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The goal of this blog is to provide insight on a wide range of financial and retirement issues that can help improve your financial future. Please contact me with questions on topics you want me write about and feel free to forward articles to a friend who may benefit from the information. Thank you, John Schooler. 

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Weekly Recap September 18-22, 2023 Recap Equities Sink as Bond Yields Rise Fed Meeting Confirms Higher for LongerStock markets slid last week as investors digested the September Federal Open Markets Committee’s (FOMC) meeting...

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Weekly Recap September 4-8, 2023 Recap Stocks Decline Good News is Bad News for RatesEquities declined last week, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ending below their 50-day moving averages. Investors turned skittish, as...

Tuesday, September 5, 2023

This week will be quiet for economic data, except for the ISM Services PMI Index releasing Wednesday. Chief Investment Officer Gene Goldman explains why the prices-paid component of this report could be an important inflation...

Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Monthly Recap Market Indices At-A-Glance With the S&P 500 down nearly 1.6% in August, the index retraced around half its 3.2% July gain. The Dow Industrials fell 2.01%, cutting its YTD gain to 6.37%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.05%,...

Monday, August 28, 2023

In their latest commentary, the Cetera Investment Management Team discusses the possibility of a Fed pause and eventual pivot and what that means for portfolios, including allocations to money market funds.   CLICK TO READ As...

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Thursday, August 24, 2023

Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way to Avoid 4 Common Estate Planning Mistakes When it comes to estate planning, what you don’t know can hurt you, along with your beneficiaries or heirs. That’s because estate...

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

In their latest commentary, the Cetera Investment Management Team discusses the reasons behind the jump in bond yields and why equity investors have been concerned. Since they believe the Fed is likely to pause, they feel...

Monday, August 21, 2023

Rising bond yields are worrying investors. Chief Investment Officer Gene Goldman discusses why they’re rising, why it matters to stocks and what he’s watching this week to learn more. Start the Week Strong As always,...

Monday, August 7, 2023

Join Cetera Investment Management for a journey through the travel economy in their latest commentary, “The Travel Recovery: It’s Been a Long, Strange Trip.” There is plenty of adventure, as well as potential clues...

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Q2 earnings season picks up in earnest this week. Chief Investment Officer Gene Goldman explains why he thinks earnings may be better than expected – and what that could mean for the stock market. Start the Week Strong As always,...

Tuesday, June 27, 2023

Weekly RecapJune 19-23, 2023 RecapS&P 500 Posts Worst Week Since MarchNasdaq Ends Eight-Week Winning StreakU.S. equities slid backward last week with the S&P 500 snapping a five-week winning streak to close out the holiday-shortened...

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

The Fed and financial markets differ on interest rate expectations for the end of 2023. Join Chief Investment Officer Gene Goldman on The Week Ahead as he breaks down the differences in perspective and explains how Fed Chair Jerome...

Monday, June 5, 2023

While the stock market has been enjoying a strong performance YTD, a poor market breadth could be a bad omen for the future. Chief Investment Officer Gene Goldman explains how to measure market breadth and why it’s concerning...

Thursday, May 18, 2023

7 Tips for Blending Family and FinancesAccording to a popular wedding planning site, June marks the start of peak wedding season, which runs through early fall.1 If you’re among the thousands of couples planning a wedding in the...

Monday, May 8, 2023

Will the upcoming CPI report be lower than expected? Chief Investment Officer Gene Goldman shares three reasons why it could come in under expectations and what this could mean for the Fed. Start the Week Strong As always, please reach...

Monday, May 8, 2023

Weekly RecapMay 1-5, 2023 RecapEquities Mostly LowerSmall Caps Fall the LeastDespite a strong 1.85% S&P 500 finish on Friday, the benchmark index ended fractionally lower last week, capping a fifth straight week with less than a 1%...

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

In their latest commentary, the Cetera Investment Management Team answers some questions regarding the debt ceiling debates in Washington. The Treasury has been using “extraordinary measures” to continue paying government...

Friday, April 14, 2023

In their latest commentary, the Cetera Investment Management Team explains questions they've been receiving regarding the U.S. dollar and its importance globally. China’s growing economy, Russian sanctions, and an ongoing debt...

Monday, March 20, 2023

In their latest commentary, the Cetera Investment Management Team gives an update on the recent troubles in the banking industry. They explain the causes and the actions being taken to solve those problems. There is a silver lining in...

