Nevin's Data "Points"

Life has many lessons to teach us, some more painful than others—and some we’d just as soon be spared. But for the graduates of 2020—well, theirs is surely a unique time. So, if you have a graduate—or if you ARE a graduate, here are some thoughts…    My kids have passed those milestones—but I have two nieces that will graduate this year without an “official” ceremony to commemorate the occasion, no capstone to those years in pursuit of education, and preparation for the next of life’s stages, and—while social media, cell phones, TikTok and Zoom provide some solace—this is a class that will, for the moment anyway, be denied the hugs and warm embraces of classmates, friends and family alike. That said, those next steps lie ahead—and if the when, where (and how) remains elusive—the if is surely only a matter of time. And as graduates everywhere look ahead to the next chapter in their lives, it seems a good time to reflect on some lessons learned along the way—m...

Perhaps like many of you, I spent the last week watching a series of announcements regarding various school and business closings associated with the coronavirus—but I was also keeping an eye on my retirement savings. I know—this is exactly the thing that most advisors counsel against, not only because it might be depressing (though there’s been plenty of inspiring moments), but because human beings are often inclined to react emotionally, not rationally in markets like these. And, seriously, have there  ever   been markets like these? Now many, perhaps most, participants and plan sponsors will embrace the counsel to not only avoid taking action, but to avoid paying any attention to the short-term volatility of what is, by its very nature, a long-term investment. That said, some will undoubtedly want to do  something. And for those, I offer the following alternatives. If you’re in a target-date fund or managed account: Leave it alone....

If you’ve been asked in the past two weeks what to do about the market (and who hasn’t), I’m sure your response has been something along the lines of . . . “Nothing.” There are, of course, more eloquent ways to express that sentiment. And, let’s face it, when it seems that everyone is asking that question—it’s generally well past the time when it is prudent to try and do—well, anything. Still, it seems that throughout my professional career, every time the market plunges (even when it stays down for an extended period), the pundits all seem to say the same thing; “the fundamentals are sound,” “we’re going through a period of short-term volatility,” or “we were due for a correction” (sometimes all of the above). Granted, this period seems unusual—there is a non-financial cause (the coronavirus outbreak) that is projected/anticipated to have a financial impact of unknown size and duration. That it has emerged at the outset of what is likely to be one of the more conten...