits

According to Investopedia, a stock split is: “A decision by a company's board of directors to increase the number of shares that are outstanding by issuing more shares to current shareholders.” The share price is reduced in conjunction with the number of shares increasing.

For example, if you’ve got a company that’s trading at $200 a share and they do a 2-for-1 split, it will go down to $100 a share. A 3-to-1 split will go down to $66 a share. But it’s a net-zero event when it happens. Why? If you’ve got $10,000 worth of stock before a split, you still have $10,000 worth. It’s just more shares at a lower price. 

Apple has been trading around $500 a share. Because it’s so high, it can be a deterrent to purchase the stock and it might scare some investors away. So there are two reasons I see why a stock might split. 

1. A company's Board of Directors wants to make the sure price more attractive to regular everyday investors. 
2. The second reason is that it increases the number of shares that are eligible to be traded, which increases liquidity. In the case of a 2-for-1 stock split—the number of shares outstanding doubles.

People like to buy stocks because they’re liquid and fairly easy to sell—unlike, say, a house. Even if you sell your house the same day you list it, you still have to wait for the deal to close. They’re an illiquid investment.

How could buying fractional shares of a stock change the split game? Keep listening to hear my take. 

Apple announced a 4-to-1 stock split that will take place—or took place, depending on when you’re reading this—on August 31st, 2020. According to 9to5 Mac, “Apple has split its shares four times in its history, with the value of those shares typically rising by an average of 10.4% in the year following the split, eToro said.”

Apple split in 2014 and 1 year later, the stock was up 36%. But when Apple split in 2000, its stock was down 61% the following year (which could have been impacted by the Dot-com Bubble). Of course, we don’t know what will happen this go-around. 

In this study, eToro analyzed 60 years of data and found that—on average—companies that split their stock saw share prices surge by a ⅓ in the 12 months after the split. Averages can be deceiving, so I advise you to be careful. 

What do I think about the Tesla stock split? They’ve NEVER split before, so no one knows what will happen. However, by the time this episode airs, it will be after the 5-to-1 split that happened on August 28th. So I guess we wait and see!

What are the common misconceptions I hear about stock splits?

• Misconception #1: The stock is going to explode after the split. “MegaBrands” often see share growth within the year after a split. Apple averages over 10% in the year following a split. But there is no guarantee that stocks will go up after a split. 
• Misconception #2: I should buy after the split. Whether you invest in the stock before or after the split, you’re still investing the same amount of money. Instead, you should focus on WHY you’re buying the stock in the first place. 
• Misconception #3: They just want to buy their own stock back at a cheaper price. Maybe? But that isn’t usually why companies do stock splits. 

A stock goes up when more people buy it then sell it on a given day. A stock price goes down because more people are selling than buying. If this keeps occurring, the performance could suffer. If it occurs because a stock price is too high, splitting the stock is an easy fix to protect their shareholders. To hear the full details about stock splits, be sure to listen to the whole episode! 

• Understanding Stock Splits
• Apple’s Stock Split
• Tesla Stock Split
• eToro

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What is whole life insurance? Should you invest outside of a work-funded retirement plan? How will the election influence the stock market? The questions have been rolling in! So in this episode of Making Finance Fun, I finally give you some answers. If these are some of the questions that have been on your mind—give it a listen!

• [0:52] A listener Q&A Show
• [4:11] Question #1: What do you think about whole life insurance?
• [16:25] Question #2: Should I invest outside my retirement plan at work?
• [18:53] Question #3: When is Apple stock going to split?
• [24:55] Question #4: Are we going to get another round of stimulus checks?
• [27:09] Question #5: How will the election influence the stock market? 
• [29:49] Question #6: My *Certain to be wrong* predictions

What is whole life insurance? According to Investopedia, “Whole life insurance provides coverage for the life of the insured. In addition to paying a death benefit, whole life insurance also contains a savings component in which cash value may accumulate. These policies are also known as “permanent” or “traditional” life insurance.” 

To restate the obvious: Life insurance is an insurance policy on your life. You take out life insurance to take care of dependents or family members who depend on your income to survive. If you pass away, a sum of money would be disbursed to those people.