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

For the Federal Reserve, credibility is everything. And its credibility is being tested by how it plans to manage the banking system in the days leading up to its March 21-22 meeting.Last month, Fed Chair Powell confidently told Wall...

Monday, March 13, 2023

In their latest commentary, the Cetera Investment Management Team explains the two California bank closures. Unlike 2008, these were liquidity events and not solvency events. These banks were unique in that their customer bases were...

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Growing concerns about further interest rate hikes, prompted by fresh economic data, reversed early-week gains and left stocks mixed for the week.The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.13%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500...

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Weekly RecapFebruary 13-17, 2023 RecapEquities End MixedS&P 500 Slips Second Week U.S. equity indices ended narrowly mixed last week amid renewed inflationary concerns that will likely keep Fed policymakers postured to keep interest...

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

As Cetera's Chief Investment Officer Gene Goldman has said all year, there are two key factors to gauge market direction: the Fed and earnings. How many companies will adjust earnings lower? Start the Week Strong As always, please...

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Indicators are suggesting a possible recession in 2023, but Cetera's Chief Investment Officer Gene Goldman discusses three reasons why this may not be the case: strong GDP, the weakening U.S. dollar, and China reopening. ...

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

2022 was a challenging year. As we head into the new year, Cetera's Chief Investment Officer Gene Goldman offers his insight on how they may expect markets to perform in 2023 with a weaker first half of the year followed by a...

Thursday, December 15, 2022

Cetera Investment Management is pleased to release its annual Market Outlook for 2023 titled, "Low Expectations Are Easier to Beat." In this outlook, they discuss while they expect volatility to remain in both stocks and bonds, stocks...

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Wondering what might move the markets this week? With the final Fed meeting of 2022 happening this week, what are the potential outcomes and impacts on the markets? Cetera's Chief Investment Officer Gene Goldman shares three...

Thursday, December 8, 2022

In their latest commentary, the Cetera Investment Management Team discusses what is weighing on investors’ minds during this most recent market selloff. The Fed has entered a blackout period leading up to their meeting next week,...

Monday, December 5, 2022

Wondering what might move the markets this week? Corporate earnings are a key influence on market direction, and they continue to shift lower for next year. CIO Gene Goldman offers his perspective on how earnings are looking headed...

Monday, November 14, 2022

Wondering what might move the markets this week? Lots of data is expected this week and CIO Gene Goldman and team will be closely watching two regional surveys that provide a glimpse at this month’s economy. Start the Week Strong...

Monday, October 31, 2022

Wondering what might move the markets this week? It’s all about the Fed and economic data, says CIO Gene Goldman, who shares a spooky perspective about what may be lurking around the corner and a potentially ghoulish outcome....

Monday, October 24, 2022

Wondering what might move the markets this week? After last week’s strong finish for equities, CIO Gene Goldman shares his perspective about important economic data on the horizon and why 3Q GDP may exceed consensus estimates....

Friday, October 21, 2022

5 Ways to Stay on Track in Any Market ClimateLet’s face it, life doesn’t always go as planned. Some circumstances are beyond your control, such as rising inflation, an economic downturn, or an unexpected job loss or...

Monday, October 17, 2022

Weekly RecapOctober 10-14, 2022 RecapStocks Weaken on Persistent InflationWild Week Ends Moderately Lower U.S. stocks ended mostly lower last week even as the S&P 500 captured a monumental turnaround on Thursday, reversing a 2.39%...

Monday, October 10, 2022

In their latest commentary, the Cetera Investment Management Team discusses the factors causing market volatility and recession fears. Like an episode of Stranger Things, stock markets appear to be in the upside down world. A world...

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Weekly RecapSeptember 19-23, 2022 RecapAnother Down Week for StocksEquities Approach June LowsThe rout in U.S. stocks deepened last week with the benchmark S&P 500 posting its fifth weekly loss in six weeks and briefly breached its...

Friday, September 23, 2022

If you’ve felt like stock prices were a little more volatile in 2022 than in recent years, your “spidey senses” are right on the money. The S&P 500 has posted 81 daily moves of at least 1% through August. Of those...

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

In their latest commentary, the Cetera Investment Management Team discusses the recent consumer price index report that came in hotter than expected. Investors had been bidding up stocks in hopes for a weaker report that would trigger...

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Stocks tumbled on Friday, sending stocks to a weekly loss after an otherwise quiet August week of trading.The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped -0.16%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 lost 1.21%. The Nasdaq Composite index...

