Plan For Life Now

The last five days have certainly been an interesting time to be an investor in the stock market. After an initially muted reaction to the coronavirus reports, stocks are now down 13% from their high. In this special coronavirus podcast Dave and Steve discuss their thoughts and concerns going forward. Here are a few highlights:

The market: While the market is down 13% from its high, the S+P 500 is still up around 6% over the past 12 months. It is certainly possible that things could get worse as the impact of the virus is felt in economies around the globe. It is even possible that the coronavirus could be the long awaited catalyst that tips the economy into a recession. That said, we have to remember that market declines and recessions are a normal part of investing. On average, a 10% market decline occurs every 10 months. A 20% market decline typically occurs every 3.5 years. It has been 11 years since the last decline of more than 20%.

Changes we are making: We don’t believe anyone can accurately predict the right time to get out and the right time to get back in. It is times like this that we are reminded why we hold conservative assets such as bonds, cash and annuities. These assets can provide us with a safe place for withdrawals without being forced to sell stocks low. With this in mind, we will be adjusting all withdrawals going forward to come from your non-stock assets until the market has recovered. We will handle this and no action is needed from you.

Reasons for optimism: The markets have successfully weathered past outbreaks such as SARS, MERS, swine flu and bird flu. In most of these cases the stock market generated a decent return 12 months after the outbreak. Short term declines have often created an excellent buying opportunity for long term investors.

Further reading: If you are eager to read more, here is one of the better responses we have seen: https://lgam.com/an-update-on-the-coronavirus/

As always, feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.

Have equities become too risky? How much longer will the decade-long bull market last? Is a stock crash or a recession coming? Should I sell? In this month’s podcast Dave and Steve look for insight and wisdom from the words of legendary author and finance professor Burton Malkiel. Tune in to find out what this means for your investments!

In the first podcast of the new year Dave and Steve talk about passage of the SECURE act. What does this mean for RMDs and inherited IRAs going forward? After that they discuss an outlook for 2020. What are the experts saying and how has that changed since last year. Tune in to find out!

Dave and Steve start this episode by discussing the changes proposed in the SECURE Act. In particular they discuss the impact on RMDs and inherited IRAs. After that Dave tells the story of a friend who continued to ignore risks in his retirement plan and the sad consequences of his actions.

The stock market has been going up for over 10 years, and some investors have gotten complacent. Are you making some of the classic late cycle investor mistakes? Listen to Dave and Steve discuss these issues and how to avoid them in the latest episode of Plan For Life Now.

In this month’s episode Dave and Steve start (1:10) by recapping the market over the past year. After that the discussion turns (2:45) to politics, and what effect certain candidates might have on the stock market. To finish up (10:10), they discuss an online guide to uncertain markets published by American Funds. Listen now to find out how soccer penalty kicks relate to how you manage your investments!

In this episode Dave and Steve have a grab bag of topics to discuss. They start (2:30) by discussing how people think differently about investing in real estate compared to investing in stocks. Next (7:18) they take a look back at the economy 10 years ago, and compare the changes in our outlook going forward. Lastly, (14:00) they revisit a bucketed retirement strategy. How do you structure your short term, intermediate term and long term assets differently to meet my retirement goals?

In this episode Dave and Steve discuss (2:07) a Stanford study that examined 292 different retirement withdrawal strategies to determine the best one. After that they discuss (15:00) the resurgence of value stocks. Is value investing making a comeback or will growth stocks continue to dominate?

In this episode Dave and Steve break down the behavior and saving habits of their client “Bob.” Find out how “Bob” approaches his investments and helps to set himself up for a long and relaxing retirement.

In this episode Dave and Steve start (1:05) by discussing the ways that people organize their retirement and the risks they are facing. After that they discuss an article from their favorite columnist, Barry Rithholtz (11:27). Tune in to find out what are the 10 things people in finance should never say!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/one-man-wanted-financial-certainty-and-fun-in-retirement-here-is-his-formula/2019/06/07/a672053e-887b-11e9-98c1-e945ae5db8fb_story.html

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-06-10/10-things-people-in-finance-should-never-say