With whole life insurance, you have to keep the premium payments going and it is designed to last your entire life. Whereas term life insurance policy is designed for a length of 5, 10, 15 years, etc. Let’s define some important terms: 

• Cash Value: This is the money you pay into life insurance. It is similar to a savings account. If you pay $100 a month for the policy, part of it goes into “savings.” It will earn interest and grow. You can also take a loan against your cash value, which is used as collateral. 
• Death benefit: This is the amount of money that goes to someone if you die.

My opinion is that whole life insurance is an expensive life insurance policy. The premiums are higher than term life policies. On the flip-side, once a term life insurance policy terms, it’s gone. So a whole life insurance policy could be a good idea in some situations—but it depends on your circumstances.

The one benefit is that it does act as a savings account for you that can be invested and used in retirement as income. They’re sold as an investment vehicle. In my opinion—it’s not necessarily the best vehicle to save for retirement. To hear question #2—and my answer—keep listening! 

As of August 31st, Apple stock is going to do a 4-for-1 stock split. But what is a stock split? A stock split is “When a company divides the existing shares of its stock into multiple new shares to boost the stock's liquidity. Although the number of shares outstanding increases by a specific multiple, the total dollar value of the shares remains the same compared to pre-split amounts, because the split does not add any real value.”

For every share you have, you’ll get four. So each share—according to today’s value—will go from $450 down to $112 a share. Technically speaking, the split doesn’t add any real value. There is no immediate value added to the stock itself. If you want to invest $10,000 in Apple before the split, you’re still investing the same amount. You just get more shares. However, if you’re planning to hold stock for a long time, a split can benefit you. 

Why do companies split their stock? To lower the trading price of the stock and increase liquidity. People are simply more comfortable buying stock at a lower price per share. Up until recently, you had to buy a whole share of a stock. Some institutions now allow you to purchase a fraction of a share. Keep listening as I answer questions about how the election will influence the market and share my thoughts on another round of stimulus checks

Just for fun—because this podcast is all about making finance fun—I’m going to throw out some stock predictions. Please note this is NOT actionable advice, just my thoughts on what the market could do—and likely 100% wrong.

• The Dow Jones is currently around 28,000. My prediction is...
• Apple is currently around $460 a share. My prediction is...

• Caterpillar stock is at $141 today and my prediction is...
• RLI stock is at $89 a share and my prediction is....
• Tesla stock is at $1,650 as of the date of recording and my prediction is...
• Amazon stock is at $3,200 a share and my prediction is...
• Disney stock is at $131 per share and my prediction is...

I’ll track these predictions throughout the rest of the year and see where we land in 2021. What do you think these stocks will do? Let me know—I’d love to hear your thoughts! 

• Whole Life Insurance
• What a Stock Split is
• The Apple Stock Split

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• On Twitter: @AnxiousAdvisor
• On LinkedIn

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What is a stock? What are the main types of stock? How can you buy stock? If you’re new to the world of investing—or simply want a refresher on industry terminology—listen to this episode of Making Finance Fun. Beginners and savvy investors alike can all benefit from getting back to the basics!

• [2:24] What is a stock?
• [4:59] What are the two types of stock?
• [10:50] How can you own stock?

According to Investopedia, “A stock is a security that represents the ownership of a fraction of a corporation.” NerdWallet defines stock as “A type of investment that represents an ownership share in a company.” I prefer the latter definition. Basically, a stock is a fractional ownership share of an organization. 

If you want to own a small piece of Caterpillar, it will cost you around $140. A share of RLI will cost you $90. Simply put: when you buy a stock, you’re buying a fractional ownership share of whatever company you decide to buy into.

Everyone thinks of publicly traded companies when they think of stock, but a stock can be a piece of a public OR private company. Theoretically, a small business can sell shares of their business (though most don’t). 

There are two types of stock: There is common stock and there is preferred stock. There are pros and cons to each. What are the main differences?

According to The Balance, preferred stock owners “Do not have voting rights, but they do receive set dividends…” The main reason that people buy preferred stock is for the dividend. You may—it’s never guaranteed—get a higher dividend than if you had purchased common stock of the same company. It’s also more thinly traded, meaning you don’t typically see day-to-day stock swings. 

On the flip side, according to Investopedia, “Common stock usually entitles the owner to vote at shareholders' meetings and to receive any dividends paid out by the corporation. Preferred stockholders generally do not have voting rights, though they have a higher claim on assets and earnings than the common stockholders.”

