Steadfast Finances
A Personal Finance & Investing 101 blog that delves into current events, consumer education, and techniques to improve your bottom line.
Post Financial Crisis Retracements: Buy & Hold Investors Making Their Money Back
In 2007, the financial crisis and impending stock market crash was nothing but a bearish prognostication. To the chagrin of many, once the stock market was in total free fall, the Feds stepped in with tons upon tons of money to prop up the market, sell billions of dollars in USTs on a weekly basis, [...]
Could the Stock Market Rally Really Be ‘This Simple’?
Could this be the real time, forward looking indicator that everyone (but traders) is looking for? [click to enlarge] The irony, of course, is everyone talks about having a “strong U.S. Dollar“, but based on U.S. exports data and an fairly good history of an inverse relationship with the S&P 500 index of late, that [...]
Chartology: 1987 Crash Trading Channel Back in Play
Chartology like this should make well seasoned, fully invested finance types shiver… and long term buy on the dips investors drool with anticipation. [click image to enlarge] Image Source & Credit Chris Kimble 1987 highs having an impact on the S&P 500 today?
Looking Back at My ‘An Index Fund Investor’s Dream’ Call
Spurred on by a recent Chart of the Day email, here’s a look back at my 18 month old observation of why it pays to buy on the dips when the news is at it’s worst. From May 18, 2009: An Index Fund Investor’s Dream: S&P 500 Earnings Nearing Historical Lows Image Source: Chart of [...]
Chartology: The Halloween Indicator vs. Sell in May and Go Away
Remember that thing known as the “Sell in May and Go Gway” effect? It has a flip side, known as the the Halloween Effect, where the majority of all S&P 500 gains have been made between November and April. Image Source: Chart of the Day I also refer to the Halloween Effect as the “cold [...]
5 New Ideas for Controversial ETFs That Will Never Exist
I often jest that the financial world is moving towards a world of total ETF-ification. Meaning, that with the huge popularity of Exchange Traded Funds in today’s financial markets, that market makers are only limited by their imagination, and their creative accounting skills, at what assets, commodities or random grouping of equities they can throw [...]
20 Funny ETF Ticker Symbols That Will Never Exist
Now that the investing world is moving towards a world of total ETFification, I think it’s time we begin giving these fee generating, cash cows catchy ticker symbols that we can actually remember. The easiest way, in my opinion, is to associate each sector or macro investing goal with commonly known pop culture references. Obviously, [...]
Vanguard Now Offering Free Trades on In-House ETFs
Not to be outdone by low cost ETF competitors like Charles Schwab, Vanguard customers now have the option to trade Vanguard ETFs commission free, as well as benefit from online discount broker like commissions on individual stock trades. Commission-free ETF transactions. Vanguard brokerage clients may make commission-free transactions in Vanguard’s entire line-up of 46 low-cost [...]
Why it’s Important to Buy during the Doom & Gloom News
On March 9, 2009, the stock market closed at it’s lowest level in over a decade. The doom and gloom news factories were pumping out negativity as loudly as it could because that was what “people wanted to hear.” You couldn’t pick up a newspaper, click to highly trafficked website, or flip on the 6 [...]
Younger Investors Becoming More Risk Averse than Older Investors
Some interesting, perhaps troubling, results from the Merrill Lynch Quarterly Affluent Insights Survey this morning. Younger investors are more risk averse than older investors. Those in their 20s and 30s are more risk averse than the 40s and 50s demographic because they been burned twice in the last decade. Older investors are more concerned about [...]
2000 to 2009 Was the Second Worst Performing Decade for the Dow
I knew the aughts decade, the bubble decade, the lost decade, or whatever you choose to call it was a bad time for stock market performance, but I really didn’t think it was this bad. Image from Chart of the Day Pretty depressing stuff when you consider that we started the decade with such optimism, [...]
How I Pick the Best Long Term, Buy and Hold Stocks
I’m something of an oddity in the investing world when it comes to finding the best buy and hold investments: I do not limit myself to a one individual method of stock analysis. In other words, I’m not 100% reliant upon fundamental analysis where I only review the financial statements and read the 10-Ks, nor [...]