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

In their latest commentary, the Cetera Investment Management Team discusses the recent rebound in equities and if it is going to be a bear market rally or an eventual bull market. CLICK TO READ As always, please reach out to the office...

Monday, August 15, 2022

Weekly RecapAugust 8-12, 2022 RecapStocks Continue to RiseWeek of Inflation ReadingsMajor U.S. equity indexes were all up around 3% last week, as investors got a few different readings on inflation. On Wednesday, the Consumer Price...

Tuesday, August 9, 2022

Weekly RecapAugust 1-5, 2022 RecapStocks Advance Third WeekStrong Jobs Data Trims Weekly GainThe S&P 500 posted fraction gains last week after an unexpected strong July payrolls report on Friday. The economy added 528,000 new jobs last...

Tuesday, August 2, 2022

Monthly RecapMarket IndicesAt-A-GlanceDespite strong gains, the S&P 500 remains in correction, down 13.14% from its Jan 3 record high.  Positively, the index ended July up 12.80% from its 6/16/22 first-half low.The Dow Jones...

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Stocks rallied last week as investor spirits lifted thanks to a better-than-expected start to the second-quarter earnings season. Earnings season kicked off last week, with major banks reporting second-quarter results.

Tuesday, July 12, 2022

An important week for the markets.  We get our first glimpse into earnings as the large banks release their earnings on Thursday.  Bank earnings and stability is important for the economy and the markets. Also, it can give us...

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Market volatility is continuing.  The Federal Reserve has a limited number of tools in its toolbox to help curb inflation. Inflation is a product of supply and demand.

Monday, March 14, 2022

We have the Federal Reserve meeting this week and are bouncing along the lower end of our trading range. The market is soft today as we head into the Federal Reserve meeting.

Thursday, March 10, 2022

If you have charitable intent and highly appreciated stock, you can easily donate stock to your favorite charity instead of cash.

Monday, February 28, 2022

529 plan distributions can be trickier than you might’ve thought.

Friday, February 25, 2022

Incredible day in the market. However, we are not out of the woods yet on this correction.

Thursday, February 24, 2022

The immediate reaction to the war in Ukraine is pretty dramatic and it should be.

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

The market is retesting the stock market lows from earlier this month. We will find out soon if those lows will hold or if we need to do more work to the downside.

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

I still believe that this is a market correction and we have met our 10% downside. We’ve certainly got down to some longer-term support and the lows of October.

Friday, January 21, 2022

I do believe were having a market correction and not a bear market on the averages. It feels like a normal correction and we don’t have the ingredients in place for a full-fledged bear market.

Monday, December 20, 2021

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Today’s market selloff is all about the Federal Reserve. As I mentioned before, the Federal Reserve is the great slayer in bull markets. One of the reasons the market has done so well coming out of the pandemic is the Federal...

Friday, November 26, 2021

I wanted to get out a blog post in regards to today’s market selloff. You can get market corrections at anytime for a multitude of reasons. Certainly, a new COVID variant does create fear in the market. The market is a...

Thursday, November 4, 2021

The recent comments from Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell indicated just how dovish the Federal Reserve is right now. Although they did announce a tapering of bond purchases. They pushed out any thought of raising interest rates. I...

Monday, September 20, 2021

The major indices are all significantly lower following a volatile session as news hit of a default of the largest Chinese property development company. The default hit global markets overnight and spilled into our markets this morning...

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Hi John Schooler here, September starting off on a solid footing for the market. Interest rates remain extremely low and there is lots of liquidity in the economy. August continued the winning streak for the market and for the seventh...

Monday, August 30, 2021

John Schooler here, we've had a great start to the week for the stock market. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ both hit all-time highs. We have not had a correction in 18 months. That's a long time to go without a correction, however, the...

Thursday, August 26, 2021

John Schooler here, obviously, where all mourning the losses in Afghanistan. This has shaken up the market and we should expect the market to continue to react to news. However, we probably will have a relief rally starting in...

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

John Schooler here, the melt up continues as the market continues to perform well. With extremely low interest rates and and considerable liquidity, the market continues to move higher. I do expect some choppiness. If the Federal...

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

John Schooler here:John Page and I attended a workshop today that address the issue of diminished decision-making capacity. This is becoming a real issue for financial advisors dealing with elder clients and helping clients deal with...

Friday, August 13, 2021

July 3 to August 11th is often referred to as the "dog days of summer." It also can be a choppy time for the market. However, now that we've left the dog days of summer, the market is hitting an all-time high. Interest rates are low...