The biggest difference between common stock and preferred stock? Those who own shares of preferred stock receive dividends before common shareholders. If the company goes bankrupt and is liquidated, preferred stockholders get paid back first. The common stockholder may or may not get anything at all. 

Generally speaking, if a company wants to change its name, change its CEO, or change its board members they need to get stockholder approval. You as a common shareholder get to vote on it—preferred stockholders don’t get a say.

What about taxes? What do they look like for each type? Listen to find out!

What are your options for buying a stock? Here are the most common ways:

1. The first way you can own stock is to buy individual stocks or equities. You can just go on a platform and buy the stock directly in the marketplace. 
2. The second way is more indirect—through mutual funds. They’re just a collection of investments and most own stocks. Rather than own one stock, you own a small portion of a collection of different stocks. 
3. You can also own stocks by purchasing ETFs. 
4. You can own stock inside your 401k or IRA. Most 401ks’ typically only allow you to own mutual funds or ETFs versus individual stocks.

• What is Common Stock?
• Investopedia’s definition of a stock
• NerdWallet on Stock

• Website
• On Twitter: @AnxiousAdvisor
• On LinkedIn

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There are four main types of ETFs: passive, active, factor, and sector. In 2019—According to this article—there were 6,970 ETFs globally. With so many options to choose from, how do you determine which fits your investment mix? Or if you want to invest in an ETF at all? In this episode of Making Finance Fun, I explain the four different types of ETFs to give you the information you need to accomplish what you want with your investments.

• [1:28] The 4 main types of ETFS
• [2:06] Passive ETFs
• [5:38] Active ETFs
• [9:24] Single and multifactor ETFs
• [16:02] Sector ETFs

According to Investopedia, a Passive ETF is a vehicle to track an entire index or sector with a single security. What does that mean for you? It simply tracks an index. Single security is just a fancy term for an investment. A passive ETF is simply trying to get the same performance as some sort of index. With one purchase you can get roughly the same performance.

For example, the Dow Jones is comprised of 30 large US-based companies. So rather than trying to buy equal amounts of all 30 you can buy an ETF that tracks the Dow Jones. As the types of ETFs go, these will generally be the cheapest ETFs you will find to own and you’ll likely see a market-like performance. 

So what are Actively Managed ETFs? These types of ETFs have a manager or team making decisions on the underlying portfolio allocation, otherwise not adhering to a passive investment strategy. Generally speaking, they may be trying to beat the S&P 500. An actively managed ETF will likely be more expensive than a passive ETF as far as investment fees and expense ratios go. Why?

Let me explain—let’s say the investment group is buying Coke and they're selling Pepsi on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. The reason an active ETF is more expensive is because it consists of a team of people making investment decisions on an ongoing basis. You've essentially hired people to do something for you—not just copy an index. So they’re the exact opposite of a passive fund.

A Factor ETF takes a factor from an index and makes an ETF out of it. For example, they might take the S&P 500 and create an ETF of only the companies that pay dividends (the dividend would be the factor). A factor ETF could choose to extract the companies with the highest dividend amount in terms of dollar amount or yield. So a single factor ETF chooses companies from an index based on ONE factor—whether it be by dividend, the largest companies, growth rate, etc. After they’re chosen, they’re more passively managed. 

A multifactor ETF is simply an ETF that’s created from two or more factors. For example, the ETF could be composed of the companies with the highest dividends AND the largest annual growth. Let’s use Vanguard as an example: Vanguard has a Mega Cap ETF that is a single factor ETF. Vanguard also has a multifactor ETF—the Mega Cap Value ETF. To hear more specific examples and explanations about these two types of ETFs, make sure you listen!

The fourth type of ETF is a Sector ETF (what I prefer to refer to as a specific ETF). According to Investopedia, these types of ETFs invest in the stocks and securities of a specific industry or sector, typically identified in the fund title. Examples might be Pepsi, Coke, Proctor & Gamble, Walmart, Costco, etc. They can be referred to as consumer staple companies. So the ETF consists of a company or companies that sell consumer staples. With these types of ETFs, you get a little bit better exposure and diversification versus simply purchasing the stock itself.

Ultimately, the types of ETFs you choose to buy—or don’t buy—depends on what you’re looking for. If you want something more affordable, you can choose a passively managed ETF. If you want to invest in very specific companies or industries, a factor ETF may be the way to go. Hopefully, I’ve explained each of the types of ETFs so you have a better understanding of what will work the best for you and your investment portfolio. Listen to the whole episode for ALL the details! 

• SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust
• Vanguard Mega Cap Value ETF
• iShares MSCI Brazil ETF
• The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR® Fund
• The Number of Exchange Traded Funds Worldwide

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Recently, the North Central region of Illinois advanced into Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois coronavirus response package put together by JB Pritzker. Indoor dining has resumed (on a limited basis), as has the ability for movie theaters to resume operations. 

Phase 4 is entitled "Revitalization." While face coverings are still to remain the norm in this phase, we have begun to "reopen."

What does this mean for our local economy here in Peoria IL? If you are a small business owner, what are the challenges and opportunities now?

In this episode, I discuss a little bit about how The Restore Illinois Phase 4 will impact the economy in Central Illinois. 

Connect With Rockie

• Website
• Twitter : @AnxiousAdvisor
• LinkedIn 

Sources Mentioned

https://coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/restore-illinois-phase-4

https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-cb-coronavirus-illinois-phase-4-guide-20200622-5brcl4dphrg25dzoqzu5jicwd4-story.html

https://www.google.com/search?q=illinois+phase+4&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS859US859&sxsrf=ALeKk013QWbiIbjH6pTSQY34U6Az9PHbPw:1594390192977&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiqnteo7sLqAhWEX80KHdfQBcMQ_AUoAnoECAsQBA&biw=1920&bih=937#imgrc=zCuJsyX6ij3rXM

What is a cash balance pension plan? What do you do with a cash balance pension plan? How is money contributed and how is it dispersed when you retire? In this episode of Making Finance Fun, I answer some frequently asked questions about this specific type of pension plan. If you work at the Hallmark Cards Inc. facility in Metamora, IL—this episode is for you! 

• [1:30] Just what is a cash balance pension plan? 
• [2:47] What does all this mean?
• [3:54] What makes cash balance pension plans unique? 
• [8:21] The pros + cons of monthly payments
• [9:58] The pros + cons of the lump sum option
• [11:17] What does your final decision come down to?

According to Investopedia, A cash balance pension plan is: “A pension plan with the option of a lifetime annuity. For a cash balance plan, the employer credits a participant's account with a set percentage of their yearly compensation plus interest charges.” They also note that changes in the portfolio will not affect the benefits received by the participant when they retire or are terminated. 

So what does all this mean? There are generally two types of benefit plans: There is a defined contribution plan such as a 401k or 403B where you’re the one contributing the money and your employer may or may not match it. This is what most people are familiar with. Then there are defined benefit plans, where you have upon retirement a specific defined benefit dispersed monthly or in a lump sum. The second category is where a cash balance pension plan lands. 

The biggest difference about a cash balance pension plan is that you—the employee—are not contributing money into the plan. Another difference is that each participant has their own account vs. one large pension that’s dispersed among all participants. The employer contributes a specified amount each year, typically a percentage of their yearly compensation (i.e. it could be 5%). There will also be an interest credit that will be applied. These types of plans also give you two choices for disbursement of the funds once you retire or are receiving a severance package. 

The first option for the disbursement of a cash balance pension plan is monthly payments. Commonly, you are offering a guaranteed monthly payment of a specified amount until the day you die. You may also have the option of choosing how the amount is distributed—such as split between you and a spouse, a higher monthly amount for 10 years, etc. At this time, I’ve only seen this for Hallmark Cards Inc. employees.

So how do you decide if this is the right option for you? Think about your monthly expenses during your retirement. Do you need an extra dollar amount per month? Will your social security be enough to cover your expenses? Or you just haven’t saved enough? The monthly payments may be the route to take if you NEED the guaranteed payments. What are the possible disadvantages of this option? What happens to the money if you pass away? Listen to find out!

The second option for the disbursement of a cash balance pension plan is taking the money in one lump sum. The biggest advantage is that you can take that lump sum and do whatever you want with it. You can roll it into an IRA, you can use it to pay off debt, or even towards vacations. The bottom line is you can spend it however you like. The downside is that there aren’t a lot of investments that can guarantee you a monthly payment for the rest of your life that the first option offers. You’ll also likely be charged taxes on the lump sum. 

So what does it boil down to? Really, it’s what is most important to you. It’s a highly personal decision. If you’d prefer a lump sum to do with as you please then go that route. If you would like a guaranteed monthly payment for life to help with necessities then that’s a great option as well. 

