The media has been incessantly and ominously reporting that 2018 was “the worst year since the financial crisis in 2008” and most certainly forgetting to add a little context.  Put into perspective, in 2008, the S&P 500 lost 38.49% of its value amidst a financial crisis where banks had $100 of debt for every $1 of cash on their balance sheets, investment bankers like Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns were going out of business, “NINJA” loans (“No Income No Job") were being used to buy “McMansions”, and the global economy plunged as a risk culture failure produced one of the worst economic catastrophes in modern history. 

Last night, I wrote to clients and investors to explain our views on how Wall Street and Main Street are a tale of two different markets and how the resultant, mushrooming volatility is tossing stocks around like ragdolls.  I try not to bombard our clients with too many emails, but wanted to put the numbers into perspective and remind everybody as to why staying disciplined is the only real plan to follow during all the chaos.

There is a clearly a very serious disconnect between the behavior of financial markets and the underlying economy, which, especially in the US, is in decent shape.  The market’s mood is hypersensitive and problematic as it ignores good economic data, embraces bad news, hangs on to every official governmental Tweet, and is trading as if we’re on the brink of some kind of disaster. 

As a follow up to our previous post regarding current market conditions, I thought it would be valuable to remind our clients that the media frenzy over recent market volatility, once again, is dominating the headlines as journalists bewilder all of us about what news is good and what’s bad.  I refer to it as “information overload” as antsy financial reporters make outrageous predictions during their “markets in turmoil” special report segments where they literally create a scenario where all news is bad news.  Trade war fears, interest rate hikes, skepticism that an economic slowdown is looming, and, most recently, a Government shutdown are all the rave these days and depending on who you’re listening to on TV, the issues have issues. .

Stocks closed well off their session lows on Thursday after news broke that the Federal Reserve could tighten monetary policy at a slower pace than previously expected.  The Wall Street Journal reported the central bank is considering signaling a “wait-and-see approach” to rate hikes at its upcoming meeting this month.   Overall, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 79.40 points lower at 24,947.67 after plunging nearly 800 points this morning (on the heels of Tuesday’s 800 point rout), while the S&P 500 closed 0.15% lower at 2,695.95.  The Nasdaq completely erased its losses, closing 0.4% higher at 7,188.26 as Amazon, Netflix, and Alphabet (Google) all rose more than 1% on the day. 

In February of 2018, after a huge, parabolic-like move upward in January, extreme volatility returned into the markets and investors saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average correct by over 8% in a matter of 6 trading days.  Sound familiar? 

Kevin Garnett had an amazing career in the NBA. He goes down as the all-time leader in “on court salary” in history earning $326 million during his career…Today, he is suing because his retirement nest egg is missing a whopping $77 million. Garnett has filed suit against his accountant, Michael Wertheim, for allegedly allowing his wealth manager, Charles Banks, who is facing a 4-year sentence in federal prison for defrauding NBA legend Tim Duncan, to steal money from Garnett’s accounts.

As we say goodbye to the summer of 2018, wrap up those last minute mini-vacations, and send the kids off to school, it might be a good time to get back to basics and open up those old 401(k) statements that have been pouring in all summer.  Statistics show that when people separate service from an employer, they will leave at least one retirement account behind when changing jobs and, for many, three or more employer-based retirement plans are left in the dust as employees hop from job to job throughout their careers. 

Did you know that the age at which many workers will qualify for full Social Security benefits has risen to 67 from 65? If that's news to you, you're not alone: The majority of workers are still in the dark about Social Security eligibility requirements and m any expect to qualify for benefits payments sooner than they actually will.

The obscure nature of financial rules and regulations provides investment companies, with an information advantage when selling products and services to clients.  Most investors do not understand the jargon and complexities that define investment products as a whole and what’s most misunderstood are fees and expenses.  In fact, it’s safe to say that many investors have no idea how much they are paying, what kinds of fees are being charged, and how fees and expenses erode future retirement savings.