Record-High Stocks: Good News or Bad?

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Written by Rob Copeland | 12 July 2016

The stock market is at record highs, and that’s great for investors—unless, as some commentators insist, it’s bad for investors.

The fact is that it isn’t easy to get a handle on what the stock market is telling us. On Monday, the S&P 500 index of U.S. blue-chip stocks reached an all-time high, as investors bet on our economy as an island of stability in an unsettled world.

Pessimists point to stocks’ new highs, seven years into a bull market, and warn that what has gone up will soon come down. But warnings of a recession and a bear market have been ringing out for several years now, without results. In my experience, it will take a major event to reverse the market’s upward trend.

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Will Wall Street Clean Up Its Act?

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Written by Rob Copeland | 14 June 2016

Most of my clients are surprised to learn about the low standards under which the brokerage industry is allowed to operate.

The most egregious example: Brokers are allowed to steer clients into an investment based on how much money they—the brokers—will earn in sales commissions. In other words, a broker could recommend a mutual fund that has performed worse than an alternative fund, but pays a bigger commission. Well, there’s good news, and bad news, on that front.

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Don’t Fall in Love With Your Stocks

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Written by Rob Copeland | 13 May 2016

A few years back there was a bestselling book called “He’s Just Not That Into You.” Its goal was to get women to 1. Stop making excuses for dead-end relationships and 2. Move on to better opportunities. It turns out that this is excellent advice for stock investors as well.

Understandably, investors fall in love with stocks that have made them a lot of money. The problem comes when they are unable to break up. Becoming emotionally connected to a stock is a classic mistake and has resulted in many investors taking a “round trip”—holding a stock as its price rises and then gradually falls back to its starting point or lower.

In fact, a study by Investor’s Business Daily found that in a bear market, market-leading stocks’ prices decline 72% on average from their highs.

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The Key to Successful Investing

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Written by Rob Copeland | 14 April 2016

The first two months of the year weren’t pleasant ones for most investors: By early February, the S&P 500 index had plunged by 11%. But just as suddenly as it fell, the market rose again, completely recouping its losses by the end of March.

It was a head-spinning example of market volatility, and also a test of investors’ discipline. Investors with a long-term strategy should be willing to tolerate short-term fluctuations. If, on the other and, you panicked and sold your investments, you’re probably regretting it—or at least you should be.

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How Will the Election Affect the Market?

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Written by Rob Copeland | 13 March 2016

It’s been an unusual election cycle so far, with upstart, controversial candidates Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders giving the establishment candidates fits.

One question I’ve been receiving a lot is this: How will it impact my investments if a certain candidate wins? What if the next president enacts high import tariffs? Or jacks up taxes?

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