If you participate in a cash balance pension plan—such as Hallmark Cards Inc. employees—I highly recommend connecting with a certified financial planner (even if it isn’t me) with experience with these plans. What you decide is a choice that will impact the rest of your financial future, so you want to choose wisely. A financial planner can help. If you have more questions, feel free to reach out!

• What is a Cash Balance Pension Plan?
• The Department of Labor on Cash Balance Pension Plans

• Website
• On Twitter: @AnxiousAdvisor
• On LinkedIn

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What is the difference between a mutual fund and an ETF? Which should you buy—a mutual fund or an ETF? What are the deciding factors? In this episode of Making Finance Fun, I take a deep dive into mutual funds and ETFs. I’ll define the two terms, talk about FOUR key differences, and even give you a glimpse into the book I wrote: Mutual Funds Are So 1999: How & Why ETFs Have Disrupted the Trillion Dollar Mutual Fund Industry.If you’ve thought about investing in mutual funds or ETFs, don’t miss this episode!

***Put Buttons Above DATE in final post***

• [1:54] The definition of a mutual Fund and ETF
• [3:40] How are mutual funds and ETFs similar?
• [6:52] The FOUR key differences
• [7:30] Difference #1: Fees/expense ratio
• [13:52] Difference #2: Management style + performance
• [19:54] Difference #3: Buying and selling ETFs/mutual funds
• [25:19] Difference #4: Which is more tax efficient? 
• [30:10] Which to buy: Mutual funds or ETFs?

According to Investopedia, an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is: “A type of security that involves a collection of securities—such as stocks—that often tracks an underlying index, although they can invest in any number of industry sectors or use various strategies.”

A mutual fund is: “A type of financial vehicle made up of a pool of money collected from many investors to invest in securities like stocks, bonds, money market instruments, and other assets. A mutual fund's portfolio is structured and maintained to match the investment objectives stated in its prospectus.”

The long and short of it is this: Both mutual funds and ETFs are a group of investments with a collective purpose. 

Nearly every single mutual fund has some sort of fee involved in it somehow. The associated fee (or expense ratio) differs between whether or not your mutual fund or ETF is actively managed or passively managed. Actively managed simply means that a manager(s) buys and sells on a daily, weekly, monthly basis on your behalf. Passively managed means that the mutual fund or ETF is following a benchmark they’re associated with (Dow Jones, S&P 500, NASDAQ, etc.). 

On average, an actively managed mutual fund charges 1.09% annually. A passive mutual fund charges an average rate of 0.79%. On the flip side, a passively managed ETF costs roughly 0.57% annually versus 0.6% for an actively managed ETF. The cost differences make sense—after all, if someone is actively managing the group of investments, they have to get paid.

Hypothetically speaking, the running theory is that if you pay more, you should do better. Right? So I did some digging and took a look at the SPIVA US scorecard, which attempts to look at performance differences between actively managed funds and passively managed funds.

According to this report, 70% of domestic stock funds lagged the S&P Composite 1500 making for the 4th worst performance since 2001. Actively managed funds did NOT have a good year last year. Looking over the performance for 15 years, less than 10% of actively managed funds beat the S&P 500. 

Keep listening as I dissect the numbers and share how different sectors performed in actively and passively managed mutual funds and ETFs. 

I’ll cover this briefly, but if you want an in-depth look at how these are bought and sold, be sure to check out my book!

An ETF trades throughout the day on an exchange (trading platform) just like a stock. You can buy an ETF at 10:30 and sell it at 10:45. You’ll know what share price you’re buying and selling it for. You can also set a limit order so that your ETFs sell at a minimum amount (if the value is dropping) or a maximum amount (if the stock is rising). 

It is NOT the same with a mutual fund. You’re buying directly from and selling to the mutual fund company. A mutual fund doesn’t sell instantly and you don’t know what price you’re selling at. Typically, you don’t know the price you’re getting until after the stock market has closed. You cannot set limit orders with mutual funds. When you sell them, you choose the number you’re selling and hope for the best. 

When mutual funds sell investments, any profits are passed on to the funds’ shareholders via capital gains distributions. If you have an actively managed fund you will probably pay capital gains taxes on it most years (though it is a little different with a Roth IRA or qualified accounts).

Capital gains are unlikely with ETFs due to how they’re constructed and traded. In this episode, I share THREE different examples going back 10-15 years where ETFs have NOT made capital gains. Passively managed ETFs are the most tax-efficient of mutual funds and ETFs. 

So how do you decide which one to buy? The bottom line is this: it depends on what you’re trying to accomplish, what type of account you have, your risk tolerance, and the goals of the investment. Do your research and make the best choice for you. Reach out to your financial advisor—or myself—if you have any questions. 

If you want to learn why I believe the ETF structure is superior to the mutual fund structure, check out my book: Mutual Funds Are So 1999: How & Why ETFs Have Disrupted the Trillion Dollar Mutual Fund.

• BOOK: Mutual Funds Are So 1999
• Dividend Distributions
• What is an ETF?
• What is a Mutual Fund?
• SPIVA U.S. Scorecard
• Difference between ETFs and Mutual Funds

• Website
• On Twitter: @AnxiousAdvisor
• On LinkedIn

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On today's episode, we get to know Amanda LeQuia a little bit  better. Among other things, she is the Operations Manager at my firm RP Zeigler Investments, the Operations Manager at The Pizza Peel, a military fiance, and just flat out a great person to be around. 

We dive into such topics as her upcoming wedding this fall, her job duties here at the firm and at the Pizza Peel, her current obsession with candles, favorite movies, guilty pleasures, hobbies and much more. 

"I'm an open book," as she likes to say, and all of you listeners out there will get a peek into her life on this episode. 

Amanda LeQuia everybody......

Find out more at:

https://rpzeigler.com/about-the-firm/team-members

Has the stock market reached a point of stabilization? Are the volatile swings up or down beginning to equalize? In this episode of Making Finance Fun, I’m going to do my best to answer that question. I’ll define what ‘stabilization’ means, look at how the S&P 500 and Dow Jones behaved in March-May, and address where we could go from here. After you hear the information I present, I’ll let YOU decide where the market stands.

• [2:00] What is the definition of stabilization?

• [3:40] Stock market activity in March
• [4:44] Stock market activity in April
• [5:20] Stock market activity in May
• [10:16] Where do we go from here?
• [14:30] Have the stock markets reached stabilization?

According to Lexico, stabilization is “The process of becoming or being made unlikely to change, fail, or decline.” When I look at the market, the question I ask myself is this: Has the insane volatility—big upswings and big downswings—stopped? Volatility is often viewed and referenced negatively. However, I do want to point out that volatility can also mean an upward spike—not just down. 

Although the Coronavirus pandemic technically started in February, I want to focus on how it impacted the market starting in March. The S&P 500 dropped 20% in March and the Dow Jones dropped 21%. Talk about a HUGE negative trend. From what I’ve read, it sounds like it was the worst-performing month of the stock market since the great depression. March brought wild swings in the market—sometimes 6–8% in a single day. 

April seemed like a polar opposite to March, with both the S&P 500 and the Dow up 13%. It can be categorized as one of the best months we’ve had in 35–40 years. But the market was still quite volatile. The Monday before the CARES act was passed, the market anticipated that it wasn't going to pass and the market was DOWN. When the Senate passed the bill, the market had a huge upswing. Trillions of dollars were pumped into the economy. 

May has been largely uneventful and relatively calm in day-to-day activity, with the S&P and Dow both up 3%. Here and there we learn more about the virus or receive some good news about potential vaccines and treatment. There have been a few trading days with swings of 3–4%. 

My opinion—NOT my prediction—is that wall street is waiting for a catalyst. Will the Fed send out another round of stimulus payments? Will a company come out with a proven vaccine? Will the relationship with China improve or deteriorate? We can’t forget a big election is coming up. The stock market is looking for the next big thing and will react accordingly. The month of May brought some market stabilization and we’ve seen less volatility. We may be moving in a positive direction. Only time will tell. 

• The definition of ‘stabilization’
• Dow Surges 900 Points
• Illinois ‘Stay At Home’ Orders

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• On Twitter: @AnxiousAdvisor
• On LinkedIn

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Oil prices have been all over the board in recent months. We even saw a barrel of oil drop into negative price territory, which is an extremely rare event. Gas prices have been very volatile, as well. 

What does this mean for our economy on both a local and national scale?

If you'd like to know my thoughts, tune it today! 

• Website
• On Twitter: @AnxiousAdvisor
• On LinkedIn